sixbirches

I find all this trashing of Coastal Kitchen to be really ridiculous.
I mean, really? 

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

I would put CK above the MDR and below the specialties.  We like the smaller venue, better view, less volume (usually), but especially like that everything comes to the table hot -- unless its suppose to be cold. I don't remember the last time the MDR waiter warned me to be careful the plate is hot. 

 

mac_tlc

I totally agree!

We just came home from our Alaska cruise on Ovation. We booked a suite and ate all our meals in Coastal Kitchen. Service was absolutely top notch, as was the food. They even cooked special breakfast requests for my husband. He loved his raisin bread French toast, made exactly how he asked, even though it’s not on the menu. 
We have also eaten many meals in Coastal Kitchen  on Anthem and also loved everything.

You would have to be pretty picky not to enjoy yourself in this restaurant.

Not to criticize the Main Dining Rooms, but dinner so much more pleasant and tasty in Coastal.

19 hours ago, Bleueyes44 said:

What are the benefits of booking a Jr Suite as opposed to a Balcony ?  I have a chance to Royal Up for next to nothing on Odyssey sailing in October.  

If you can book a Jr Suite with the large balcony, you’ll like it. the balcony is gigantic. Ours had 2 full size lounge chairs on it. The room is also bigger. the Spa Jr is ok, but not much larger than a regular balcony. Still a nice room.
Both entitle you to book Coastal Kitchen for dinner, as long as it’s not full. And double cruise points.

All good perks 

I’m really glad you had no trouble with making your flight. We are sailing on Ovation this Friday and have a 12:30 pm flight when we depart after the cruise. It seems fine, but it’s the first time we’ve had to fly to and from the ship, so I’ve been nervous about it. We’re flying to Seattle the day before, but wanted to try getting home the same day….  
We should disembark easily and early since we booked a suite. Did you use  the Port Valet service?

2 hours ago, flamingos said:

Obviously, people ARE paying it.  

Well… as much as I enjoyed the Beach Club at $75 a person, I won’t be paying $188.99. Whether or not I can afford to pay is irrelevant because I do not like feeling as if I’m being ripped off. I’m happy to pay for something, if it’s worth it. It’s nice, but not that nice. Just my opinion based on plenty of cruises and lots of other high end vacation experiences. 

It’s a great beach day and we enjoyed it a lot. Food was awesome. We went there on Anthem back in March, 2020. But…
We are going back to Coco Key again on Oasis in October and the price for the Beach Club  now is OUTRAGEOUS. It’s over $100 more now than we paid on our last cruise.  I don’t really understand why either? It’s nice, but….. I don’t think I can justify $189 a person…

We were able to check in today for our Oct 3 cruise on Oasis out of Bayonne. 👏👏👏
I check daily  — don’t wait to get an email from RC.

1 hour ago, flamingos said:

 

People pay it, so................  Until they stop buying them, prices will just go up.

True, but…. I’m not that impulsive with my money.  If you like to throw $$ around, then go for it. It’s a nice beach area, but not that nice!
Like I said, we had no problems paying $70-75 each but I will save my money at this point. We’re actually thinking of enjoying the ship that day and skipping Coco Cay. 

7 minutes ago, sixbirches said:

When it goes down to $75 pp, which is what we paid on our last cruise before the shut down, then I will book it. I don’t feel like being ripped off for $169 which is the rate for our (hopefully) October sailing on Oasis. 

I just checked and RC has actually raised the price again— $178.99 pp on our cruise.. I am appalled….

When it goes down to $75 pp, which is what we paid on our last cruise before the shut down, then I will book it. I don’t feel like being ripped off for $169 which is the rate for our (hopefully) October sailing on Oasis. 

Back when  Explorer sailed from Bayonne, we would go to Johnny Rockets for lunch on a Sea Day. The waitresses on roller skates were really fun and we enjoyed the milkshakes and onion rings with lunch. Always a fun lunch and worth the $.  
I’m  not sure if it’s different now. But it’s a great memory 😀

No one will agree about sailing from Bayonne in winter. Personally, we love it.  And that’s all that matters. We’ve sailed Explorer, Anthem  and NCL Gem abc just when it was in NYC. We prefer RC but any cruise is good—any season of the year.

I checked my husband I in for our cruise on Ovation at the  end of August on my computer— with absolutely No Problems.  Luggage tags aren’t available yet, but I printed our Set Sail Passes, so I’m fine. 
I also have the app and it’s working beautifully. 
I can’t believe the drama this seems to be causing. 🙄

Everything seems to be fixed now on my cruise planner

My app works fine! But not on the computer website. Oh well. I’m sure it will get straightened out. Their website has never been reliable.

Seems like this topic/thread has taken a political or a judgemental tone. 
Not everyone who has a smartphone is addicted and playing games. I think technology has a place to enhance good communication in the world now.
Am I technically savvy? Not at all, but I do enjoy the time saving features that apps offer and I’m very happy RC has expanded their app now. I will be using it.
BTW, I am a senior citizen who is open minded to change.

When the Explorer had her homeport in Bayonne, we sailed her many times. We loved all our trips then. A nice thing I remember was that it was easy to find a deck chair without needing to get one early each day and I could usually find one in the shade, which I liked. Always good memories and I’m sure you will have a great cruise.

On 7/12/2021 at 7:37 PM, denamo said:

38 days and no check in available.  For an Alaska cruise on the Ovation.

 

I was able to check in today for our Aug 20 Ovation cruise. so, look and see if your is available 

We booked Ovation to Alaska on aug 20 a few days ago. I am fully aware that anything, and I mean anything can change, with cruising just restarting. And I’m fine with this because I can’t control this. Right now, everyone needs to be extremely patient and flexible. 
I am very happy to be sailing now to Alaska, especially at reduced capacity.  
My glass is much more than half full right now…

I’ve sailed Anthem several times, which is nearly identical to Ovation. We’ve sailed both types of Junior Suite cabins. the Spa Junior has a significantly smaller balcony than the other Junior or J1. The balcony was HUGE and we loved it. The split bathroom was ok. To me, the balcony was the best difference. Both rooms had plenty of storage.

We got a Royal Up email today for our Aug 20 Alaska cruise on Ovation. We just booked the cruise 2 days ago. I’m very happy with our cabin, but it made me feel like the cruise is “real” now.😎 We also have an Oasis cruise coming up in October from a L&S from last year. Nothing on that one yet.

I am hoping to be able to check in soon for our Aug cruise…

We booked Ovation for the Aug 20 sailing today. We live in a state where masking was strongly enforced until recently and many people still continue to wear them, so it doesn’t bother us, and we were fine with the protocols. I’m looking forward to sailing with fewer passengers since Alaska is typically more crowded. I see this as a great opportunity that probably won’t happen again. And since I’m usually eating or drinking while in the Coastal Kitchen and Suite Lounge, I don’t  see masks as an issue there. When restaurants reopened where I live, masks were required but only when walking around the restaurant—for example when going into the restroom. And that wasn’t a problem and definitely didn’t make me feel like my dining experience was ruined. 
 

I have no problems using new technology on the ship. Personally, I think it’s great and I’m really happy with RC for making their app better and more useful.  I use the camera frequently on my phone, so I don’t see it as a hassle at all to carry my phone. I’m also a big fan of Wow bands - loved them on our Anthem cruises. 

Change is good.

We had it on our first Anthem cruise. I was fine with it, but many, many people didn’t. Change is always difficult for some people….