Engineroom Snipe

Nice. If you take a ship out of BOSTON you better be ready for "smokin and tokin" [Chorus]Smokin', smokin' We're cookin' tonight, just keep on tokin' Smokin', smokin' I feel alright, mamma I'm not jokin', yeah (Boston, 1976)

I liked that one too. Imagine the quantity of responses you would get on this caption: "Feral kids running amuck: delaying elevators, removing towels from chairs, and barefoot in MDR." I tried to work in some of @island lady's hot items. 🤔

Or we can do the "Lido Shuffle" (Boz Scaggs) as we try to avoid the approved smoking section on the Lido deck. 🕺 😉

Every time the words "smoking" or "vaping" gets mentioned in a post, it ignites fiery conversation. 🚢 + 🚬 = ☠️ in 🚭 areas. 😁

"Blimey Mate, that is no excuse. in the Outback we would roll-it-over, hammer-out any dents the rotors might touch, and off we go!" "The scratches and dents give it a bit of character." 🤠

If they are like my son was at that age, they need ALOT of calories per day. If they were lean going over the pond, they did not pack any reserves for a rainy day (I justify my small bit of extra weight as part of my Doomsday preparation kit to my doctor 😁). I carry it with me at all times. 🤣

I have a very sharp TA. When I quoted him that my port fees and taxes where about $72 more than the current prices before final booking, he responded that the port fees and taxes prices when I booked cannot be changed. My TA booked me a very lucrative price and I was not about to risk that price for $72. Your response reinforces his response and seems logical.

After the earnings call for RCI two days ago, RCI has stated their their WAVE season was overwhelming this year (in a very positive sort of way). RCI is drinking from a fire-hose They are going from famine to feast. The cruise prices reflect the anticipated plethora of cruisers. @Biker19mentioned the IT department, like any IT department around the world, is short on staff to handle "interporting" or so many other critical functions. I do IT and I do not want to be on the receiving end of such a high demand with no tolerance for failure team. I beat them up sometimes in my posts but they do not have enough people to get the job done properly. Most cruisers will tolerate bad IT instead of paying a higher cruise fare. Tough decisions in corporate dividends. 🤓

And "what a tangled web we weave." I get your observation. I have noticed if my wife and I vacillate upon an entree that we verbalized when ordering, it arrives on a "third dish for us to split." Very hard to discern that the servers were trying to do this in order to make our experience better and as a result, get a higher tip. A good server tries to make the experience unique and superior. They are doing what they are trained and expected to do sometimes in the hope and expectation of a "superior" tip. This can go the wrong way too as I feel you are expressing. "Overwhelm them with food and a bigger tip will be forthcoming." I feel you are saying, "Please bring me what I ordered and prepare it properly." I am being charged $16 per person per day to be treated with food that is hot, properly prepared, and what I ordered. No argument from me.

Fully acceptable when your husband is racing behind you. 😮 I will say nothing! 🤐

I feel your thoughts. I have three booked this year for very reasonable prices. I might just book one in 2024 at the most reasonable price I can get. If I feel the prices are excessive, I will most probably "take a break from cruising" after this year. The old rules of supply and demand. Maybe you and I will be part of a "less demand". I assure you it will not happen in 2023. The pendulum takes time to swing from its extreme movements. One cruise at a time..........😁

Was that you I saw running past me towards the suites grinning ear-to-ear with clothing flapping out of your bags? 🤣

Your quandary under this situation is exactly your decision. There are so many opinions on what you should do. The final opinion is, "What do you want to do?" Oh such a problem, you are going on a cruise,................... 😉

You echo the responses of many others on this website. Some will say the effort to move is well worth the reward. Others will say that they will do exactly what you will do. That is what we do on these posts. 😁

I hope my wife is not placed in that dilemma. The outcome might not be to my liking. 😯😢

Good point.

From reading other posts on CC, the cruise lines keep the room booked and do not resell or use them. The room is fully paid and someone who misses the point of original departure might board at some point later during the cruise. This happens on a routine basis and one of the reasons why seasoned cruisers will fly in the day before to avoid delays. Many insurance companies will insist that the cruisers make a good faith effort to mitigate their losses before demanding a full refund due to a missed or delayed flight. This would include flying into the next port and maybe receive a partial refund for the percentage of the cruise missed.

I made that statement regarding the month of January 2024 for Anthem. It pertains only to that month because that is the month and ship quoted in my response. 😉

Jinx! Two answers at the same time.

This is normal. Technically, if you read the emails, they will notify you within two hours of the ship leaving the pier for a yes or no.

In all of my cruises, I never even contemplated bringing food of any kind into the MDR. The MDR food was always the best available. You are right, "no one is going to stop you from bringing a plate of food from the WJ to the MDR." They might not stop you but everybody will be wondering why you even bothered to dine in the MDR if the food is so bad that you had to bring your own 'doggie bag' from the WJ to a superior dining experience in the MDR. Even acknowledging someone might need to do this shows how sad the state of affairs is in the MDR.

I sailed on Anthem in March of 2020 the last week before shutdown. The food was a 9 out of 10 for me. I had no reason to complain or need of a paid for dining package. I sailed on Anthem in April of 2022. The food was an 8 out of 10 for me. I acknowledged that to be getting back up to speed but absolutely no concerns. Oasis in September of 2022, alarm and strobe lights went off concerning food. MDR was hit or miss and Windjammer was not what I had seen before. I thought it was a one-off. I am cruising three times this year starting in April. You are not a nay-Sayer and you try to give RCI the benefit of a doubt through your historic posts. I am concerned.........

One word: Ouch! 😬

The poster stated that they are leaving next January on the Anthem on an 11-night voyage. The Anthem only sails that cruise twice in January of 2024. I just did a mock booking for two on a regular balcony midship. The price is as of this minute, $3885.98 for the cabin and taxes. Add suggested $352 for gratuities and $275 for parking (if flying in, add flight and hotel). This does not include drinks and any dining packages. This is over $1000 difference than the poster's price of $2,800. I would like people to quote prices with the reservation time period (months or years, general vicinity) they got those prices. I have obtained great deals too, but I do not quote those prices because if it is not available for someone who is reading my posts, it is a moot point and meaningless to them. It does no one any good to quote a price that is not currently available.

The waiters and head waiter are in a no-win situation. They are the immediate face of RCI if there are any perceived or real problems with food service. Cruisers who are used to a different type of service will complain, write bad reviews, possibly remove gratuities even if servers are following the printed menu and management policies. The servers cannot complain to their superiors because the implicit threat is "we will get someone else to do your job if you cannot sell the management decisions to the customers. You took the job, handle it. We do not want to hear about complaints (regardless of the servers following orders from management)." Personally, I never want to put the servers in that situation. I will go to the Windjammer instead of MDR to avoid further problems, but the management will most likely blame my absence on the servers. They are like the coaches in sports. They do not control the quality of players they get (how much the owner is willing to approach their salary caps). They are the easiest people change or blame when the team loses for other reasons. I am still going to wait and see for myself but many of the posters have identified a common theme that the meals are not arriving hot and well prepared. I can understand RCI not serving certain items every night but what items are served should be hot (or cold) and reasonably prepared. This has more to do with raw material quality, preparation, and cooking than who served the final product.