ATG

Just off Mariner Sunday.  Food ranged from very good to blah.

Some of the highlights were the nachos at Playmakers, the lobster in MDR, the sweet chili chicken at lunch in the Windjammer.  DS loved the Indian food at lunch.

Only 2 major misses, the TexMex night in the windjammer (blandest I’ve ever had) and cold baked potatoes in the windjammer.

 I thought the breakfast sandwich at Cafe Promenade was almost as good as McDonald’s.

Overall, I’d give them a solid B+.

3 minutes ago, Kenster said:

Rhine and Moselle was our first Avalon eight years ago last month. It was wonderful. 
 

Wifi is great. Plenty fast, though there may be some remote spots where a signal is not available. 
 

Gratuities:  I have not seen what the current suggested tips are.  You will have one amount (per passenger, per day) that is shared by the crew, and one amount for the Cruise Director. 
The Cruise Director is the only Avalon employee on board. Everyone else is an employee of the shipping line which is contracted by Avalon.  
 

You can visit the reception desk on the last full day or two of the cruise and pay the tips with your credit card. Or you can put cash in a provided envelope (one for crew and one for Cruise Director) and drop it on the box in the reception lobby. 
 

We also give a little extra cash, in person, to outstanding wait staff, lounge attendants, etc. 

We tend to settle into the same table every night for dinner, with the same waiter/waitress. They quickly learn, then anticipate our preferences. They make the cruise extra special so we give them a little extra. 
 

It can be daunting to shell out all that money in one chunk at the end of a long cruise! We just consider it part of the cost of the tour. If you want to avoid sticker shock, you can prepay the tips. Just call Avalon. 

Thanks for the quick response!  I was thinking that I would need to accumulate cash for all the tips.  Credit card plus extras is so much easier.

In June we are going on our first river cruise and we’re very excited.  It’s the Rhine and Moselle.  I have a couple of questions.

How is the internet?  DH is debating bringing his laptop or not.  A neighbor who has been on several river cruises (but not Avalon) said it was slooow.

Tipping, how much and how is it handled?  We’re used to ocean cruises where a set amount is added to your account and goes to your credit card at the end.  Do I need cash or will a credit card work?

2 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

Thank you.  The kids are only 11 and 7.  The little one doesn’t understand why.  It is hard to tell her when we don’t know😢

Our condolences to you and your family.  

Suite concierge told us about 2900 on Mariner last week.  I did not hear anyone talking about massive numbers of people positive.  Even if there had been 3% positive, that’s less than 90 people.  That would leave over 2800 not impacted.  The cruise was great with really good ports.  Only you can decide what your comfort level is.  

Mariner last week was 2900.

I’m so sorry to hear about your positive test.  But, probably better today than later and being quarantined.

We got off about 7:40 and took the shuttle back to parking lot.  No boot on the car and nobody around to collect so we just left.  On the road at 8:10.  Home in SC at 4:15.  I have never seen so many state troopers on I-95!

Lobster last night was quite good.  Our MTD got changed to early and we were a few minutes early.  Lobster was tender and flavorful, best I’ve had on a cruise for years.

Solarium is crowded today.  Only 3 empty chairs at 7:00.  Lots of towels though.  Staff did come around and move things off.  The couple on our left played podcasts rather loudly.  I asked him to turn it down and he was happy too.  On our right was a couple who had a bed and the lounger next to it.  As an old friend used to say “I’ve done seen it all.”  A woman came by and plopped down on the bed next to the wife.  She refused to move unless the husband gave up his seat!  Wow!

On 5/7/2022 at 12:58 PM, aring75 said:

Our boarding time was 11:30 am. Arrived at Port Canaveral at 11. PC is a little different from some other terminals. Here (at Terminal 1), you drive into the parking garage first floor to drop your luggage. Then, they will direct you to parking. For us, it was the open lot next door to the garage. You pay for parking at the time of arrival. 

We’re with you this week.  We also had to park in the open lot, but there was nobody collecting parking fees.  Maybe we get a free pass.

On our way to Cocoa Beach for Mariner tomorrow (three negative tests!) we needed to stop for gas and I saw a sign for Bucees.  Since everyone here has talked about it we decided to stop.
 Most of the gas spots were busy so I pulled behind a car.  After a minute or 2 I realized nobody was pumping.  In fact, both cars were empty!  Looking around, many of the cars were empty!  People had used the gas pumps as parking since they were closer than the actual parking.  How inconsiderate.  
Finally found an unblocked pump, got gas and moved to a parking space.  Went inside and WOW!  It was huge and had an enormous amount of stuff.  Didn’t get anything except a bottle of water.

Indiana had a 2 day Teacher’s Institute in the fall.  Georgia did too.  I’d guess they are fairly common.  We once took an early October cruise and were amazed at the number of school age children.  Talked to one family from Arkansas, they were on year round school and this was their fall break.  Currently live near Augusta Ga.  Their schools close Master’s week. Many people rent their house out and go on vacation.

Me too.  We are on Mariner in a little over a week.  I know I’m driving DH crazy.  Yesterday I went over my mental flowchart of “what if’s”.  If DS tests positive early Thursday then…..  Today I went through what gets done when next week (mail hold, at home pre-test, cleaning, laundry, etc.). Luckily, after 47 years he’s used to it.  The minute we are through check in I breathe a BIG sigh of relief.

4 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

We will likely cruise in the Retreat, so I'm trying to understand the different suite options.  Looks like the Sky suite is the entry level and would be roughly on par with a Royal JS for size...just with full suite amenities.  The Celebrity Suite would be more like a Royal GS and the Royal Suite would be more like an Royal OS.  It's hard to tell from their website so I'd love to hear from anyone who has experienced any of these Edge class suites and can compare.

We sailed in a sky suite on Edge last November and loved it.  The room was comparable to a RC JS but the bathroom was much nicer.  It was nice to have all the suite perks and only pay for a “JS”.  The Retreat was really nice.  A small breakfast buffet with a server bringing coffee or other drinks.  There was a covered patio with both tables and comfy chairs.  The server would check frequently to see if you wanted anything.  The pool deck was one floor up.  We even had lunch one day at the cafe there.  They came around in the afternoon with fruit ices.  Service everywhere was great.  The only thing we weren’t impressed with was the entertainment.  

We’ve been thinking about a 3 then 4 night b2b on independence.  We love sailing out of Canaveral and the prices are quite good.  We’ve never done a b2b before and think this might be a good way to try it out.  We really enjoy Coco Cay and would have 2 visits.  Has anyone done this?

9 minutes ago, sampup333 said:

Check the price difference for an interior room near yours compared to adding a 4th to your room.   I am learning that the price has gone up so much since I originally booked, that a single interior is actually cheaper than adding a 4th to a nicer room. That also gives you an extra bathroom. 

This happened to us.  DH and I have a 2 br grand suite (price was the same as a regular grand suite).  Son decided to join us and the cost to add him to our cabin was over $4,000.  But an interior across the hall was only $900.  

We had booked the 8/26 8 night sailing.  If I log onto the RC site it shows our cruise as a 6 night.  I haven’t been notified of any change.

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

 

I don't disagree with your logic. Beyond the tackiness position, there's also an experience the gift giver is usually trying to give. Do you want a gift that might be used for groceries or something that would be more "fun?"

If the recipient needs groceries, then why would I care?  Once I give a gift it’s theirs to do with as they want.  I’ve gotten gift cards for places I never frequent, they were regifted.  

We had a day bed reserved for $150.  Beach Club went on sale for about $80 per person so we switched.  Lunch was good, but NOT worth the money.  It was nice once, but I wouldn’t pay much for it in the future.  A lounger near the pool is just as good.

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

I've never smoked....anything.

Me either.  Except for one puff of my mother’s cigarette when I was about 2 or 3.  According to the story, I turned green and threw up.  Never touched one again.  In high school I was working too hard to get a scholarship to chance getting caught.  Met my DH freshman year and he was past his experimental stage, so none then either.

We have a cruise in October that I need to buy airfare for.  Before the Ukrainian war, Delta comfort + was about $330.  Now it’s $460.  But, a couple of weeks ago it was $550.  I’m going to wait and see what happens in the next month.  I check a couple of times a week, if I see a good price I’ll book.

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Well, the curse of being next door to a 2 bedroom family suite has proven accurate once again.

 

Laura was woken from a peaceful slumber on her balcony by a group of screaming toddlers on their balcony next door. I believe she's plotting her revenge for tonight

 

Surprised I didn't notice it.

Whoever is next to us on Mariner this May definitely won’t have that problem.  DS2 is 35 (how did that happen?) and one of our favorite things to do is sit on the balcony and read.  Not a noisy habit.  

1 hour ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

She read about them once but doesn’t have the recipe written down but this is the basic process. 
 

Cut the potatoes in half and parboil them until just tender. Then drain. The skin falls off them which is the plan. Then put them in the fridge to cool.  
 

When read to cook put on cookie sheet with cut side up. Brush with oil and favourite seasoning. Cook until headed through and brown approx 20/30 minutes. The outside is crispy and the inside is soft. 

This is somewhat similar to how I make hash browns.  I bake potatoes the day before and put them in the fridge.  The next day I peel them and fry in a little oil or butter.  Something about cooking then chilling makes the best, crispy potatoes.

48 minutes ago, Nessa1dc said:

I hope pre-cruise testing ends...I want vaccination requirement to be permanent.

While I agree this would be optimal for me, I wonder how many pre-cruise positive tests there are.  I have never seen numbers for this, but I would guess as long as there are significant numbers failing, the tests will continue.  If the positive tests fall to low levels, it would indicate tests aren’t necessary.

They wouldn’t have worked on oasis last month.

12 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

You might want to consider volunteering 

I did it for 18 years and have never played golf other than Putt Putt. As a golfer, you’d get even more out of it. 
It was tiring, but great fun. 

My Dad was an avid golfer.  He volunteered at a tournament and met Arnold Palmer.  Palmer graciously agreed to have a picture taken with Dad.  That picture hung next to his recliner and was one of the pictures we chose for his memorial service.  He said Palmer was a real gentleman.