4104ever

1 hour ago, crzndeb said:

I have been on the Ovation many times, and they have never had Ramen the several years I have sailed. It’s one thing I miss also, since I don’t eat sushi.

Well shucks!!  Thank you for letting me know.  Better to be disappointed now instead of onboard where I was expecting it.  

We enjoy lunches at Izumi and always order  a la carte.  On our upcoming Alaska cruise on the Ovation the menu listed on the Royal app does not include the ramen bowls which are my favorite.  Please tell me this is an error and they have not been removed.  Was looking forward to my special sea day lunches!

On 7/16/2023 at 12:03 AM, Merion_Mom said:

 

I am sorry that you were disappointed in your cruise.  I thought I would address these comments:

 

RC has gone to once a day cabin service, following NCL.  I expect that Carnival will follow soon.

 

There are never wine glasses in your cabin, unless you also  have wine delivered.  As you found out, when you ask, you get.  (you could also have picked some up at any bar)

 

You are not going to get ice unless you ask for ice.

 

🙂 

Carnival has had once a day stateroom service for a number of years now.

On 8/22/2023 at 1:52 PM, Starry Eyes said:

We will sail on Mariner on August 26 and Sept 29.  We will look for MDR embarkation lunch option and report back.

Curious to know if the dining room embarkation lunch happened on your August 26th sailing.  We will also be sailing September 29 and that would be a pleasant surprise.

A silly question but important to me.  Is there real butter onboard?  Not the whipped stuff they call butter but the foil wrapped real thing.
Recently cruised Carnival and they no longer have any.  I know, first world problems!! 

1 hour ago, ksmaxey said:

Pictures are included on my wordpress site.

 

 
The overnight transit from Port Everglades was quick.  After leaving port over 2 hours late the captain had us arriving on time at HMC.  The high winds overnight meant some gentle rocking and that made for some sound sleep.  We awoke at 7 AM and realized there was little time for exercise before breakfast and tendering began.  Not a problem because we planned to get our steps in exploring HMC.

After some time posting this morning we got ready for the day. We headed to breakfast at 8:30. Breakfast included fruit plates, Dungeness crab Benedict, and Buckwheat pancakes.  One thing we noted was that everyone was seated quite close together which was totally unnecessary given the small number eating in the dining room.  They haven’t asked us about sharing a table with other guests we aren’t traveling with which is no doubt a Covid protocol/precaution.
 

Just after Breakfast they announced that we had been cleared and could begin tendering.  The Rotterdam was also at HMC and while leaving port after us, had arrived before us or the number 1 “anchorage.”  Historically the larger ship would utilize the 2 Island tenders and the other ship would use it’s own smaller tenders.  Our friends had an excursion and were waiting in line and overhead much conversation.  Because of lower numbers the plan was for 1 tender to be used for each ship and no ship’s tenders.  One of the tenders wasn’t working initially which put a wrench in things as they had been preparing the ship’s tenders for use.  The second issue was that the high winds would have made for a rougher ride in a smaller tender.  At the last minute they were able to use the 2 tenders with one for each ship.

When the cruise director announced the tendering she also announced that because of the winds the employees that work many things on the island could not ferry to HMC from their home islands and so all cabanas, excursions and shops were closed and cancelled.  Later the captain shared that both captains had really pushed for this stop to happen with others ports being cancelled or at risk for cancellation.  The ride wasn’t bad and we didn’t visit to shop.  It was a gray day to begin with but 73 degrees.

We walked to where the horses and goats live.

We then walked the beach to end of the cove and got great shots of the ships.
 

We walked back and enjoyed complimentary clam shells while grabbing lunch and beer.  Lunch was grilled short ribs (flanken), ceviche, fish tacos with many more options.
 

We returned to the ship at 2 PM and kept ourselves busy until dinner in the Canaletto at 5:30.  This is an Italian restaurant in a corner of the Lido that pops up for dinner.  It is a shared plate with small plates and large plates.  I forgot pictures of the small plates but they included:  Salads, veal meatballs and carpaccio.  As always the service was great.  During dinner the sommelier stopped by to invite Janice and Kevin to a complimentary wine tasting on Tuesday.  Our waitress presented us with origami butterflies and flowers at the end of our meal.  (several staff shared how glad they were to be working and for HAL getting them vaccinated.)

Main course was osso buco  and short ribs with gnocchi
   

Desserts were fantastic as well
    

We made it to end of the captains toast in the main stage.  The crew toasted and the passengers were given coupons for sparkling wine later as a matter of Covid precautions.

We then enjoyed two sets of the B.B. King All Star Band before turning in.  This band is great and the music was blues and not as much 50’s and 60’s music that we heard on the previous two cruises.
 

A couple of other notes for those that cruise.  On deck 4 from midship forward the fire doors are closed and have large no entry crew only signs.  This is clearly the isolation/quarantine section of the ship.
We were able to confirm that you can no longer get San Pellegrino with any of the beverage packages.  They have added language that drinks must be under 500 ML.  Seems really dumb when a bottle is less than half of the cap but the are hoping you will opt for more smaller bottles of Perrier.  We never drink all of the beverages allotted but it does engender ill feelings.  If I was more passive aggressive I would order all 15 drinks and dump the extras.  As a shareholder I get it but as a passenger it feels like nickel and diming. 

We also heard from a crew member that the New Amsterdam is being used as a ship for those crew testing positive from both HAL and Princess.  (remember they both fall under the same umbrella under the CCL structure.)  The number cited was 400 crew in quarantine or isolation right now.  

On 8/4/2021 at 10:17 PM, roboref said:

They should allow cancellations along with full refunds due to people booking these cruises that were vaccinated and did not want to worry about testing. I would not have booked had a test been required. Now 17 days before my cruise, the rules are changed to have to test and wearing masks. I did not sign up under those parameters. RCL and Celebrity are allowing cancellations and providing refunds.

I called about our 8/26 Magic cruise when the covid testing email came out.  I was told we could cancel with full refund or take a FCC.

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

Shorts are fine at breakfast and lunch in the dining rooms.  No shorts at night in the dining rooms.

Just as I had hoped.  Thank you

I was looking at the different main dining rooms on the Apex on a large box store website.  It mentioned that no swimwear or shorts were allowed.  I can understand the no swimwear and also no shorts for dinner.  Is it true you can’t wear shorts in dining room for breakfast and lunch?  That is what I live in until evening.

We are sailing Sept 18th.  Curious as to what terminal # Apex sailed from.  We are thinking of taking the bus from the airport and wondering how far our walk would be to terminal.  Thank you

14 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

My wife and I love going to casinos ,especially on land .

We will never go back to a casino even after the pandemic ends.

If you love going why have you decided to never go again?

Just now, 4104ever said:

 

And we all know just how well that “call attendant” button works!  Lol, gamblers are not that patient!

22 hours ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

I love using the casino onboard, so I’d hate for it to go away. It seems like it’d be easy to have one person’s job be to wipe the buttons of each slot machine after someone leaves. You could maybe press the “call attendant” when you leave to alert them the machine needs to be sanitized. 

I am booked also and don’t expect to be sailing. I would cancel now but they only offered me FCC.  I believe if they cancel they will refund our $.  I had a RCCL cruise booked for May 12th which was cancelled a few weeks ago.  Still waiting for our refund for that.

You have a choice of 3 items from the dining experience menu.  All other items are ala carte with a 50% reduction with your package.  I have found the choices to be good.

The answer to that depends on the ship and the itinerary

I sailed in an interior this past summer on The Harmony with my 2 adult daughters.  We were perfectly fine with the room.  I had the sofa bed which was just as comfortable as theirs.  I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same again.

I will be sailing on the Meraviglia next month which will be my 8th MSC cruise since Sept 2017.  I have prepurchased items on the MSC site on each of those cruises and I have never had an issue with any of them.  Each and every item was as described and when I needed to make a change it was done so easily.  I always make my calls first thing in the morning and have had no more than a few minutes wait.

On 1/12/2020 at 8:52 AM, Markanddonna said:

Can we book the complimentary (free) dinner on the Seaside before our cruise?  I see that we can book it for $84.00 a person and we must put the meal expense on our credit card. Do we book it as soon as we board?  

Also, my DH's birthday is on day 2 of the cruise. Last year, I had more time onboard before we ordered the cake. Is this another situation where I just need to move quickly on the request as soon as we board or can we do that in advance?

 

Thanks.

You may order the birthday cake precruise.  You will find it under Enhance Your Cruise in Beverages.  (Yep, in beverages). Only MSC, lol.

1 hour ago, kidless said:

Leaving on Divina in couple weeks out of Miami. Does any one know what time you can access staterooms? Since it’s a 3 day cruise thinking of just carrying on my luggage .... is that allowed! Thank you

 

 tried to search for answer to this but couldn’t find! 

Staterooms on MSC typically are ready about 2:00 pm.  Carry on luggage should not be an issue as long as it will fit thru ex ray at security.

I have been on the Seaside twice, not in YC, and I have never felt like a second class citizen.  Seaside is beautiful and we have enjoyed every moment in “steerage”.

8 hours ago, tigger312 said:

Not purchasing drink pkg and just wondering if they have a daily happy hour

Not that I recall and I’ve sailed Divina twice without a drink package.  I will say that MSC drink prices are quite reasonable, especially compared to some of the other main stream cruise lines.

2.  If you are sailing with the casino VIP program there will be a cocktail party on embarkation day in the late afternoon.  Stickers are put on seapass card for free drinks in casino and they will have some very nice raffle items.

4.  I do the same and always feel that they remember me.  

6.  Correct.  Full price for anything not included in Easy package.

8.  Correct that you can prebook Cirque shows ahead of time.  Shows in Broadway theater should be reserved onboard.  There are numerous touch point screens shipwide to reserve all your shows in advance.  I strongly suggest this as they generally fill up.

Enjoy your cruise.  I was on Meraviglia in Oct and she is a beautiful ship.  Casino bar staff was the best I’ve ever experienced in my 50 cruises.

If she is a fussy eater I would take her to the buffet before the show.  

23 minutes ago, cmdchiefthom said:

MY WIFE AND I HAVE BEEN TO THE PORT OF BELIZE CITY SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS, AND AS WELSHY74 MENTIONED AND I AGREE WITH, IT IS SOMEWHAT DANGEROUS IF YOU DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO WHERE YOU MAY BE WALKING TO.  NCL GAVE UP ON THE PORT SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND LEASED, I BELIEVE, HARVEST CAYE AS THEIR OWN PRIVATE ISLAND.  THOSE PASSENGERS HAVING SHORE EXCURSIONS ON THE MAINLAND ARE FERRIED OVER TO THE PORT AND ARE TRANSPORTED ON  AIR CONDITIONED  BUSES TO THEIR EXCURSION DESTINATIONS.😉

Very pretty script but almost impossible to read.