Airbear232

Huh? Them’s fighting words! 🙂. EOS is one of our favourite ships. DW and I have been on her many times. Decent size and amenities. One of the few ships left with free sauna and steam. IMHO, best waiter in the fleet in Gopakumar Viswanathan in Chops. We were on her in May and had a great time. Have a wonderful trip.

It’s like a kind of hurricane season.

Thx, will do.

Which dates are you on? We’re on the Oct 8 out of Barcelona. BTW, you can go to MDR after boarding and change your seating. Whatever you prefer in terms of seating (with others or by self) request that now, then follow up on ship.

Upper management bonuses based upon profitability! That’s the image presented but scratch the surface and you’ll see a majority of senior execs are healthily compensated and bonused for barely mediocre results. The best thing for consumers would be for new players to come into the market and introduce some competition on quality and pricing.

On cruises, my DW and I pay our standard gratuities and then give those who have made our experience memorable extra in envelops. That’s been our choice. On reflection, however, I believe the whole tipping culture in N.A. has gotten to the point of being ludicrous. We’re in Toronto and now most take-out restaurants and coffee shops have the option for a tip presented when you pay electronically. You have to decline it, if you choose, prior to paying. For me, tipping used to mean the reward given for superior service. This is a personal definition for me. Over the years, this definition has broadened to include regular service in the recognition that most N.A. restaurants underpay their staff with the thought the staff will work harder to get good tips. I’d really like to see tipping going back to being for superior service. An interesting thought, what if CEOs such as Jason Liberty for Royal were given a nominal salary with the rest of their compensation made up of tips. I bet the quality of the food in the MDR would go up markedly!

To add to my previous note, look at YouTube videos on each ship as well as ports, this should help you decide which cruise is best for you.

For a first cruise, like others, I would choose Adventure. It has the Royal Promenade which is basically like a street running through the ship with shops and cafes. The Adventure also goes to Labadee and San Juan both great ports to walk about and find things to do right off the ship. Whichever you choose, have a great trip.

For us, we feel the quality of MDR food has gone down substantially over the years. I would say this both in terms of the quality of ingredients as well as the skills of the cooking staff. When we started with Royal a shrimp cocktail appetizer would have large fresh shrimp. Today, you get much smaller and not so fresh shrimp. In the past, bread in the MDR was fresh and hot. Today, cold and stale. Overall, DW and I feel the “old” MDR was in line with a specialty restaurant experience today.

Objective, fair and honest review. Was your server in Chops G (Gopakumar)? He was our waiter in May (as well as in many past cruises on Explorer) and by far the best we’ve ever had! Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

Thanks, it was to me carrying it across ships and pushing my aunt. After some consideration, we've opted for the Symphony of the Seas out of Barcelona in October. Still wondering if anyone has experience with the Roughrider Wheelchair.

The C&A policy is “each day of the cruise, Diamond members receive four (4) complimentary vouchers….all drink vouchers reset daily at 5:00 am…”. So, yes you do have have fresh vouchers on embarkation day.

Yes, I always get a latte before I get off.

Has anyone experience with the Roughrider wheelchair? I've seen online that it is meant for rough terrain and is quite sturdy though a bit heavy. We're thinking of getting one for a family member to go on a river cruise.

Hello, looking for feedback on a good wheelchair for use on a Viking River Cruise on the Danube. We're looking to travel with our Aunt who is 87 this autumn. She can walk a bit but will need a wheelchair to get the most out of port days. Has anyone used a wheelchair on Viking River cruises? Do you have any tips? Which excursions would you recommend from Amsterdam to Budapest? Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the feedback. I have been doing research and reading all I can on Viking and other sites and will contact them directly in the next few days. My Aunt can walk a bit and go up and down stairs. However, the amount of walking in Europe is too much. When we did the Baltic, we had no issue with a wheelchair on cobblestones and were able to navigate Stockholm, Visby, Helsinki, Riga and Tallinn easily. I'm hoping someone who travelled on Viking either in a wheelchair or with someone in a wheelchair will see this and reply on their experience.

My Aunt has always wanted to do a Danube River Cruise with Viking. However, she is 87 and has mobility issues. Last year, we did a Baltic Cruise on Royal and I was easily able to move her about in all of the ports. How are Vikings ships and river cruising, in general, for people who will need to aid of a wheelchair to really enjoy each port. My wife, aunt and I will travel together with Aunt in her own cabin. Any insight, tips and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all of your feedback, I'm glad there are so many people who are loyal to Princess. We'd haven't done an Alaska or Hawaii cruise yet and will consider them.

Our last cruise on Princess was 15 years ago on Caribbean Princess to the Southern Caribbean. While we loved the ship we had one very bad experience in St. Lucia as a result of advice given by the port and shopping guide. Suffice it to say based on her advice we almost missed the ship. We thought the information provided to us was wrong and gave her feedback that maybe this is something she shouldn’t recommend in the future. Not a big deal but upon giving feedback to the port and shopping guide, she was aloof, unsympathetic and defensive. We didn’t appreciate the attitude and notified customer service, who while not belligerent, provided no positive feedback or assurance that the issue would be addressed. While we loved that cruise overall, and it was our first cruise, we decided to opt for other cruise lines going forward and have done 30 cruises on other lines in the interim. Should we try Princess again. Do you find their service to be comparable to Royal and Celebrity?

We went during the time there were heavy floods. We flew in the week before and spent a three days in Rome, 2 in Florence and 3 in Venice. This was when there were heavy floods in that area of the country. Our train going from Florence to Venice was delayed a few hours in transit. The one smart thing we did was to book Royals transfers from Venice to ship and from ship to airport at the end of the cruise. Because of flooding, Ravenna was closed and the cruise departure was moved to Trieste. This is where booking the transfers with Royal saved us as they were responsible for getting us from Venice to ship and from ship to airport. If you will be in Ravenna, then its just a taxi ride. However, if you are leaving immediately after the cruise, I recommend the transfers from ship to airport. Have a great trip.

The hard part is getting to Ravenna for the cruise. If you’re there a day before - great. Your cruise will also end in Ravenna and not Venice. So, you’ll have a little commute to get to Venice. We were on EOS in May. It was a great cruise. I hope you have a wonderful trip.

Either through the Royal app or calling Royal Caribbean.

Yes, you can link reservations and Royal will be happy to take your money for excursions and specialty dining.

I was on EOS in May and happily found they were still there! One of the reasons I love EOS. Also, they have kept the MDR intact and not cut it up.

The word is the “Wizard of Oz” will be the show on the Icon.