pequita

Just finished a seven night cruise out of New Orleans on the Glory, October 9-16.  Great time on the cruise but I have never had this issue.  Start off saying I cruise a lot and I am mid sixties, 160 lbs and not a huge eater.  Food is subjective but I am focusing on the temperature and the quantity.

My first meal was upon boarding on the first day at the lido buffet.  The lasagna was room temperature, barely warm.  I went back and got  a small Asian style beef that they just put out and it was just warm.  This was the case on a few other times I ate at the lido buffet.  Even the rice was barely warm. Never did I see steam coming off anything.

In the main dinning room the food was hot but the portions were small.  I quickly learned to get three appetizers and an entree.  The shrimp cocktail consisted of four small shrimp.  The Caesar salad could have been served on a saucer.  With the main entree the meat portions were good but they were serve with five green beans, two sprigs of broccoli or a table spoon of rice.  You get the picture.  The food got lost on a ten inch plate where a salad plate would have made it look like you were getting something.  The cheese plate for dessert was laughable.  Each piece of cheese was 1/4 inch thick and about an inch long.  It came with five tiny grapes.  It became a joke of the table.

I did eat dinner in the Steakhouse one night.  The service was good, the Filet was cooked to perfection and the bake potato was the size of a plum.  I got only sour cream which was served in a small ramekin, about 1/2 teaspoon.  I ask for two more.  The cheese plate for dessert was three small pieces, one inch by one inch, kid you not.  I had never seen a square piece of Brie before.

Did I go hungry?  No, but I did go and end up eating pizza or something an hour or two after getting up from my dinner, something I never do.

Hopefully this is not the new norm.  I know you can order whatever you want and how many you want but the normal person would most likely not want to get an eight to ten course meal to feel full.

We use havanacar dot com to do a 6 hour tour of Havana.  We were very pleased with the tour and the companies service.  Everything was easy from booking on-line to the deposit and the quick response the company delivered.  Five gold stars all the way.

Our tour was the six hour car and walking tour on April 4,  2019.  Our driver was very prompt and met us exactly where they said he would be.  Answered all of our questions and gave us plenty of time to see the sights and did not rush us.

The walking tour was done by Hugo.  Very educated and informative.  Told us a wealth of knowledge and invited us to ask him anything.  He even asked if we wanted to see anything in particular.  His English was perfect along with his personality.

I would use this company again.  The guides were very proud of their country and wanted you to see it all.

I was booked in a junior suite complements of the casino (Club Royale).  Just had to pay the taxes and port charges.  I backed this cruise up by booking a Friday through Monday on the Mariner of the seas.  I was very flexible and tried to get something else, even out of FLL but nothing was available. 

Hate to fly fly down for the weekend cruise but Royal gave me, in my opinion a great future credit of  $537.00 plus my taxes and fees.  Don’t have any idea where they got that amount for a free cruise but I will take it.  I feel like I won in the casino and did not even step on the ship.

Sorry about the re-pet.  I did dis-embark on Friday.  Sorry, right church, wrong pew.

You will have a great time.  The pictures of the railings and trim are accurate.  The outside of the ship is in the need of a lot of stain, varnish and TLC.  This is not normal for any other of RCL ship to be in this much disrepair. The windows around the lido deck had no been cleaned for a long while.  The inside of the ship, hallways and staircases are spotless.  I don’t know why corporate left the lido deck get so bad.  

Just got off this ship on Saturday.  Got off at 8:20 and had luggage tag number 1.  Left the customs hall at 9:40.  Had only five custom agents, (one for the porters, one for the handicap and 3 for all the rest.). Do yourself a favor and use a porter and save yourself an hour. Never before have I ever spent that much time clearing customs.

Happy Birthday!

I agree with the OP.  The pictures of the railings and trim are accurate.  The outside of the ship is in the need of a lot of stain, varnish and TLC.  This is not normal for any other of RCL ship to be in this much disrepair. The windows around the lido deck had no been cleaned for a long while.  The inside of the ship, hallways and staircases are spotless.  I don’t know why corporate let  the lido deck get so bad.  

Just got off this ship on Saturday.  Got off at 8:20 and had luggage tag number 1.  Left the customs hall at 9:40.  Had only five custom agents, (one for the porters, one for the handicap and 3 for all the rest.). Do yourself a favor and use a porter and save yourself an hour. Never before have I ever spent that much time clearing customs.

Just got off the trans-Atlantic with this crew and it was like no other cruise I have been on. The entire crew was one big happy family and everyone worked well together. They were everywhere and very,very visible during the entire cruise. All the pa’s were very informative, you saw management eating in the windjammer and even went up to the guest for a short chat.

The CD Steve ran all the events great with his assistant and informed everyone of the upcoming events without going over the top.

Never have I been disembarking and had a Captain standing there thanking every passenger or shaking their hand. He truly is a people person and it shows.

I have sailed with him before and he was great but with the team of Captain Slaby and CD Steve Davis it was a very rememberable experience. I know a lot of people on this ship were talking about their great interaction with the guest. They and their teams made the cruise a rewarding crossing.

Drama, Drama, Drama. I am on the ship now and the crew is going up and beyond. No complaints from me. With all the PAs and notices people still do not use common sense. This morning the greeters at the windjammer would not let in a barefooted family. Then people grabbing their food after being told over and over it is not self serve. People eating with their fingers and then picking up the salt shakers.

I have heard several families say that this is there last cruise. I asked if they were sick and they responded no but the wanted their money back. What a joke.

In the end these people with not tell any of the good and wonderful things that they have encountered on the ship, just they had a big chance of getting sick. Bless they hearts.

I have been on both ships and cruised many a time. I would pick the Carnival Dream in a heartbeat over the Enchantment of the seas. The Dream is eight years old versus 20 years for the Enchantment. The Dream is a large ship with a good youth program and the decor is very toned down, not the Las Vegas look of their older ships. It is very Nice and feels like a resort.

Cruising out of New Orleans is a very nice experience and the port is a lot easier to get to than Galveston. Carnival ships come alive after 6pm with the shows, comedy clubs, dance venues and the popular piano bar. Royal Caribbean ship usually are quite after the shows.

The main dinning room food is better on Carnival and is always hot. You do not get the warm food like you do on Royal. The only draw back to Carnival is those dancing waiters every night which I hate but your daughter would love them.

Best of luck in your decision.

Just got off the Glory a week ago and on the last night a received a certificate for a free inside room for select sailings. I called Carnival today and tried to use it. I am not picky about my ship or where it sails out of. I am very flexible and cruise just to go and get away.

Boy, was I surprised when the representative said none of my sailing where available in Sept 2017 out of Florida or New Orleans. So I asked her to find me anything from September thu December and she said nothing was available.

In other words the certificate is basically useless. Funny thing is that I cruise the most in September thru November because school is back and most people do not want to cruise during hurricane season. I can always get a last minute unreal deal during this time frame.

So if you get one of these certificates, don't get too excited. Mine was worthless.

The dance captain said to me that they only do the aerial acts on the 12 day cruise and not the nine day.

Yes the lady probably could have handled it better but the main point that everyone is missing is that he had a beer in his hand. I have a friend that is in recovery and she says it is a daily struggle. A cruise ship is a hard place to be when you are recovering and the last place that expect alcohol is at an AA (friends of Bill W) meeting.

Just got back from the Vision of the Seas. The Captain of the ship, Captain Merick was unbelievable in every way. I have never seen a Captain so involved with his crew in my life. He was highly visible, very friendly, good anouncements and treated all the crew like a family and his team.

So out-going he was that he participated in all the crew shows, mingled with the guest at the windjammer on a daily basis and stopped you and asked about you and your experience on the ship.

He should be a bench-mark for all Captains. Everyone was talking about him and his invovement with his crew. His actions were notice by everyone and you could tell his crew or team respected him to the highest.

He is the best advertisment Royal Caribbean has.