karmacats

My experience has also been that the service charge/gratuity is added in many other countries (my travels have mostly been to Europe and the Caribbean).

 

May I ask what the per person cost of afternoon tea is at the pastry shop? And do they take credit cards and/or US$?

 

The pastry shop's website say they charge $23.75pp for afternoon tea, but it doesn't say whether they take credit cards. Here is a link to the site - http://www.thedockyardpastryshop.com/new-page/

 

Yes, the tea was just under $25 per person. The $23.75 sounds right. They take both US dollars and credit cards. I think we paid with our Visa card.

 

We've never been charged a service charge in all our travels around Europe, nor were we charged a service charge at our lunch in Bermuda (the receipt is sitting right in front of me). It's been a while since we've been to Europe, and we tend to find local hole-in-the-wall ethnic places to eat, so maybe that's why? We'll be in France, Spain and Italy again next year, so i'll keep an eye open for it, not that it's a big deal. :) I've heard a service charge is pretty common in the Caribbean, especially places that see a lot of tourist traffic, but thinking back i don't tend to eat out much when we're there because it's usually on a cruise and we're stuffed. ;)

We were on a 14 night TA and did not have a coconut menu. that is new to us.

 

interesting. i wish i had known it might be truly new - i would have taken a picture of it. i think i had steak diane that night, which was ok (good sauce, meat not the best quality), but can't recall anything else.

The current menus are named after spices/sauces. The only news I've read is that one of them (maybe Sage?) has been changed.

 

just off the 5-night 8/8/15 liberty cruise to bermuda. our third night was a "coconut" menu i'd never seen before, on any royal ship. as we've never done a cruise longer than 8 nights, i just presumed it was one that's usually only on longer cruises, and for some reason they added it to our rotation. but maybe it's new? this is my fourth cruise on liberty, and 3rd 5-nighter on her, and i've never had this menu.

 

someone on the 5-nighter a cruise or two before mine had kindly posted the menu order and there was no coconut - in fact, that darn coconut menu made me miss my favorite menu (the italian one with the chicken marsala) because the italian menu was served on night 4 instead of 3 and we were in chops that night. :(

Automaticly adding a service charge or tip is very common, almost the norm outside the USA. I always look at the bill first.

 

they do not give you a bill. you just go inside to the cash register and pay there. i don't know how they keep track, but our server just told us to pay downstairs, and when we went to the cash register they rang us up (correctly) for three afternoon teas. i'm sure if it was on a bill that we were presented with, we would have noticed it.

 

fwiw, we have traveled all over the world (including europe, australia, new zealand, mexico, south america, etc) and have not found an included service charge to be a common practice. i don't know where you've traveled that it's common, but it's not been our experience. also, this is somewhat of a gut feeling and nothing more, but it did strike me in this case as kind of sketchy. as i said, it wouldn't stop us from eating there again, and it's our fault for not catching the tiny type at the bottom of the menu, but it's something i thought others might want to be aware of in case they haven't brought a magnifying glass to read the fine print.

I'm going to Bermuda in October and would love to hear what you think of the Dockyard pastry shop. If it's good, I'll be hitting it all three days we're there! :D

 

Just back from our trip to bermuda. we'd never been there before and it way exceeded our expectations.

 

As for the pastry shop, it was delicious. The inside area is very tiny - just a pastry counter and standing room to order them. You can sit outside in the courtyard or upstairs in the air conditioned bistro, which is what we did for tea. The stairs were steep and difficult for my mom, who walks with a cane, but it was very hot and she wanted the A/C.

 

Tea was good. I'd recommend it, but with some qualifications.

 

The tea wasn't supposed to start until 2 pm, but i had gone into the pastry shop at 1 to inquire about how long tea took as our ship had an early sailaway, and the folks behind the pastry counter were very nice and said if we wanted to come a little early we could. So, we started tea at 1:30 instead of 2. normally you can show up any time between 2 and 5 for the tea, but if they are not busy, they said they can usually accommodate people a little early.

 

My mom, DH, and i all had the tea. we each got our own personal teapot, plus a tray of little sandwiches and pastries. There were two types of sandwiches, cucumber cream cheese and smoked salmon cream cheese, and three types of pastries, a berry tart, a rhubarb tart, and almond cookies. There were also scones with cream and jam, though the jam was just the type in little foil packets. They had a decent tea selection (maybe 8-10 types) and the pastries were fantastic. It was very casual - not like high tea at the ritz or anything. :p

 

The reasons i said i'd recommend it but only with qualifications:

 

1. i am not supposed to have caffeine so asked for decaf, and the only decaf they had was chamomile and "decaf black tea." i asked for the latter, thinking it would probably be english breakfast or something similar, as that's pretty typical for an afternoon tea. nope, it was liptons. i was pretty disappointed in that - most places have at least a few decaf selections, including a better black decaf than liptons. i have no idea what brand of tea they serve for the other teas, though my mom and DH both liked theirs.

 

2. despite my DH saying he was allergic to nuts, they served him almond cookies. there was no explanation of what everything was, but luckily he asked before eating one. once we asked, we did get a full rundown of everything on the plate.

 

3. the pastry counter was full of wonderful-looking chocolate desserts, but everything they gave us was non-chocolate. i am not a fruit person so ended up eating two almond cookies (mine and DH's) and a scone, and that's it. everything on the plate was also in the pastry counter, so it's not like they have special tea pastries or anything - they could just as easily have grabbed the chocolate ones as they did the fruit ones. so, if you are a chocolate person i would definitely ask for the chocolate pastries when you order. most teas we've done in the past give you a mix of fruit and sweet/chocolate goodies.

 

fwiw, the cookies and scone were very good, and i tasted the rhubarb tart and could tell it was also very good even though not my thing. my mom and DH raved about the berry tart, too. i was just disappointed they did not include at least one of the chocolate offerings.

 

4. we left a 20% tip on the table upstairs, but then were charged a 17% tip when we paid the bill at the pastry counter downstairs. the tip was listed in the "tax" column on the receipt so we didn't really think anything of it at first, until my mom's cousin commented on it, and showed us the menu posted outside that had the tiny print at the bottom that all orders were charged 17% tip. our fault, i guess, for not noticing the miniscule type on the bottom of the menu, but i'm only used to automatic tipping for large parties, not 3 people (my mom's cousin didn't want tea so went shopping instead and just came back to pick us up). our server was very sweet and i don't begrudge her the extra money, but it struck me as kind of shady, especially as it was listed on the receipt as tax.

 

Long story short, i would recommend the afternoon tea, but make sure to ask for the pastries you want, and be aware of the automatic tip. i would definitely return here for pastries or smoothies (we didn't get smoothies, but a lot of people ordered them and they looked delicious), and probably even for tea again if they would give me at least a little chocolate - i can live with the liptons if i have good pastries. :D

Has anyone taken the Triangle excursion?

 

We did the bermuda triangle glassbottom boat nighttime excursion last week (through royal caribbean, though i think the tickets said it was booked through fantasea cruises). we thought it was excellent. honestly, i was pleasantly surprised - DH and i had done a glassbottom boat tour many years ago in the bahamas and it was horrible so we weren't expecting much, and only signed up for this because my mom was with us and wanted to do it. well, now i'm totally glad she made us go - it was a blast.

 

our tour was 1.5 hours. it took about half an hour to get to the reef and wrecks where they turn the lights on under the boat. during that ride out to the reef, they had a guide tell us a little about bermuda and the triangle, and then answer any bermuda-related questions we had. the guide on this trip was a 5th-generation bermudan and very knowledgeable, as well as funny. we were on the top deck for that portion so we could watch the island as we sailed away and then we could see the stars - it was dark enough after about 15 min that we could see the milky way, and some early perseid meteors.

 

once we got to the reef we went below to look through the glass bottom, and then stayed below as we travelled for 2 minutes to a wreck. another guide talked all about the sea life on the reef and then about the wreck we were seeing. that portion took about half an hour, and then another half hour back to port. on the half hour back there was no guide narration, but you could still ask questions, and they also gave out free rum swizzles and sodas.

 

a couple of random points -

 

there are bathrooms on the boat. :)

 

my mom has mobility issues and walks with a cane, and they were very, very accommodating and helpful.

 

both my mom and i have been known to get seasick on smaller boats like that, but did not on this trip. the ride was very smooth.

 

we did tip the guides at the end, but they certainly did not have their hands out or anything.

 

because the sea temperature in bermuda gets much colder than in the caribbean, the reefs and fish are not as colorful as further south. still very cool to see, though.

 

if you have any specific questions, just let me know. i'd highly recommend this tour, if you couldn't tell. :D

The 28 suites in Sky Class is for Quantum Class ships; I count 75 Sky Class suites on the Oasis Class ships. However, the number of Star Class suites is the same in both classes at 11 (there might be 1 more or less on the new Harmony since it has a slightly different layout on deck 17 from the Allure and the Oasis and it has the 4-bedroom family suite that is not on those ships). Interestingly, more of the Star Class Suites are available to couples on Quantum Class ships since the Quantum Class ships do not have multi-bedroom family suites in Star Class.

 

ok, that's a pretty decent difference between quantum and oasis class, though i guess to be expected given the larger overall size of oasis. even so, it's such a small number compared to the overall passenger capacity i'd think additional perks would be possible. i guess we'll see - hoping that some other posters are right and that royal eventually adds some perks to sky class.

 

we're spending 3 weeks on harmony next fall, including 2 weeks in a GS - they're going to be wishing they gave me free laundry. :D

When u sailed out on day 1 and b4 u went to ur cabin? Were any pools, hotubs or splash area open yet?

 

yes, all open, at least on last week's cruise.

The problem is simply that the number of Star Class suites is so ridiculously small.

 

I think this is what's bothering me. The vaunted new perks are only available to a handful of people, and practically impossible to get if you're a couple.

 

if there are really only 28 rooms in the sky class suites, it wouldn't cost royal much to give those rooms at least some of the amenities of star class, especially the more expensive sky class rooms like CLs and OSes. Maybe it could be a choice between prepaid gratuities, free drink package, or free specialty restaurants, rather than all of them like star class get.

 

as someone who bounces pretty regularly between balcony rooms, GSes, OSes, and CLs, i'd be fine with the more expensive OS and CL rooms getting more perks than the GSes. if anything, this makes me more likely to just book a GS than shell out more for an OS or CL - i don't know why, as it's not like the perks differed before, but i think that under the new program i was just expecting more for the more expensive suites.

 

as i said to DH last night, nothing like shelling out big bucks for a CL and then being made to feel like a second-class citizen. i was joking, but only sort of.

Sorry if a little OT, but to the poster who asked how to get in touch in an emergency, there is a phone number someone on land can call that will get them in touch with your stateroom on the ship.

 

(888) 724-7447

 

you will need to give them the following info.

 

Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean

Ship: _________ of the Seas

Departure Date:

Room number:

 

It costs $8/minute :eek:, so is really only for emergency use.

 

as far as the internet package, i really liked the "60 minutes to use any time you want" cheapo one. we would check in for 5 min every evening to make sure my mom was ok (she's elderly and lives with us), but otherwise we like to be disconnected. i was on one of the quantum cruises with free internet and while it was nice, it also changed the whole experience for us - we prefer to be without. so now i have to pay a ton of money for 5 min of internet usage a day, or not buy a package and spend all trip worrying about my mom because i can't check in on her. not happy about that at all.

The current problem with Staten Island is that they are rebuilding the Bayonne Bridge between Staten Island and Bayonne and there are frequent bridge closures on the weekend.

 

And thank you, carol, for this info. as steamed as i am now, it would have been worse if i tried to go over the bayonne bridge saturday morning! :D

closures about the bayonne bridge (and other local bridges) can be found here:

http://www.panynj.gov/alerts-advisories/advisories-bayonne-bridge.html

 

of course i'm staying at the hampton inn in staten island tonight (friday) and leaving from cape liberty on saturday, and the bridge will be closed. :mad: i wish i had known earlier, as i just would have changed to a newark airport hotel, but now i can't cancel without losing my money. oh well, at least i know it's a nice hotel. but paying $14 to get into staten island just to turn around to go back into nj really steams my hide. :rolleyes:

Last year we did a 4-night halloween cruise on the dream, and the year before that did a 3-night also on the dream. each year they offered the nightmare before christmas sing and scream twice per cruise. they were at very inconvenient times - like in the afternoon when we were in port - but i was bummed to have missed it in 2013 so last year we made sure to go. they show the movie in the large theater, have some effects, and at the end the jack and sally costumed characters come out and you can get pictures with them. i don't recall any other nightmare before christmas-specific events.

If you're an Amazon Prime member you could have them by Wednesday ;)

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aglow%20in%20the%20dark%20golf%20balls

 

is it bad that the first thing that jumped out at me on that page is the "exploding golf ball" trick balls? :D

 

i've never bothered to sign up for prime because i live in a major metro area and usually get my shipments in 2-3 days even with free shipping and no prime membership. with my luck this would be the order that came late. :p i may try, though. DH and I have a mini-golf competition every cruise.

just check the compass, as sometimes they have after-dark mini golf tournaments for the teens/tweens. otherwise, the course is totally open after dark. it's fun, but windy.

 

the glow in the dark golf balls are a great idea. i wonder if i could find some last-minute - i leave on liberty this saturday. :D

I'm going to Bermuda in October and would love to hear what you think of the Dockyard pastry shop. If it's good, I'll be hitting it all three days we're there! :D

 

Will let you know. We leave in 6 days! :D

glad to finally see the cafe promenade!

 

wonderland looks awesome. we did it on quantum and are looking forward to doing it again on harmony.

Ask a bored nephew to stick a slide in an Oasis-class ship's Boardwalk and he comes up with this!

 

I go down a slide like THAT I may not exit it in one piece. :rolleyes:

 

 

That reminds me of the staircase to dumbledore's office in the harry potter movies. maybe if you stand on the bottom and say "sherbet lemon" it'll rotate you to the top. see, now we know how you'll get to the *top* of the slide, at least. :D

Thanks Karmacats.... Well they charge out the kazoo and you get very little in return, so we are looking to get married on the deck of our aqua suite 😀! And I just put the word out to see if there is an ordained minister on our roll call that might be interested in marrying us..... It's about 5k for not much and we have both been married before so would rather spend money like that on the honeymoon ;)

 

I hear ya! weddings are insanely expensive - i guess even on a ship! :D I second the getting-a-friend-ordained-online thing, if you don't find a minister on the roll call.

Royal has a good price on some of their salings, so i figured i would give the worlds biggest ship a try. How does the fair work with Royal? If i book next week and the fair goes down before final payment do i get the difference?

 

Yes, as long as it's before final payment. They will not automatically adjust it, but if you check and see a price drop, you can call and they will apply it.

 

Some price drops or sales will indicate they are for new bookings only. Most of the time these restrictions don't exist, and even when they do sometimes royal will give you the new price anyway even on an existing booking. However, you should be aware that some sale prices or price drops may be unavailable to you.

 

After final payment, you cannot get a price drop, but if a higher category has dropped to below the price you paid, you can often upgrade for no cost. Similarly, if a higher category has dropped in price but is not as low as you paid, you can pay the difference between what you already paid and the new price to upgrade. (I hope that made sense :D ).

 

I obviously haven't looked at all of harmony's dates, but fwiw jan/feb 2017 seem to have the best deals. I'm on feb 25 and i've never seen prices so low.

Thanks for the replies thus far... Loved the pictures :)... Anybody have any suggestions on decor I could use out on the deck for a sunset wedding? I know someone out there has to be more creative than I on how to make that space beautiful for a short ceremony on the suite deck

 

if you do a google search for "royal caribbean royal romance" (without the quotes) you'll get to the official royal caribbean page for weddings etc. someone on one of my roll calls is doing a vow renewal through them and has been very pleased so far. from what i understand, you can have them arrange something as simple as decorations and/or a cake, or as elaborate as the whole shebang. i don't know if this helps, but figured i might as well pass it along. in any event, congrats on the wedding. :)

 

and to get back on topic, as someone doing 20 nights in a row on harmony (7-night med B2B with the 13-night transatlantic) free laundry would be at the top of my wished-for suite perks list for sure! :D

[quote name='sauvichick']If you go to a specialty restaurant the 1st night you get 20% OBC of the cover.[/QUOTE]

i'd heard that, but i hate missing the MDR the first night. i like meeting our servers and settling in. i'm also concerned my mom might be too exhausted to really enjoy it - this is her first cruise, she has some major health issues and doesn't travel much, and has mobility issues to boot, so i think just travel to port, muster drill, mandatory meeting for her dialysis-at-sea group, getting comfortable on the scooter we rented her, etc will be enough for her on day 1. she is very excited to go, but i think she can't picture how big the ship actually is and how much there is to do! she did fine at disney a couple of years ago with a scooter and copious rest breaks, but arrival day is always tiring.

i will look into the $20 thing, though - probably stick with day 4 for chops, but work it around "in the air" times. the way the announcement is worded makes it sound like you have to eat there every night to get the $20, but others made it out to sound like you could eat there once for $20. i guess i'll find out. :)

thanks again!

[quote name='sauvichick']
1. DAY 1-7:15 Welcome aboard show which consisted of a sample from a comedian and a performer from "In the Air."
DAY 2-"Saturday Night Fever" 6pm & 8:30.

DAY 4-7pm & 8:45. In the Air

2. The $20 offer was available and on The Day 1 cruise compass.

I don't understand all the negative reviews with Chops. We went twice and thought it was great. The filet mignon was perfect. You should definitely go to Portofino.[/QUOTE]

Thank you so, so much for this and the compass! We were planning on Chops for night 4 figuring it wouldn't matter so much to miss a headliner, so it's very very helpful to know that "in the air" is that night so we can schedule dinner accordingly.

I've almost always had good luck at Chops, too. 3 out of 4 visits on various ships (including Liberty) have been great; the other so-so and that was many years ago (2008). I showed my mom menus for chops and portofino and she said she'd rather do chops, so as of now, chops it is. with such a short cruise, i don't know if we really have the time (or stomach space!) for two specialty restaurants, but we shall see.... :p

Thanks again! You've really made my planning a lot easier. :)

Not sure what it is. Sorta like a one man roller coaster in the jungle. Thinking maybe a cool runnings like experience in Jamaica. Maybe something at Labadee? Anyone?

 

I'm pretty sure you're referring to the dragon's breath coaster at labadee. i think it's similar to an alpine-slide-type coaster, not a true roller coaster. i haven't seen the commercial; just going on what you said.

The pastry shop at the dockyard offers an afternoon tea. I have not done it yet (hope to in two weeks! :D) so don't know how it is, or how formal. I have heard the pastry shop itself is quite good. If Kings Wharf is the same as the Dockyard (I haven't been to Bermuda before, so I'm clueless on its geography), it'll be close to the ship, at least.