Pellaz

On 3/25/2023 at 9:19 AM, Vitamin_Sea said:

its so hard to choose...Can we order more then one app or entree?

I'm pretty sure you can order more than one appetizer and more than one side, but only one entrée.  And that's fine; I'd expect the same policy at any landside steakhouse. 

I looked at that menu and thought "hmm, I can limit myself to two appetizers if I forfeit the stuffed mushrooms for a side order of sauteed mushrooms...but that would put me firmly in the realm of three (3) sides."  😮   🙂  

8 hours ago, Sabalon said:

I like finding the out-of-the way places to relax away from everything.   Lido isn't it!

We were just on Elation and I kept wondering around trying to find some decent seating where it was quiet, and some shade.  Not much luck.

While walking around early, we found a nice area on Verandah...covered...comfy chairs with cushions. We quickly figured out that was the smoking section.  Guess they get the nice stuff.

I'm fairly sure the portside of Verandah Deck has the same comfy chairs but with 100% less smoking.  

Also, the aft Serenity area on the Fantasy-class ships, while small, has a nice benefit:  it is almost completely OUT of the wind...the same strong winds that can be a major factor for Serenity when it's situated at the front.  

I loved the fact that the hot-tubs there* didn't officially close until midnight...and one night they kinda forgot and didn't close them until 2 am.  🙂   

-----

 *  This was on Imagination (r.i.p.), but same class

34 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

If there is one near you, Culver's has the best fish sandwich hands down.

Their "butter" burgers are pretty good, too!   They're scarce in the ATL metro...but there are a few.  

8 hours ago, carrieluvsgreg said:

On the Dream class they tried adding hot tubs to draw folks out there but it isn't a great fit as wet bathing suits aren't great inside on Promenade.  We sailed on the Horizon in the Mediterranean on the second voyage and don't remember much about the ship because our sailing was so port intensive, but do remember the bbq lunch served at Pig and Anchor was nearly vacant on embarkation day.

That's partly due to the fact that they realllly push people to go up to Lido Deck for lunch on embark day.  We're happy it's therefore less crowded at Guy's BBQ... As well as at Jiji's Asian Kitchen and Cucina del Capitano, which are also uncrowded on embark day.  We make a beeline for them (2 out of the 3, usually) as soon as we board. 

In fairness, the vast majority of lunchtime dining is on the Lido Deck:  Buffet, Guy's, Blue Iguana, pizza place, etc., so it makes sense to generally direct people there.

14 hours ago, mz-s said:

Even McDonald's brings back the McRib and takes away the Filet-O-Fish throughout the year.

Supposedly McRib's most recent nationwide deployment was THE last time, and they're done with it.   We'll see....  

As for the Filet-o-Fish, it's available all year, although some stores might not have it on the menu (or have it up continuously) depending on the type of display they have.  

11 hours ago, staceyglow said:

A little while back, John Heald posted a picture of the crew's mess.  It had a big sign listing all of the available entrees, which, of course had many items from the cremembers' home countries.  Some of them sounded really delicious!

We were once told during a Behind the Fun tour that the crew galley has a 28-day rotation for menu entrees, as opposed to the 7- or 8-day rotation in the MDR.  😮    

If so, that's pretty awesome for the crew, who have to contend with shipboard menu options 4 or 6 months at a time.  

11 hours ago, staceyglow said:

I propose that they should have a "crew favorite" menu item every night.  The supply chain is already in place for those dishes, and it would just be a matter of preparing more on that night.  I think it is also a nice way to bond with the crew members and a good topic of conversation you can literally have with any one of them:  "I see that the crew favorite on tonight's menu is the shawarma.  Have you had it?  Is it good?"

Now THAT is a great idea.   I might not like the crew choices (I've a feeling many of them would be spicier than I prefer 🙂 ), but it would be nifty to see what those choice are.  

10 hours ago, craig01020 said:

I sailed twice with Royal in the last six months, and I kept thinking about how much I missed Carnival's MDR which has meals that I can pronounce and actually enjoy!

I sailed on Freedom OTS in February and I was, umm, underwhelmed. 

I'm still not sure if they backpedaled the MDR dining quality because it was a charter cruise and most passengers aren't used to cruising and wouldn't notice it, or if it was normally as sub-par as it seemed to me.   At least the Windjammer (buffet) was decent.  

19 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

The only time Oasis came close to failing was in 2017, with an 87 (still passing).  Allure had a couple of low, but still passing scores in 2017 as well.  Even if a ship fails a USPH inspection, it usually doesn't result in the inspection taking longer, and it doesn't affect embarkation, as the USPH wants to see a meal service as part of the inspection.

 

Found only one RCI failing score, Adventure in 2015.

Huh, I'd swear I'd been linked to the actual USPH data page, from a thread on CruiseCritic in fact, showing the scores at that time.   Oh, well.  Memories fade.  

On 3/30/2023 at 4:47 PM, wreckem2013 said:

$219-$240 is the normal price. Booking directly through Atlantis is $250 a person. $50 was clearly a pricing error and almost everyone booking knew it.

For groups of two or more, it might be cheaper -- possibly MUCH cheaper -- to invoke the Comfort Suites Paradise Island "hack."  

At least it's not a US Public Health inspection.  The Oasis (or it might have been Allure) failed its first USPH inspection right after US deployment.  😮   

17 hours ago, mz-s said:

Color makes no difference...

In society that should definitely be true...but Carnival has traditionally color-coded each deck separately.  

Tag color HAS made a difference in the past:  the unknown luggage that got dumped at our cabin door on one cruise had the same cabin number-ending, but was one deck directly below ours.   And sure enough, the other cruisers had printed theirs in grayscale.  

After seeing THAT mis-delivery, we've printed ours in color ever since.    

As for the current changing of the colors, that's a mystery.  Delivering 3,000+ pieces of luggage is a herculean task.  I can only assume they're switching their methodology...which is great, IF it works.   (See the Royal board and the MTD discussion there for an example of a change that hasn't.)  

10 hours ago, Jeafl said:

I'm guessing it is because of people like the guy we had at our table last time who had ELEVEN lobster tails on elegant night. 

Only eleven?   Feh.   That's amateur-level.   😄  

Way back in c. 2012, the chef de cuisine aboard Imagination (may she r.i.p.) told us that the record for lobster tails in one sitting on that ship was EIGHTEEN.   

--And the fleetwide record was....  TWENTY-TWO.  😮   

[This is not a call for action.  Please exercise safe mastication, and only with a responsible adult present.  California mileage probably lower.  Please do not attempt to move a boarding train.]  

2 hours ago, kalmich said:

Yes, I have been bitching about this myself!  I saw the new Royal menus and they look way better. 

Judging from the vitriol over on the Royal board, you'd be a solid minority there.  A lot of comments...and most of them negative.  

For me, I have no problem with the MDR, but my cruise-friends and I only average one Carnival cruise per year so we don't really get tired of it.  I suspect that anyone who cruises frequently on one particular line would get tired of the offerings...no matter which cruise line it was.  

On 3/31/2023 at 3:42 AM, Kbonner said:

Tell the Mafiosi longshoremen that inflation hurts you as well as them. Hand him 2 dollars for 2 pieces

No lie detected here, either.  🙂  

2 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Besides X, they also don't have the problem on Carnival or Princess.  Both lines can handle MTD and traditional at the same time.  And there is no way that you can convince me that a higher percentage of people that cruise on RCI want early dining versus those that cruise on Carnival.

With many people wanting to attend the later-evening "adult" comedy shows on Carnival -- which are generally regarded as being one of the line's strengths -- I think a LOT of people on Carnival prefer early dining (whether early traditional or early YTD) so they can get out and see the shows.  I know our group has opted for c. 6 pm YTD for that exact reason, although our preference is 6:45 - 7 pm.  

Due to the way Carnival handles YTD, the "middle hours" tend to be busiest for YTD on average:  after all, if you wanted to eat early or late EVERY evening, you'd simply choose early or late traditional seating.  We like having the flexibility of being able to choose each night, and Carnival handles it well.  

Of course, on the Excel-class ships, choosing YTD is a no-brainer, since it automagically gives you access to the Italian and Asian-Mexican fusion specialty restaurants onboard as part of your standard complimentary dining choices, beginning with 5:45 pm bookings.  Traditional diners have to wait until 7 or 7:30 pm to reserve tables at those restaurants on the app.  

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

We may be in agreement about the state of MTD on RCI, but I will fully disagree with you regarding who the main competition is for RCI.  You state it's NCL, who is number 3 in sales and I'll state it's Carnival, who is number 1.  Because of their freestyle policy, NCL walks to the beat of a different drummer and even though many Loyal Royals will disagree, RCI and Carnival are more similar than different.

That ^^^ was my thinking in a nutshell.  NCL does things wholly differently with "Freestyle."  Some folks love it, some folks (hi, Mom!) HATED it.   

--But Royal and CCL have been closer together regarding dining operations for years...and it's a shame that Royal is having such a hard time implementing (or re-implementing?) MTD compared to their closest competitor.  

4 hours ago, GrannyJ said:

I figured they were afraid she was going to threaten to clip the captain's nails too short unless he skipped the Nassau stop.......

Heck, I might help.   😄

"Nassau:  it ain't much...but at least it's slightly better than Freeport!" (tm)   

On 3/29/2023 at 4:18 AM, rg123 said:

Traditional seating typically is  5 or 5:30 these days with MT starting at 6:30 I believe or more often 6:45

Wow.  

Just...wow.  

On 3/29/2023 at 11:50 AM, LobsterStalker said:

The simple reason that NCL 'Freestyle' dining works (and works well) is because there whole dining system is geared that way ! 

Royal on the other hand wants to compete with NCL on this issue , but is unwilling to drop traditional dining altogether...

No, they're trying to compete with Carnival (and some others) more than Norwegian, since Carnival has had traditional and YTD in place for many years now.    NCL is ALL "freestyle," and it's safe to say that RCI will not be going THAT route.    (I AM curious as to how Norwegian schedules their tables, assuming that they do so dynamically.)  

12 hours ago, sowhat said:

Table for 2 on Wonder of the Seas

We had the same arrangement on the Freedom back in February, and I laughed when I saw it.  "Hey, this reminds me of some of the 2-tops we've had on Carnival!  I thought Royal was better than that, at least!"  

It wasn't all bad.  This was a music charter with 60 performing bands, and we were sandwiched between members of two of them...with two more catty-corner from us.  That was kinda cool.  

12 hours ago, jcearth said:

Was on Mardi Gras last month.  You get 15 seconds from the time your card is accepted to complete your soda pour.  

Yep, I thought it was 20 whole seconds, and it's actually less.  

As I said earlier, folks...  Get your ice dispensed BEFORE you go for a soda.  

The ice dispenser works regardless of the card being scanned, but of course all of the drink stations in the Lido Marketplace have complimentary ice. 

4 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

They do know exactly how many are signed up for MTD.  Problem is most do not want a set time so they do not make reservations, secondly most of those signed up want to eat at the 6:45 opening. That is why even though dining opens at 6:45 people are lining up without reservations at 6.

It's been a long time since I've cruised RCCL with ANY dining times.  The music charter I go on is open seating each night, with only the lowest level of three open in the MDR, and there's never a wait.

Are you saying that traditional set-time dining only opens at 6:45?   I'm used to a 6:00 pm start on Carnival, and I think their YTD opens at 5:30?  5:45?  

4 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

I always lock my checked luggage. It at least makes it on the ship and ship security check things.

So, if the shore-side X-ray machines detect an unauthorized item in your checked luggage....what then?   

4 hours ago, poocher said:

Our shuttle from Ft Lauderdale to POM is only $15 pp.  easily covered by the cheaper hotel rates.

That IS a good rate.  If it's allowed here, what hotel offers that?  

On 3/25/2023 at 4:24 AM, CruizinSusan70 said:

Why does RCI have such a problem handling this when all of their competitors post Covid handle MTD with no problem whatsoever starting about 530?  On Carnival you check in on their app and you're given an approximate time you need to wait.  When your slot clears, you get a confirmation. 

I've been reading this topic with unfeigned surprise.  I'm a little startled about how poorly Royal handles MTD as compared to YTD ("Your time dining") on Carnival.   After checking in on the Carnival app, which allocates tables in realtime dynamically, we've only had to wait longer than ten minutes once, on "cruise elegant" night, for our party of 7...extending back through 3 cruises (Horizon, Mardi Gras, Magic).   The longest wait was around 25 minutes.  

It's especially surprising considering many people select their MTD timeslots on Royal pre-cruise.  That should let the dining staff know exactly what sort of volume to expect in advance.  

On 3/7/2023 at 8:30 AM, Cayman1 said:

While I agree with your comment, the last time we were there they were grabbing our arms and pulling us to their booth. I had to set a couple of them straight. It was like a bunch of rats on a cheeto. 

I understand they are trying to make money for their families, and I respect that. But when you start using profanity and touching my family, that is crossing the line.

Yep, THIS.  

On 3/7/2023 at 7:30 PM, sunluva said:

The last time I walked through (April) they had security guys walking around.  As a vendor approached me a security guard asked 'is everything OK ma'am'.  I said I was fine. I was familiar with the sometimes aggressive vendors. The guard walked along with me for a bit  and he was telling me that there have been so many complaints of aggressive vendors that they are trying to make it less stressful for the cruise passengers. I'm not sure if this is a regular thing now but this was back in April 2022. 

I was there on a charter cruise a few years pre-COVID and saw ships' security officers keeping an eye on the Gauntlet.  We had already been warned about the over-aggressive vendors at Labadee and the presence of those officers pretty much confirmed it. 

I managed to avoid the Gauntlet, but I DID tip the native drummers who were performing near Columbus Cove since I play African and Middle-Eastern percussion myself and they were quite good.  

38 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I agree, all commercial ports, at least as you said the cargo and cruise ports are unionized.  

 

I actually like the Port of Miami.  But, I don't give a damn for Miami, one bit.  That's why when I cruise out of Miami, I always stay in Ft. Lauderdale/Dania Beach.  Cheaper too.  

I really and truly HATE driving in Miami -- last October I was rear-ended HARD just ten minutes short of our pre-cruise hotel, plus I've gotten lost once (on my 3rd cruise waybackwhen) and spent an hour trying to get to our hotel.  The port itself isn't too bad, especially with the "new" tunnel in place, but I much prefer driving in Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood/Dania Beach.  

I'd prefer to stay up in Lauderdale or Dania Beach, but it's a loong way from PortMiami and the hotels don't have free/discount shuttles to the pier.   Gonna have to make that decision soon for two upcoming cruises, too.  

On 3/27/2023 at 7:54 AM, asalligo said:

Only the Excel class has the self serve soda machines right? 

Correct, so far.  

For the soda dispensers, a couple of tips:  

1.  It's a timed system (20 seconds max) if you are using Bottomless Bubbles or Cheers, and it's charged by the ounce otherwise.  Get your ice BEFORE scanning your card.  

2.  When you tap your card at the reader, tap it once and quickly move it away.  The system can interpret a second inadvertent tap as an attempt to get a second serving before the 15-minute "waiting period," and hey.  "No Pepsi for you, fifteen minutes!"   Happened to me once.  

On 3/20/2023 at 7:10 PM, BlerkOne said:

Those are certainly two. Mobile confiscated all scissors and a power strip having an on-off switch even though they admitted it didn't have surge protection. I did get them to hold all items until after the cruise, and had backups for everything. I have head of other ports with random seizures.

In January they confiscated a pair of scissors and a power-strip that were in my checked luggage at PortMiami (it was a Royal cruise).   Like yours, the power-strip had an on-off switch but was not surge-protected.  

They were retained at the pier until after debark, but I didn't want to walk over to the arrivals-side to pick them up, so someone got a free pair of scissors and an old, tired-looking power-strip.  C'est la vie; that power strip had been in faithful service for 15+ years.  😢  

On 3/20/2023 at 9:49 PM, MayorDrafty said:

Yeah, I was hoping this was carry-on thing.  My non-surge power strip made it through checked bag screening no problem back in Feb.  Forgot to take my Sasquatch control tool (scissors).

.

But, see above.   My confiscated items were in my checked luggage.

.

On 3/25/2023 at 12:51 AM, GrannyJ said:

My sister had her nail clippers confiscated a few years ago.  So she had to buy another pair in the ship gift shop.  Same clippers.  What a great scheme to get you to have to buy stuff on board, huh?

Those sly dogs!     🙂

I had a pair of nail clippers attached to my key-ring for a decade.  Travelled internationally, domestically, visited Six Flags, etc.   Never ever got a second glance.  

On one fateful visit to Six Flags, however, they were confiscated at the gate.  I almost wanted to cry.  And sure enough, they are listed in Six Flags' official list of banned items, although I'm not sure what heinous crime I'd be committing with them:   "Okay, you, Ride Operator!   Take this roller-coaster to Cuba or I'll give you a manicure, so help me!"   😄   

On 3/27/2023 at 1:55 PM, stephenp said:

One reason I never sail from MIAMI   !!!!!!!!! 

If you're trying to go to other ports to avoid the "Teamsters" or (more accurately) the ILA or ILWU longshoremen, you are totally S.O.L.  Every cargo and cruise port in the U.S. is controlled by either ILA (East) or ILWU (West).  

Having said that, there are ports where they might be more or less aggressive in "soliciting" tips than at others...and PortMiami may well fall under the former category.  🤷‍♂️