memoak

The only free food at Vines were the small tapas When they went to the fill charcuterie board with crudités that is when the charge started. Different with the pizza places the food didn’t change but the price did. I do understand it though prior to a charge we were seeing 1 hour + wait times at them with tons of families ordering multiple pies and leaving half the slices to be thrown away

I don’t believe they will be able to change the embarkation night dining cor suites without an uproar. We have never tried to move that dinner as Sabatini’s is our tradition on first night. We have paid for this privilege on cruises into 2026 and have the paperwork to prove it. Kind of like the 360 free dinners they grandfathered those who had already booked and only charged the new bookings I believe suites will always have privileges beyond those interiors regardless of packages

Then where do you put all 3 types of MDR dining ? I book suites so I am guaranteed no wait dining. Also the ambiance of the MDR should not cost as much as Crown Grill

You are ignoring the fact that all suite guests are guaranteed specialty dining embarkation night. If they all want Crown Grill then that takes a lot of tables out of circulation.

He was Ann Italian gentleman is all I remember MTG lunch’s were once again awesome

On the Grand over the last few weeks we actually canceled one night at Crown Grill because the food and service in Reserve Dining were so good. Probably better than anything I have experienced since restart

The OP was looking for flights to the US. Not as many choices out of Southampton

I would fly out the day after. It can take awhile to get from Southampton to Heathrow or Gatwick.

That is correct but when there was a 15 drink limit it was easier. I can foresee arguments and managers and security called into the dispute. Also the first suite guest refused free embarkation dinner is going to be a big issue when all the premier diners also want those tables who will get preference ?

Especially on ships with only Sabatini’s and Crown Grill. We were just off the Grand and already the managers in specialty venues told me that they were booked 100%. I also am waiting for what happens when a bartender tries to cut someone off at 25 drinks. “I have unlimited drinks you have to serve me”. Between over drinking and over booked restaurants they probably need to beef up security

I hate to say but if they oversell premier and suites have free embarkation dinner and casino hands them out and suite managers tell me not to worry I will always get you a table the some folks may have to eat dinner at 11:00 pm or 10:00 am. Can’t wait to see how this works out This is somewhat tongue in cheek LOL

Best if you can use an ATM in the country you are visiting

Wait until the unlimited specialty dinner premier guests bump into the suite embarkation night guaranteed free specialty dinners. Something may have to give

As suite/casino guests we can usually get accommodated for specialty dinners after 7;30 but I can see it becoming more difficult if premier guests decide to take a table at Crown Grill every night especially on long cruises. Remember suite guests are guaranteed specialty dining on embarkation night. I can see that evening becoming a traffic jam between suite guests and premier packages

I almost always travel on a ship with around that amount of cash. Staterooms have safes that you set the combo to

No dale but if each person is going to drink 3-4 cocktails a day plus waters and barista coffees the it is a good deal. Not drink that much not a good deal. just my opinion

My friends who gamble just a few times a cruise get maybe a 15% discount but not free cabins or free play

Have spent the last 4 cruises on the Ruby, Crown and Grand no reservations on any casual dining. We were able to split one casual meal and only use 1 of our 4 meals each time even in Alfredo’s. Split a salad and pizza ;3 times on a 1 week cruise never paid extra. Each ship handles it the same but we have never waited more than a few minutes to be seated

You need to gamble on a regular basis to get casino status. Tournaments and once or twice a cruise will not get it. We gamble around 2 hours minimum each day in cruises and get offers for free staterooms and free play on every cruise we take. Usually a free inside or balcony for 14 days and $250- $500 slot play or chips per person per cruise We can then pay the difference to sail in a full suite. We have 6 of these booked over the next year

I cruise on Grand class ships all the time and no there are no reservations at Vines or Salty Dog Gastropub. They are walk in only

Not a big fan of shuttles unless the port is a long way from the airport like Rome or Southampton

Ordinary drinks are around $12. So if you will always have 4 drinks a day then WiFi and CA should put you over the amount you would need to be good. Even 3 might do it

In any retail business no one says we only have 5 items left so we are giving them away more likely they will double the price. It is all about supply and demand. Most Alaskan sailings this year are selling out a month or more before sailing. We are booking 1-2 years out on all cruises out of the US especially Alaska, Hawaii and Panama. We are done with coastal and Caribbean cruises

Many ports now use facial recognition for customs and will only stop you if you don’t have a facial match in their database. Also you often go through US immigration when you board such as Vancouver - Whittier cruises

We just went through 14 days in Alaska and never left the ship once. I will note this was not our first trip to this area