shofer

We've only done Chops on Royal when, on boarding day (Vision OTS) a hapless employee was rather strong-armed by me for a 25% discount.  We saved it for the last day and loved everything we ate.  I was in a food coma all evening.

When we did the Med/Baltic cruises, we often came back to the ship hot, sweaty, hungry & tired after long shore excursions.  A shower and a nap were the perfect set up for an evening of fun.  I did learn to set a wakeup time otherwise we were awakened by the cabin attendant wanting to make up the room!   

I always like this topic and find new fruity drinks to try.  My favorite is a BBC (Baileys Banana Colada).  On our last cruise on Symphony we were new Diamond members and loved the free drinks, even prime brands for DH.  However, as many times as I asked for a BBC in one of the bars, they would always tell me that they didn't have any bananas.  (I didn't try by the pool, didn't think of it). We were joking about this and I wondered how strange it would look to pull a banana out of my purse?

Our last X cruise, the bar staff hounded us for 13 of the 15 day itinerary to buy a drink package.  Now we are Elite and get a few free drinks.

On 2/16/2023 at 12:05 PM, jaapie said:

My father is one of 10 children (my grandmother had 10 children in 10 years!). My dad told me that when he was growing up SOS at mealtimes meant "Stretch or Starve". As an adult he was in the air force for a few years so maybe his growing up experiences at mealtimes served him well when he was in the military!

My dad went into the Army and didn't know what lunch was as he never had it when he was growing up.  I made SOS one time when he was visiting using home made biscuits and corned beef and he loved it.

8 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

That's what I wondered - whether it was even more relaxed and less dress up than even 5 "ears" ago.. 2017/2018, many were still sporting suits, a few tuxes, sport coats and such for EC, while other nights were a range of dress slacks and shirts to jeans and polo... 

Thanks for the update... 

We were on Silhouette 5 years ago for a TA and Hubby wore a dress shirt/no tie for "dress up" night and there was no problem. We saw some suits but no tuxes.

On 1/21/2023 at 6:49 PM, Ret MP said:

 

 

My thoughts exactly.

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The insurance is based on the cost of the trip and nothing else.  Prices have not changed in the past 4 years at least, maybe longer

Our TA said that the insurance is 3% of the cost of the cruise.

22 hours ago, thefog said:

booked a Hawaiian cruise for our 38th anniversary in May.Anyone else did this for their spouse?

We did this for our 25th Anniversary.  For our 50th, we sailed on Celebrity Silhouette for a 15 day Trans-Atlantic which started in England and was billed as "Boston, Broadway and Bermuda".  This one has to be our all-time favorite.

1 hour ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Where is the elite breakfast?

I think someone posted it was in Tuscan Grill.  Haven't had a chance to try it yet.

20 hours ago, gkbiiii said:

On Apex the best place for breakfast, was the Elite, French Bistro Breakfast!

What are the hours for the Elite breakfast?  

On 1/21/2023 at 11:21 AM, Oceansaway17 said:

Some folks like to eat big breakfasts So be nice

DH & I are one couple who like to sleep late and have a late, long and leisurely breakfast.  We get a big kick out of seeing the "early" (noon) lunch crowd lining up for their noon repast while we linger over our coffee and treats.

On 1/23/2023 at 2:30 PM, sml3 said:

What hours was food served in the diamond lounge in the evenings?

5-8 PM

I will wear fancy slacks with glittery tops for "Formal" night and a fancy pair of flip flops I bought for my son's wedding after the heels came off.  No one has ever noticed or mentioned it.

8 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

I dread having a disaster on a cruise ship regardless of the type of muster drill.   Despite the efforts of crew members during the traditional muster drill some passengers were inattentive, talkative and/or drunk.  They created a poor atmosphere for others, including the newbies who most need the drill.  Even before the pandemic I wondered how poorly those fools would behave in an actual emergency.  I hope I never find out.  It may depend upon the passenger mix on a given voyage, the type of emergency and the leadership/crew management of the situation more than the type of drill.

 

 

I went on a Princess cruise with a friend right after the Costa Concordia disaster.  I have never seen, before or since, the quiet attention being paid to what was being said/explained.  They even removed a crying baby and her parents from our area.

On 1/9/2023 at 11:45 AM, not-enough-cruising said:

Believe it or not, not that long ago, they did provide trays in the WJ

Haven't seen a tray in the buffet for the last 8-10 years.

7 hours ago, sml3 said:

What hours was food served in the diamond lounge in the evenings?

From 5-8PM.  Nice variety too.

We are leaving out of LA on a Panama Canal cruise in November.  Since my mother lives with my brother in Huntington Beach, we will arrive 2 days early to spend some time with them and rent a car @ LAX.   Can we return the car at the Port?   We don't have Smart Phones so Uber/Lyft is not an option.  Looking at the Crowne Plaza for the hotel.  Staying with my brother is a no-go as he has in-laws living with them also.

On 1/8/2023 at 1:13 PM, PolicromaSol said:

 

Am I the only one who thought it sounded really good? LOL

This is not new.  We cruised on Grandeur in 2006 and they had different "nights". And lobster was free.

On 1/2/2023 at 2:15 PM, Ret MP said:

I damn near did once.  I actually want for almost a whole hour without eating something while awake.  It was the worse hour of my life, my cruise vacation life, that is.

 

 

So glad you survived this close call.

1 hour ago, poocher said:

I don’t.  We have the same time scheduled every night (in these cases it was 6:45).  I book MTD because 5:30 is too early and 8:00 is too late.  

We did this on Symphony and 2 times was our table still in use by the previous diners.  First time we just took a different table.  Second time, we went and got a drink and came back 1/2 hour later. After that, we just arrived a little later.  It was just us this time so we didn't have to accommodate another couple's plans.  We booked all our shows for the later time and this worked very well.

18 hours ago, George C said:

Diamond, concierge and suite lounges has nice snacks.

As a new Diamond member on our last cruise on Symphony, we did enjoy the all the perks!

20 hours ago, Ret MP said:

I'm usually hypercritical of removing things.  Especially that are/were customary, like nuts and pretzels on a bar.  BUT, I was never a big fan of reaching into a bowl of nuts, chips, pretzels, or popcorn that just about everybody else reaches into with their bare hands just after leaving the restroom, picking their nose, scratching, never mind.  I say, "good riddance".  Individual packets would be fine and appreciated, though.

As a nurse, I would always pass on those shared bowls for all the same reason.  Covid put and end to that completely.

We were on the Vision OTS back in 2015 for a 12 day Mediterranean cruise.  The first cruise I had ever been on where the food in the buffet and the MDR was worse than just average.  In some cases, inedible.  Needless to say, when the survey arrived I rated the food a zero.

Two years later, we booked Vision again for a Baltic cruise and discussed eating dinner in the specialty restaurants in lieu of the MDR.  On embarkation we headed to the WJ and were prepared for mediocre fare.  Big surprise for us as soon as we walked in spotting a huge selection in the dessert area was first.  (Previously, dessert was small squares of jello and sheet cake, period.)

The MDR menu was updated and the food so good.  

Don't know if our comments and rating were part of the change but it sure felt and tasted pretty good.

This is a good thread for Port info/hotels.  We are looking at a coast to coast Panama Canal cruise starting in LA and finishing in FL.  My mother is living with my brother in Huntington Beach and we would go a few days early to spend some time with them.  We would rent a car at the airport but wondering if we could drop it at the Port?   Uber/Lyft is out of the question as we don't use Smart Phones.