Shabbat/Jewish Sabbath Questions

[avazah]

It went just fine. We brought our own wine (I think I posted originally before they changed the rule about bringing wine onboard, I remember the rule changed some time in between booking and sailing), so that wasn't a concern. We actually did pass by the "Sabbath Services" in the windjammer by chance, but we didn't actually go. They did have Barkan wine and challah set up on a table, but I didn't see any electric candlesticks. We brought little LED tealights. We ate the challah baked on the ship based on a ruling given to us by a rabbi friend regarding kosher stuff and bread. We ate friday night dinner in the windjammer and skipped the second formal night. It was really relaxing and nice!

 

There were plenty of other Orthodox Jews on our ship, too. I imagine they all managed fine as well. Although I did feel bad for this one (Orthodox) lady on Shabbat who waited outside an automatic door for literally 5 minutes waiting for someone else to walk through and activate the door so she could go through. We just used the non-automatic door in the Solarium into the spa area.

 

I will say that, despite our account saying we require kosher meals, the maitre d' and server we had literally had NO IDEA that we needed kosher food. They said that our account said we require a 'special accommodation' but it didn't say what it was. We ended up not bothering (those package meals suck, honestly) and just eating salmon and veggies for dinner each night, with salad and a few other select things that were OK with us. But I was really surprised that they didn't know. I doubt every single kosher cruiser knows to go to the MDR before dinner that first night just to confirm everything, and I feel bad if any kosher cruisers who will only eat the pre-packaged food had a similar situation where the servers had no idea what was going on. To future kosher cruisers, definitely double check before dinner!

[SPacificbound]

I did not realize this thread was over a year old until it was pointed out. :o

 

avazah I just wanted to tell you that I found the information you gave very interesting. I appreciate the time that you took to do that. Thank you.

[NorbertsNiece]

It's too late to be checking that your Kosher food is on board after boarding. An email to special_needs@rccl.com stating your requirements needs to be sent and acknowledged weeks before sailing.

[avazah]

It's too late to be checking that your Kosher food is on board after boarding. An email to special_needs@rccl.com stating your requirements needs to be sent and acknowledged weeks before sailing.

 

Yes, I did that, and received a confirmation. I also called in to get a price drop at some point and the representative acknowledged my kosher food option. What I meant is that you should do those things and then go to the MDR upon boarding to double-triple check. When I go to the MDR for dinner that night, they had no information about us needing kosher meals and just knew that we needed SOME accommodation, but there was no specific accommodation listed in the computer for our reservation. It just makes more sense to get this resolved at 1pm rather than 7pm when you are hungry! :eek:

[NorbertsNiece]

Yes, I did that, and received a confirmation. I also called in to get a price drop at some point and the representative acknowledged my kosher food option. What I meant is that you should do those things and then go to the MDR upon boarding to double-triple check. When I go to the MDR for dinner that night, they had no information about us needing kosher meals and just knew that we needed SOME accommodation, but there was no specific accommodation listed in the computer for our reservation. It just makes more sense to get this resolved at 1pm rather than 7pm when you are hungry! :eek:

 

Gosh. Did they actually have the food on board for you?

[avazah]

Gosh. Did they actually have the food on board for you?

 

I saw some other tables near-ish to us that were eating the kosher meals, so I guess they did have them. We just ate fish the whole week and salad/fruit/other things in the MDR that we felt okay eating personally. We signed up for the kosher meals, but we were always okay eating a fish option (and for those who are less lax than we are, they absolutely WILL cook fish double-wrapped in foil with vegetables, do double wrapped baked potatoes, etc for you) so we decided not to make an issue of it. There are plenty of things in the windjammer we were able to eat for breakfast and lunch, so we did not go hungry at all!

 

I'll also note that several times I asked the chefs what was in something in the windjammer and they were totally happy to tell me anything I wanted to know, let me know brands or see labels, or refer me to the buffet manager guy if they didn't know. They were incredibly helpful!! We found that we were able to eat some stuff that we would have normally passed by on (like certain salad dressings) because it can be iffy, but they actually were kosher. I do want to note this because I don't want to give the wrong impression like they weren't accommodating. We did NOT push it when they didn't know we were listed as having kosher food, and I am confident they would have resolved the situation if we had pushed it.

[LPut714]

For the record, we know the service won't be orthodox and are okay with that. That part wasn't my concern :)

 

Thanks for the replies everyone! It sounds like we should play it on the safe side and bring our own tealights and a small bottle of kosher grape juice. As for challah, I'll email the special needs department, but we aren't going with solely the pre-packaged frozen meals(which I am nervous to mention because I've seen some people get a little nasty in other threads about how something "isn't actually kosher" -- just trust us that we are taking care of our needs and are 110% aware of any issue you are probably wishing to raise!), so we will see if they can provide. There is already kosher wine offered to be purchased on board, apparently, but I am not willing to pay $42 for a bottle of $10 wine when neither of us are big wine drinkers(and a bottle of grape juice does the trick anyway!).

 

As for the electric locks -- what we've done in the past is have someone, like a staff member, open the door for us. We will bring it up with them before Shabbat, and in the past, we don't even have to ask during Shabbat -- they see us and already know! As for automatic doors, what most orthodox jews that I know do is kind of linger around until someone else is going through the door, then 'follow' them through. I am sure others would criticize this practice, but we do the best we can with what we have :)

You are allowed to bring 2 bottles of wine on board-are you allowed to bring this? That way you could have what is needed for Shabbat

[travelplus]

Shalom Avazah.

 

I hope you will enjoy your cruise. While my Father and I are not Orthodox we do enjoy partaking in the Shabbat on the cruise. There are lay led services and you can ask the Cruise Director or at Guest Services.

 

Perhaps if you email special_needs@rccl.com you can get the information you will need.

 

Nesiah Tovah

 

Daniel

[travelplus]

It went just fine. We brought our own wine (I think I posted originally before they changed the rule about bringing wine onboard, I remember the rule changed some time in between booking and sailing), so that wasn't a concern. We actually did pass by the "Sabbath Services" in the windjammer by chance, but we didn't actually go. They did have Barkan wine and challah set up on a table, but I didn't see any electric candlesticks. We brought little LED tealights. We ate the challah baked on the ship based on a ruling given to us by a rabbi friend regarding kosher stuff and bread. We ate friday night dinner in the windjammer and skipped the second formal night. It was really relaxing and nice!

 

There were plenty of other Orthodox Jews on our ship, too. I imagine they all managed fine as well. Although I did feel bad for this one (Orthodox) lady on Shabbat who waited outside an automatic door for literally 5 minutes waiting for someone else to walk through and activate the door so she could go through. We just used the non-automatic door in the Solarium into the spa area.

 

I will say that, despite our account saying we require kosher meals, the maitre d' and server we had literally had NO IDEA that we needed kosher food. They said that our account said we require a 'special accommodation' but it didn't say what it was. We ended up not bothering (those package meals suck, honestly) and just eating salmon and veggies for dinner each night, with salad and a few other select things that were OK with us. But I was really surprised that they didn't know. I doubt every single kosher cruiser knows to go to the MDR before dinner that first night just to confirm everything, and I feel bad if any kosher cruisers who will only eat the pre-packaged food had a similar situation where the servers had no idea what was going on. To future kosher cruisers, definitely double check before dinner!

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. I would contact Royal Caribbean and advise them of not being able to get your Kosher Meals. Possibly they will give you some form of compensation. You can email Adam Goldstein agoldstein@rccl.com and let him know that the Maitre'D did not know about your special meal requests which it seems like you confirmed before you sailed.

 

Could you please tell me the other items you were able to eat besides Salmon and vegetables? Were you able to eat deserts? How about for breakfast and lunch? Did you eat at the Salad Bar in the Main Dining Room during the sea days for lunch?

[orthocruzer]

I'm wondering if anyone has spent a Shabbos on Allure of the Seas.

 

Do the staterooms have electric eyes for the lights or are there traditional light switches?

 

Do the toilets have electric eyes or do they flush manually?

[sanantoniored]

Lights and toilet are both manual-at least in our Grand Suite.