Labadee - no more upgraded buffet?

[NewCruiser139]

We booked a cabana last winter for our Feb. 2014 cruise. Have recently received an email from RCI that we would receive the upgraded buffet and bottles of water after I inquired as to the description change on the website ... I'm taking a copy of the email with me for sure!;)

[FreddyT]

I booked my cabana on Aug.9th for my upcoming cruise of Dec.15th on Independence of the Seas. I never received an email. I am starting to panic, so I sent an email to shore excursions this morning. I hope I will here something soon.

 

I am so thankful to all of you who shared this info. I would have never known. I will feel much better when I get the email.

 

How long does the shore excursion team usually take to get back with you?

 

Thanks :confused:

[Candleonwater]

Had absolutely NO problem with this. Checked in at the entrance to Barefoot Beach. Roberto have us our wristbands and had our attendant take us to our cabana.

 

The problem I DID have, while we were in line for lunch there was a fire. They used a fire extinguisher and had to throw ALL food out. They went to the regular lunch areas to get food. Not only did we not get the upgraded food options, we didn't even get ribs.

 

Oh well. Probably will continue to rent nellie's cabanas in the future

[internetwhiz]

We were on Serenade this past week, and I want to share our experience. We shared a Nellie's Beach cabana with two cruise critic friends. The reservation was made in our friends' name, and we sent them our half...The cabana was purchased in late August 2013, well before the October 4 deadline.

 

We get to Nellie's Beach and a RC person named Marc greeted us, and then proceeded to tell us for about 10 minutes, shhing us if we "tried" to speak, why we weren't "entitled" to the gold wristband and the upscale lunch on Barefoot beach. Finally, we told him we want to see the concierge for the area, and he told us he would take us to him, but it wasn't going to make any difference.

 

The concierge simply asked us when we booked, and gave us the wristbands. I stood and told "Marc" that he should find a different way to converse with guests, and when he had no authority to do something about a situation to take the guests to whatever supervisor could make a decision like this. We were not the only people on Nellie's who had trouble that day. Our cabana was over the water, second one to the right as you enter the beach...there are five other cabanas on that side and we know at least two others who had heated exchanges in order to get their bands...

 

What was ironic, however, was that the upscale buffet just wasn't a big deal. We had eaten the upscale buffet in April on Barefoot beach, and it included skewers of shrimp, salmon, and scallops...very tasty and other real goodies. The shrimp combo skewers were out in a tray and we got two or three, whatever we wanted. Our buffet this past week on Serenade, and it may have been because we were the first cruise after the transatlantic to New Orleans, was shrimp only...no salmon, no scallops, etc. We did have grilled steaks as part of the menu, however. I feel like they might not have had all of their provisions yet, or else it's another thing RC is cutting back on. Also, the skewers were behind the counter, and only because I knew they had them, did I know to ask for them, and they promptly put two on my plate, but we did return and get more later.

 

I had told our friends what we had on the buffet in April. Had I known the skewers of shrimp only was what would have been offered, I don't even know if I would have been as insistent about getting the gold wristband. However, the barefoot beach buffet was much closer than the closest one to us out in the three public areas to eat on Labadee, and my husband did enjoy the grilled steak there.

 

My recommendation to all of you, especially to those of you who have reservations waaaay off from now, as in say, April of 2015, which is currently as far out as anyone could have reserved a cabana and still be eligible for the upscale buffet:

 

1. Write RC and get a letter and take it with you saying you are entitled to the upscale buffet. The person who rented our cabana did not print off the letter nor take it with her. If you are sharing one with others and they made the reservation, be sure YOU print off a copy of the letter and take it with you. I did not...big mistake on my part. I captured the letter with my ipad screen, and of course I didn't have an ipad with me.

 

2. Ask immediately if the person you are talking to is a supervisor and someone who can make decisions about the gold wristbands. If not, ask the person to take you to a supervisor.

 

3. If you see a cabana attendant named Marc, RUN to the next person and don't listen to the dribble we did....LOL

 

4. Hopefully RC will communicate more effectively with the attendants at the beach in the future, so others won't have this issue...perhaps you should start out going to Barefoot first, seeing the concierge to get the wristbands, and then heading on to Nellie's after that...I don't know....just a thought.

 

All said, we enjoyed our cabana. For the four of us, it was our first time to have one. We are all in our early 60s, and we requested from the Diamond concierge a cabana with a rail and steps down to the water. We got what we requested, although it wasn't the cabana number 7 we requested, it was over the water, and had steps right down into the water...very nice. Our four bottled waters were those liter Evian ones...so very nice...plenty of towels were made available...we loved it.

 

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer about everything going smooth, but it just didn't. Perhaps the info I am sharing will make it go better for others. All in all, we had a great day. We did write our concerns about it on our guest survey, since we know there will be issues with this for the next sixteen months as people who rented things before the magic October 4 date go on their cruises...and right now, I know we have people on our April 12, 2015 Quantum sailing that booked before October 4.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

We recently sailed on Oasis and were at Labadee on Dec 9. The Barefoot Beach buffet had shrimp skewers but no ribs. The pieces of steak were very small and tough but the shrimp skewers were good and plentiful.

[internetwhiz]

Our date on Labadee for post 254 above was December 16. So Oasis, who goes there regularly, just had shrimp on the skewers as well. I had written ours off to Serenade not having all provisions...they were out/short on other things....even the "inch of gold" people hadn't gotten their silver clasps, so no silver necklaces for the week (not a biggie to me).

 

The biggest issue for our sailing was that a good number of CC members did not receive their Meet and Mingle invites...a biggie, since they moved both the time (to earlier) and the location, which meant by the time people went to the time RC had given us...M and M was already over.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Just a small correction to the above post. We are booked in a Cabana in May 2015! We booked it in August. Will be bringing our letter for sure.

 

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[internetwhiz]

Just a small correction to the above post. We are booked in a Cabana in May 2015! We booked it in August. Will be bringing our letter for sure.

 

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Oh, I thought April was the last month of 2015 that could be booked. So you wrote RC and got a response? That letter, along with documentation of when you purchased it will do the trick. If some of us are getting grief about it now, it will likely happen as more time goes along.

 

 

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[Sunny AZ Girl]

Oh, I thought April was the last month of 2015 that could be booked. So you wrote RC and got a response? That letter, along with documentation of when you purchased it will do the trick. If some of us are getting grief about it now, it will likely happen as more time goes along.

 

 

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Yes. We have 3 OTW cabanas reserved for our 5/9/15 Oasis cruise. We have letters for each one.

 

Who do you contact to request a Cabana with stairs instead of a ladder?

 

 

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[internetwhiz]

Yes. We have 3 OTW cabanas reserved for our 5/9/15 Oasis cruise. We have letters for each one.

 

Who do you contact to request a Cabana with stairs instead of a ladder?

 

 

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We contacted the Diamond Concierge for the ship.

 

 

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[kjacruiser]

The upgraded (Barefoot Beach) buffet has two items in addition to the usual stuff: steak; and a skewer with shrimp, scallops and salmon.

Just back from Indy....all on my plate....:cool:

[Coralc]

Oh, I thought April was the last month of 2015 that could be booked. So you wrote RC and got a response? That letter, along with documentation of when you purchased it will do the trick. If some of us are getting grief about it now, it will likely happen as more time goes along.

 

 

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I thought it was funny that M called it "The Battle of Labadee" when we met up with them in the hall. It sounds like you had a terrible time getting what we were promised.

 

M said that about four other cabanas had issues as well.

 

I had to stay onboard, because I was ill, but DH said you paved the way for our group. By the time he and the guys arrived, the concierge just asked if they had booked before October 4? I had sent the letter along with him, but he wasn't asked to produce it.

 

So, thanks for getting it resolved prior to their arrival. I appreciate it, and I would have been fuming.

 

That said, they didn't think the upgraded food was all that great...and why would you "hide" shrimp skewers behind the counter? :rolleyes::)

[internetwhiz]

I thought it was funny that M called it "The Battle of Labadee" when we met up with them in the hall. It sounds like you had a terrible time getting what we were promised.

 

M said that about four other cabanas had issues as well.

 

I had to stay onboard, because I was ill, but DH said you paved the way for our group. By the time he and the guys arrived, the concierge just asked if they had booked before October 4? I had sent the letter along with him, but he wasn't asked to produce it.

 

So, thanks for getting it resolved prior to their arrival. I appreciate it, and I would have been fuming.

 

That said, they didn't think the upgraded food was all that great...and why would you "hide" shrimp skewers behind the counter? :rolleyes::)

 

I ate on Barefoot beach in April and our skewers were shrimp/salmon/scallops and they were in plain view. I just think RC is cutting back on a lot of things.

 

Yeah, I guess we paved the way that day. We weren't irate with them, just kept saying we needed what was promised. I wouldn't want to be the guy named Marc this week or next. I bet he gets a good butt chewing out, and it is deserved.

 

 

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[Jmillsarch]

Does anybody have a copy of the email they received from Royal Caribbean regarding the fact that you will still receive the upgraded buffet if you booked a Nellie's Beach cabana before October 4, 2013?

 

We booked our Nellie's Beach cabana September 15, 2013 and I received an email from Royal Caribbean in November stating that we will still have access to the upgraded buffet.

 

The problem is, I lost the email. I changed from yahoo to gmail, and in the process some of my Royal Caribbean emails went missing.

 

Thanks,

 

James

[Coralc]

Does anybody have a copy of the email they received from Royal Caribbean regarding the fact that you will still receive the upgraded buffet if you booked a Nellie's Beach cabana before October 4, 2013?

 

We booked our Nellie's Beach cabana September 15, 2013 and I received an email from Royal Caribbean in November stating that we will still have access to the upgraded buffet.

 

The problem is, I lost the email. I changed from yahoo to gmail, and in the process some of my Royal Caribbean emails went missing.

 

Thanks,

 

James

 

I don't know...try this, it's the online version of the email:

 

http://view.royalcaribbeanmarketing.com/?j=fe9810727265067a75&m=fe931570716d007b71&ls=fdf915707c66057b76107572&l=fefa1076766206&s=fe2f167377660279751178&jb=ffce15&ju=fe55117372620c7b7412&et_cid=em_4271270&et_rid=232264058&r=0

 

see if it works.

[Jmillsarch]

Thanks! This is the same email I received!

[nitlioner]

We were on the Oasis a couple of weeks ago (Jan 4) and had a Nellie's Beach cabana. We actually had 2 cabanas for 11 of us and booked them in November. I was expecting to eat at the standard buffet places, but when we arrived we were given the golden wristbands and were directed to the upgraded buffet for lunch. I seem to remember everyone was being given the same wristband that arrived that day. I'm not sure if that is a change in policy or if someone screwed up that day.

[Brandonclan]

Any recent reports from anyone who purchased before the deadline??

[msmayor]

I can tell you that we purchased AFTER the deadline, but our cabana attendant provided us with the wristbands and invited us to the upgraded buffet. It was really a nice perk because it was so close to where we were, and not crowded at all.

[4serenity]

We sailed in December, booked a Nellie's Beach Cabana in June and we ate the upgraded buffet. Truthfully we really didn't care where we ate, the 'cabana' buffet was nothing great but it was nice to sit right at a table when we got our food. ALTHOUGH our cabana was awesome, right on the beach looking out into the water with Freedom . We had 9 people and our Cabana attendant gave us 9 bracelets!! BUT my husband tipped him nicely as soon as we met him and as he was walking us to our cabana, this guy was sooo nice and couldn't do enough for us. He set up our chairs by the edge of the water, brought down our floaty mats, gave us extra water and even walked the kids though the market to keep vendors away. When we were ready to eat he ran ahead and cleared a table for us so we could all sit when we got there and he even cleared the table for us (well, he tried but we wouldn't let him). This was our second time on Labadee, first time no cabana and second time with, will definitely keep getting Cabana's on future stops at Labadee, WORTH EVERY PENNY with or without upgraded buffet!!!

 

 

Pay It Forward. Be kind.

[DrD]

Count me as one not that impressed with upgraded buffet, there were a few extra items but also some missing (ribs.) It was small and while not crowded the line was excruciatingly slow as there was only one dish of each item.

[Brandonclan]

If we have a cabana, are we limited to only eating at the upgraded buffet? Are we allowed to check out both buffets??

[Lionesss]

No one would stop you from eating at the regular buffet, you just get in line.

As previous posters have shared, if you are on Barefoot beach, or booked your cabana on Nellies before October of 2013, you can go to the buffet on Barefoot.

 

There are many posts on the changes..........

We are waiting to hear of any updates on experiences from recent cruisers.

 

Enjoy

 

Sea Ya

Edited March 15, 2014 by Lionesss

[Brandonclan]

No one would stop you from eating at the regular buffet, you just get in line.

As previous posters have shared, if you are on Barefoot beach, or booked your cabana on Nellies before October of 2013, you can go to the buffet on Barefoot.

 

There are many posts on the changes..........

We are waiting to hear of any updates on experiences from recent cruisers.

 

Enjoy

 

Sea Ya

 

Yes, I have been following all along. We purchased OTW Nellies before the deadline/changes. I was just curious about trying both.

I too am hoping more come back and report there experiences recently.

[Lionesss]

Yes, I have been following all along. We purchased OTW Nellies before the deadline/changes. I was just curious about trying both.

I too am hoping more come back and report there experiences recently.

 

 

When you sail, please come back and post about the condition of the beaches as you enter the water at Nellies and also Barefoot...........

 

Some posters have stated that it has returned to a broken shells, and water shoes are recommended again.

 

Thanks

 

 

Enjoy your cruise

 

Sea Ya