Some rookie questions.

[Hawg11]

So we are first time cruisers. I was on a Norwegian ship when I was little and I looked at pictures the other day and it looks very different than ships today.

 

Anyways I have a few questions that I couldn't find answers to on the board and some of them seem like common sense but just want to confirm.

 

- ordering food at Park Cafe or Sorrento's etc, do I just walk up like I would at say a fast food restaurant and ask or is there a numbered waiting system?

 

- MDR I can't imagine knowing when I will be hungry for dinner, how long of a wait should I expect for a party of 3 if I show up with no reservations? What if I make reservations and miss them completely or show up later?

 

- is food from the buffet or other places allowed by the pool area?

 

- what is everyone's feed back on tap water? Does it taste ok? And am I able to get a cup of water from the pool bar and refills of soda at the pool bar as well?

 

 

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[spookwife]

18 minutes ago, Hawg11 said:

 

So we are first time cruisers. I was on a Norwegian ship when I was little and I looked at pictures the other day and it looks very different than ships today.

 

Anyways I have a few questions that I couldn't find answers to on the board and some of them seem like common sense but just want to confirm.

 

- ordering food at Park Cafe or Sorrento's etc, do I just walk up like I would at say a fast food restaurant and ask or is there a numbered waiting system?

 

- MDR I can't imagine knowing when I will be hungry for dinner, how long of a wait should I expect for a party of 3 if I show up with no reservations? What if I make reservations and miss them completely or show up later?

 

- is food from the buffet or other places allowed by the pool area?

 

- what is everyone's feed back on tap water? Does it taste ok? And am I able to get a cup of water from the pool bar and refills of soda at the pool bar as well?

 

 

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1:  there is a line..of sorts.  

 

2: can be zero wait.  Can be 20 minutes.  Too many factors come into play.  If you miss a booked reservation and show up later, they will try to accommodate, but they may have nothing  other than a shared table.  
 

3: yes.  Just clean up after yourself as the pool adjacent area is not policed by the roving bus boys

 

4: tastes better than what comes out of my tap at home.  Water from the gun is no problem.  Bottled you pay for or have a drinks package.  The same goes for soda: the soda package covers stuff from the gun.  Getting a can is not technically allowed, but you may get a nice bartender.  Otherwise, you use the cup with the chip in it and the Freestyle Machines. Or pay a la carte
 

 

[LBumb]

water is great  are you buying drink package

[Hawg11]

water is great  are you buying drink package

Plan on buying a Soda package + voom

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[mac66]

tap water is very good on board. We don't buy water, we bring a water bottle and fill it up.

[gatour]

In regards to the MDR.  Do you have My Time Dining (MTD) or traditional (Early or Late).  If you don't know, check with whomever you booked the cruise through.  I.E. a travel agent or directly through  Royal Caribbean.

[Priszm]

If you bring a water bottle of your own, the bar cannot fill it for you. You can get glasses of water and pour into your water bottle (which is what we did). 

[Hawg11]

In regards to the MDR.  Do you have My Time Dining (MTD) or traditional (Early or Late).  If you don't know, check with whomever you booked the cruise through.  I.E. a travel agent or directly through  Royal Caribbean.

I don't think I have the option to make those decisions yet. My cruise is still 184 days out. From what I read I plan on doing my time dining because I don't know when we plan on eating.

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[Hawg11]

If you bring a water bottle of your own, the bar cannot fill it for you. You can get glasses of water and pour into your water bottle (which is what we did). 

If I bring a water bottle of my own, is there a dispenser that I can fill from at the buffet or other locations?

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[taglovestocruise]

9 minutes ago, Hawg11 said:

I don't think I have the option to make those decisions yet. My cruise is still 184 days out. From what I read I plan on doing my time dining because I don't know when we plan on eating.

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When you booked you were given MTD or  traditional, if you were given traditional you have been assigned 5:30 or 8pm. You need to find out now what you have and change if you need to or be put on the wait list for what you want. Trying to change after you board is sometimes futile. Once onboard and assigned there is no changing back and forth.  

[WI-Cruiser]

11 minutes ago, Hawg11 said:

I don't think I have the option to make those decisions yet. My cruise is still 184 days out. From what I read I plan on doing my time dining because I don't know when we plan on eating.

 

 

Your dining option is typically set at time of booking.  Check your Cruise Receipt, there's a line indicating your current dining assignment.  My Time Dining (MTD) allows maximum flexibility.  As it gets closer to your cruise you can make MTD reservations either online or via the app, depending on ship.  Traditional dining in the Main Dining Room (MDR) is either early or late.  Times vary depending on ship and sailing but early is usually around 5-5:30 and late 7:30-8.  As a first time cruiser I'd recommend MTD for the flexibility, allowing you to explore some of the many other dining options and to see what time best fits your cruising style.  Depending on the ship there are many places to dine, some free (Windjammer, Solarium Bistro, Park Cafe) and others cost extra (Chops, Jamie's, Izumi). 

 

[biomedbob]

Some folks here are angst about their dining times 8 month out.  Stick with MTD and you'll do fine!

[Hawg11]

 
Your dining option is typically set at time of booking.  Check your Cruise Receipt, there's a line indicating your current dining assignment.  My Time Dining (MTD) allows maximum flexibility.  As it gets closer to your cruise you can make MTD reservations either online or via the app, depending on ship.  Traditional dining in the Main Dining Room (MDR) is either early or late.  Times vary depending on ship and sailing but early is usually around 5-5:30 and late 7:30-8.  As a first time cruiser I'd recommend MTD for the flexibility, allowing you to explore some of the many other dining options and to see what time best fits your cruising style.  Depending on the ship there are many places to dine, some free (Windjammer, Solarium Bistro, Park Cafe) and others cost extra (Chops, Jamie's, Izumi). 
 

Yes you were correct, my wife informed me we selected MTD.

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[Tree_skier]

With MTD you can show up whenever you like and they will seat you.  We are only a party of two but the longest we ever waited was 5 minutes. YMMV.

[bonsai3s]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

There are lots of wonderful and experienced cruisers here on Cruise Critic...you may want to add your ship and ports.

Happy Sailing!

[cruiseguy1016]

4 hours ago, Hawg11 said:

 

So we are first time cruisers. I was on a Norwegian ship when I was little and I looked at pictures the other day and it looks very different than ships today.

 

Anyways I have a few questions that I couldn't find answers to on the board and some of them seem like common sense but just want to confirm.

 

- ordering food at Park Cafe or Sorrento's etc, do I just walk up like I would at say a fast food restaurant and ask or is there a numbered waiting system?

 

- MDR I can't imagine knowing when I will be hungry for dinner, how long of a wait should I expect for a party of 3 if I show up with no reservations? What if I make reservations and miss them completely or show up later?

 

- is food from the buffet or other places allowed by the pool area?

 

- what is everyone's feed back on tap water? Does it taste ok? And am I able to get a cup of water from the pool bar and refills of soda at the pool bar as well?

 

 

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The last two cruises I have been on (both on Adventure), there has been a self serve water dispenser and cups at the pool bar.

Edited February 15, 2020 by cruiseguy1016

[JeffT237]

4 hours ago, Hawg11 said:

- what is everyone's feed back on tap water? Does it taste ok? And am I able to get a cup of water from the pool bar and refills of soda at the pool bar as well?

 

 

You can also bring up to twelve 17ounce bottles of water on embarkation day, you can then try the tap water for yourself and see if you like it and have some bottled water in your cabin to fall back on.  I have no problem with the tap water but my wife does not care for it so we get her the Evian package.

[DanvilleCruiser]

I normally drink bottled water at home, but had no problem with the taste of the water from dispensers on my Royal Cruise this past fall.  I filled my water bottle with the cups of water.

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, Hawg11 said:

- ordering food at Park Cafe or Sorrento's etc, do I just walk up like I would at say a fast food restaurant and ask or is there a numbered waiting system?

Walk up and point at the food you want. Sorrentos is easy. Park Cafe there is some pre-made food and other items where they will make food to order for you. 

 

- MDR I can't imagine knowing when I will be hungry for dinner, how long of a wait should I expect for a party of 3 if I show up with no reservations? What if I make reservations and miss them completely or show up later?

Make sure you have MyTimeDining and you can walk up when you are hungry or when it meets your schedule. At prime time, the line will be longer, but you will be seated pretty quickly. 

 

- is food from the buffet or other places allowed by the pool area?

Sure.

 

- what is everyone's feed back on tap water? Does it taste ok? And am I able to get a cup of water from the pool bar and refills of soda at the pool bar as well?Tap water is fine. You can get anything from any bar. 

Enjoy your cruise!

[LilBlackDress]

I am in the minority... I only drink bottled water at home. We have Well Water and it tastes horrible! 
I am not a fan of the taste of the ships water either, but its OK. I typically add lemon (or lime, or orange) to it when I can.

I get the refreshment package, which includes bottled water, mocktails, specialty coffee etc. 

[mayleeman]

Soda isn't free. Covered by any beverage package.

Edited February 15, 2020 by mayleeman

[brillohead]

Regarding water bottles being refilled, I've found that bars WILL refill your personal water bottle if it is built such that the mouthpiece is removable, like the soda cups that come with the drink packages.  Same for refilling from a spigot where you would refill a water glass.

If your water bottle is built like a soda bottle, where you unscrew the lid and drink directly from the lip of the bottle, then you'd need to do the "refill from a glass" method, because the part that touches your lips could come in contact with the spigot (and then contaminate everyone after you).   These are examples of the types of water bottles that CANNOT be refilled directly:



But if your water bottle has a lid that you drink from after flipping a switch or lifting a cap off or something, and then that lid itself unscrews or pops off for the bottle to be filled/washed, then you can refill it directly at a bar or at a self-serve spigot, because the part that touches your lips isn't going to come into contact with the spigot itself.  These are examples of some of the many types of water bottles that have a spout or straw or other lid you drink from:

  

[Hawg11]

A few more questions....

The RC App only has my sailing information, when I click on it, it tells me to check back. (170+ days out). Will I eventually be able to add excursions and packages on the app or will I always have to use the website?


No where does it say my room type ( I booked a Central Park balcony). I see people who have mentioned guarantees and knowing what level etc. Do I get that information closer to sailing?



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[Biker19]

38 minutes ago, Hawg11 said:

The RC App only has my sailing information, when I click on it, it tells me to check back. (170+ days out). Will I eventually be able to add excursions and packages on the app or will I always have to use the website?

No where does it say my room type ( I booked a Central Park balcony). 

About 90 days out the cruise info will show up and you can check in. As of now you can’t book things in the app - you have to use the planner. 
 

After you check in you’ll see your cabin on the SetSail pass. 

[mayleeman]

@Biker19 So that answer you just provided makes me wonder--when do beverage and dining start showing up in the planner? We are on the Odyssey next February, and I thought we would be able to, but all that shows up are some excursions. Do you think being a new ship means it is going to be later than usual? I thought previously we had reserved things more than a year.