Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[Luckynana]

3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

I hope you don't think I'm showing off but I just had to buy this.

I JUST HAD TO HAVE THE 4 WHITE CHAIRS.😅

You have such a great sense of humor, Graham!!  Love it!😁

[George C]

19 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

LONG - that's my "style". I know... my kids always say to me: "Fast forward, mom". So, fast forward, pls. 😁

 

Some very personal musings about our Beyond cruise,

 

“Personal” because we look at our cruises from a different perspective/point of view – we don’t participate in a lot of ship’s activities like Trivia/L&M/Quest, etc. Also, comedians/one man shows, all of them necessitating a good command of English. We go only to the big musicals, and on this cruise, DH had to leave after a few minutes, the strong sound being too much for his hearing aids.

 

We don’t cruise for the beaches/hot weather, drinks and we gamble very small amounts (like 5-10$ pp per evening) just for fun. Usually bets of 1 or 2 cents 😊 On this cruise, after 3 long “dry dock” years, we found out that the minimum bet was raised to 75 cents, so our 9$ were quick to disappear.

 

Then, why are we cruising? Mainly for the itineraries. Sometimes – for the ship. This time we found an excellent combo – interesting itinerary and a new class of ship.

 

… and, for the food, mainly on Celebrity.

 

Therefore, our criteria of judging if we enjoyed the cruise is much more limited – itinerary, food and ship.

 

What we liked about Beyond?

*the lower staff (servers, waiters, cleaners, sales attendants, casino staff) were all excellent, always smiling, always willing to help.

*the pool – was the longest in comparison to every other ship. I’ve managed, early in the mornings, to swim some nice laps.

*all night light in the bathroom.

*the infinite veranda makes for a bigger room, but, if one of the cruisers is an early raiser and wants to spend time on the veranda, the light wakes up the other.

 

What we didn’t like?

Soulless. Too dark. Too much “real estate” taken by very high-end shops (Cartier, Bvlgari, Montblanc. Le maison du chocolat – always empty), and not enough connection with the sea. A dark mirrored corridor, which I’ve found down right creepy, fearing I’ll find myself stepping right into one of the mirrors.

 

 

Unless we travel with family/friends, we usually prefer to dine at WJ/OVC. We’re "in and out" quickly, can try different dishes, mainly the stir fry, which we highly prefer.

 

Quite from the beginning we were disappointed in the quality, quantity and diversity of the OVC’s food. There were a lot of heavy stews, unappealing for the most of time.

 

I found myself making one round, two rounds, trying to map the dishes I’d like to sample, and found myself “settling” for a grilled steak, chicken breast or burger…. In very contrast to all other cruises, where I’d make a round and say to myself: “ohh, sheperd’s pie, ohh, meat lasagna, ohh, seafood salad, ohh, this pad thai looks sooo good”.

 

DH was even more disappointed, since he mainly eats fish, seafood and salads. Usually, he’s going to the salad bar, and comes back with a huge amount of leaves, tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus, etc., his usual Mediterranean staple at home. Here, he found himself asking for two slices of this, two leaves of this, a spoon of this -- a rather tedious “affair”. Meantime, a line is forming after him, close enough to defy the purpose of being served in the name of “social distancing/ Covid”.

 

The first grilled fish he asked for was  half frozen… The second – the same. He showed it to the server, who promptly left the serving and went in search of the “culprit” (the cook). Another line after DH. Someone appeared from the kitchen, and agreed, that, indeed, the fish was not properly unfrosted and grilled. Meanwhile, another “in-charge” saw the “fuss” and wanted details. DH explained the “case” and wondered why, 1 day after we left Rome, which is a fishing port, there are only deep frozen fishes on board, not to mention calamari, shrimps, mussels, etc. The standard reply, which we were going to hear repeatedly, was “difficulties in the chain of supply”.

 

After 2 days of “buffet” diner, DH wanted escargot and we went to one of the 4 “free” restaurants. The escargots DH got were tiny and the meal was no more than OK but, as expected, took a lot of time.

Back to the buffet.

After another 2 days of disappointing food at the buffet, DH wanted a proper grilled fresh fish and we opted for “Cyprus”, which offered a grilled seabass.

 

While DH was eating the seabass, I suddenly saw him confused, murmuring “a bone” and taking something out of his mouth… turns out if was not a bone, it was a 1.5 cm long piece of … wire !!! He gently placed it on the bread plate and we called the waiter, who immediately called… whoever. DH, of course, was distressed. What if he ingested another, smaller, piece of wire and he didn’t feel it??

Me? I was speechless and worried sick.

 

After a few minutes of looking one at another and pushing aside the beginnings of our entrees, the head waiter appeared with an “explanation”… the piece of wire comes from the brush used to clean the grill…”   Ahhhh, now we were “relieved”…

 

We were so outraged, we just left the restaurant and went outside, to try to understand what just happened, and moreover, what IF another piece of wire was ingested?

 

When we got back to our cabin, a bottle of white vine was waiting for us, along with some chocolate covered strawberries from the Cypress’ manager. The cheap bottle of wine really irritated DH: “I don’t want their vine, I want this going up and reported to the higher management, so that it will never happen again!!!” “It should have never happened in the first place” !!!

 

So, first thing in the morning we went to GS with the vine in tow. Asked for “someone in charge”. The GS was reluctant, asking our room #, saying: “it is mentioned here”. I took the “helm” and said that we want to be sure it is “mentioned” up to the B&F director, and besides, we want to return their vine. Even if it’s just a “gesture”, might as well find out if we drink vine, and find something “neutral”, but that was not really the issue. We just felt that the vine was CYA.

 

After a few minutes, the Cypress’ “in charge” came, claiming that it has been “reported”, “measures are being taken”, and, get this: “should you need medical assistance, we’ll be more than happy to provide it”. DH replied that “should I need medical assistance, I’ll be in big trouble, and Celebrity in an even BIGGER trouble”. He took the vine back, DH telling him that it was offending to receive a cheap bottle of several dollars by way of apology, instead a letter of “we will thoroughly examine what went wrong” which surely will be more to the point.

 

Quite reluctantly the “in charge” offered a free lunch at either Le Fine Cut or Raw 5, and we agreed to Raw 5, being seafood and fish.

DH was eating bananas from the fateful evening, in the hope that his intestine will “weather” any stray wire…

 

A day after the “wire”, I went to a “senior officers” meeting with Elite, +, etc. members.

 

While I was sitting by myself, people watching, one of them came, randomly, to ask me “how do you like the cruise so far”? Big mistake on his part, HUGE…. I made a “so-so” movement with my hand, being masked and him also. Didn’t want to elaborate… but he was so surprised and, seemingly, interested…

 

I told him that the food quality, diversity, quantity is sub par for a Celebrity cruise, and us being foodies, are underwhelmed. He wanted examples and details, which I supplied.

 

Turns out he was the “procurement” officer, which enraged me more. I told him that there is no quality control whatsoever on the food, fruits in particular, and some products should never reach the buffet [overmature watermelon and kiwi coming immediately to mind]. Told him that, obviously, being veteran Celebrity cruisers, we have the “means” to compare.

 

He said that they pride themselves in the quality of food on Celebrity, being one of the things which set them apart from other cruise lines. I just gave him THE LOOK “not happening here”.

 

When I told him that I’ve heard the same from others, suite guests/Luminae, Le Voyage, The Fine Cut, etc., he excused himself and went in search of the F&B guy, and brought him to me.

 

At that moment I decided to check if our plea that the “wire incident” will go to the “top” was granted and was shocked to see that he never heard of it. Immediately he profusely apologized and asked where we’re going to eat tonight, wanting to see for himself that DH is OK.

 

Told him we had a reservation for Raw 5 [which was made before the free lunch offer]. He promised to be there. He wasn’t… but he comped us the dinner…. And we were glad he did, since, how DH said it so succinctly: “the lobster tail was from the runt of the litter” [and the oysters were far from fresh]. On the “free” lunch, we ordered only fried items and they were good.

 

There were other food disappointments, where you see “grilled steak” advertised, but no steak on the grill. When you ask about it, they search one in their drawers, put one on the grill and tell you to come back between 7 and 10 minutes… Fries? “We’re waiting for a new batch, come back in 5 minutes?” NO!! Someone should monitor the popular items like fries, and the moment it seems that in a few more servings, they’ll be out of it, to already bring a new batch.

 

The last “straw” was potato salad. With no fries available, I’ve tried my luck with the 2^nd best… Long line, since the potato salad is with the “made to order sandwiches” and it takes time. I’m getting the last batch. Yay!! Sit down to eat, the potatoes are undercooked…

 

I calm myself, and go back for another batch. Same “quality”. Ask a waiter to call someone “higher”. A nice and seemingly harassed lady arrives. Stoked her fork too. “Yep!!, not cooked at all”…

 

“What’s you room number”?? That was the SP. Can’t figure it out what my room # has to do with the undercooked potatoes, overmature fruits, not properly unfrozen fish, etc.

 

It’s not that someone called and apologized or explained.

 

To sum it up, on previous cruises, at dinner you saw lots and lots of officers eating at the buffet. There were always stir fry stations, pasta stations, grill stations with every imaginable meat or fish being done on the spot.

 

There were officers patrolling the buffet and keeping eye on everything. If a tray was about to be 2/3 finished, immediately a fresh one was brought, so there will be no delay and waiting.

 

Not on Beyond. Not even one.

 

DH, ever the cynic, predicted that in the last day, Celebrity will pull all stops and gave us a meal to remember. He was right… In the last day lunch there was a “buffet extravaganza”….

 

  

A few words about Captain Kate. I’ve told the concierge on the first day about my “romance” with “her”, and asked, if possible, for a few seconds meet. I thought that, after innocently investing so much time for her “snacks”, the least will be a souvenir pic with her. The concierge was amazed at the quality of the scam, and promised a short meeting.

 

There were 3 meetings of Elite and up with C.K. She made a few seconds appearance, tightly surrounded by her fellow officers, to the point of reminding me the security surrounding the PM of our country… Not approachable, not visible. The one meeting the concierge promised had a few of us aligned in order to meet her. I was the last one in line. A couple before the couple in front of me decided to monopolize her, and, sadly … it was time for her to say a few words and no time for us. The concierge apologized and said to wait there, C.K.’ll “see” us later. The couple before me gave up and, when C.K. finished in a few seconds, she brushed me aside like I was an annoying fly, and… fled through a side door.

 

Dani , I would send this information to celebrity, I would think there would be a good chance of some compensation, I have gotten some for way less problems than you encountered.

[bobmacliberty]

Being the master of a ship is probably like being a leader in any other role and involves multiple different skill sets.  To be a good leader, you need some degree of mastery over the technical skills in your area of leadership.  You don't need to be a master yourself since you will have people working for you who (hopefully) have the needed mastery.  You do need to have some degree of knowledge to properly understand and appreciate your team, and know if they're trying to BS you.  You need to set the right environment, tone, and direction for your team.  Any leadership skills that you think of on a land role are almost certainly the same on a ship, although every leadership role will have its own unique "twists" that are specific to that role.  A ship's master probably also has to have good "corporate political" skills...dealing with upper management people back at headquarters.  I once had a boss who said that he and I were like the captain and the executive officer on a Navy ship.  The captain dealt with Washington DC while the XO actually ran the ship.  He was the captain in the scenario dealing with/buffering upper management and I was the XO taking care of day to day needs without worrying about upper management.

 

I appreciate what Kate has achieved as a woman.  There's no reason that a woman can't have the same level of technical knowledge as a man.  But for her to effectively lead down AND lead up, she'll almost certainly run into people who don't like a woman being in the role, and be able to lead through that.  She's probably had to deal with that in both her staff below her and her management people above her.

 

I've never met her and won't judge her based on limited interactions with others.  Maybe she was just having a bad day when Dani "met" her.  Maybe she wasn't feeling well.  Who knows?.  As I said earlier though, what concerns me is how her team handled the wire incident.  That's a direct reflection of her leadership.  Again, it may be an isolated incident so I won't judge her (too much).

[jagsfan]

2 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Chocolate is sometimes part of the chili recipe, as is cinnamon.  People in many other parts of the country (like Texas) would probably laugh at calling it chili.  It's based on a stew that greek immigrants made in the early 1900s so it's more watery than a typical chili.  You dumped all of the ingredients, including the broken up ground beef, into a pot of water and bring to a boil.  They called it chili so that it would sell better in the US.  Serving it over spaghetti was just a cheap way to put more food on the plate.

I tried a sample once in the Cincinnati airport. I guess I should have tried a larger sample!

Publix used to have it in the frozen section. Probably nothing like the real thing. 

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

That's it.

I wish I had the presence d'esprit to ask for it immediately... and save us the worry of a perforated intestine. Of course, Celebrity should have offered it too !!!

 

I'm feeling better. 70% of my usual self. DH, somehow, managed to stay out of "it" 😟

 

 

 

 

Wishing everyone a joyful 4th of July celebration  

 

Well, if you had come on this thread and asked I would have advised you what to do.😉😇😄

[jagsfan]

1 hour ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

 

You're right.  I didn't get much satisfaction or good answer for that incident.  I think I would've been more upset had I dug into my plate of food more.  I had just started when I found it so I know I didn't ingest any other pieces.  But still, I know.  I didn't want this to ruin my vacation so I just let it go.  I didn't eat the strawberries though.

 

Now for a really unnerving story was one time when I was out with friends at Cheesecake Factory, I ordered a salad.  Their portions are huge so I ate half and took the other half home.  The next day as I was eating the leftover, I see this strange thing in my salad.  I took it out, couldn't figure out what it was.  Then after I studied it really carefully, it looked to me like the top part of a rubber kitchen food prep glove!  Some cook must've ripped his glove off while preparing the salad and it tore apart and he didn't know he left part of it in the food!  Then I thought there could have been other parts of the glove in there that I didn't see but ate the night before.  That right there pissed me off.  I called the company right away.  But it took so many calls and managers to iron this out.  In the end, they sent me a gift card.  I just really wanted them to know that they (the kitchen) have to be more careful with how they handle their food prep, etc.

 

Moral of the story, really really inspect before digging into your food.  Put smaller portion onto your fork for you never know what foreign object might be hidden in that bite.  I now wear my reading glasses when I eat so I can see clearly exactly what I'm eating.

Many years ago, when I worked for a large insurance company, we were given lunch free in the company cafeteria. 
That didn’t stop employees from complaining about the food, which on looking bad, was actually very good. 
A memo went out telling employees if they had a problem with food they should talk to their immediate supervisor rather than gossiping about it. 
We decided it wasn’t worth our jobs to complain.  
Then one of my coworkers picked up a forkful of her spaghetti and there was half a cockroach. Literally cut in half. 
We all put down our forks and it took everything we had not to run screaming out of the cafeteria. 
She was afraid to say anything to our supervisor, so all four of us went together. Safety in numbers!

We never heard another word about it, but they didn’t serve spaghetti again. 

[Ocean Boy]

3 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

TSOTD is a New York Mets shirt reading New York Tough with a picture of Mr.Met.

TSOTD St. Kitts

[NHProud]

8 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

Many years ago, when I worked for a large insurance company, we were given lunch free in the company cafeteria. 
That didn’t stop employees from complaining about the food, which on looking bad, was actually very good. 
A memo went out telling employees if they had a problem with food they should talk to their immediate supervisor rather than gossiping about it. 
We decided it wasn’t worth our jobs to complain.  
Then one of my coworkers picked up a forkful of her spaghetti and there was half a cockroach. Literally cut in half. 
We all put down our forks and it took everything we had not to run screaming out of the cafeteria. 
She was afraid to say anything to our supervisor, so all four of us went together. Safety in numbers!

We never heard another word about it, but they didn’t serve spaghetti again. 

Where was the other half ?

[Ozark_Kid]

4 hours ago, jagsfan said:

I thought there was chocolate involved somewhere. 

From what I have heard chocolate is used in the chili.  Before I found Skyline Chili Mix I researched different recipes for Cincinnati chili.  If the recipe did not include chocolate I ignored it.  I got  very close to the Skyline taste.  It's been a few years since I made it from scratch.   So much easier with the mix.

[bobmacliberty]

26 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

I tried a sample once in the Cincinnati airport. I guess I should have tried a larger sample!

Publix used to have it in the frozen section. Probably nothing like the real thing. 

I introduced several out of town friends to Skyline chili over the years when lived there.  I'd guess it was about 75% loved it, 25% hated it.  Not much in between.

[Ozark_Kid]

We have made it to Sikeston Missouri and about to eat lunch.  You can tell we have made it South.   The waitress..... what  can I get you honey.  😆 

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, Arzeena said:

Lenny,  I am absolutely amazed at how well connected you are.
You should write some kind of memoirs/notes....something like that, for your grandchildren.

At age 13 I began a journal and added to it every year to age 40.In 1988 when I was the recipient of a Humanitarian Award there was a story written about me in a NYC newspaper.My grandchildren will be able to read the story .In 1990 there was a story written about me in a magazine ,they will be able to read that.In 1999 there was a story about me in a NYC magazine that my grandchildren can also read.In 2011 a story about me was written on an online site.I have a copy of the story,another thing they can read.
In 2012 I contributed to the making of a Documentary that won two Emmy Awards.My grandchildren watched the film last year.

[Ozark_Kid]

3 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Chocolate is sometimes part of the chili recipe, as is cinnamon.  People in many other parts of the country (like Texas) would probably laugh at calling it chili.  It's based on a stew that greek immigrants made in the early 1900s so it's more watery than a typical chili.  You dumped all of the ingredients, including the broken up ground beef, into a pot of water and bring to a boil.  They called it chili so that it would sell better in the US.  Serving it over spaghetti was just a cheap way to put more food on the plate.

I couldn't remember it all but yes, if the recipe left our chocolate,  cinammon and was not boiled I ignored it.  I pretty much averaged out several recipes to come up with mine.

[lenquixote66]

26 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

Many years ago, when I worked for a large insurance company, we were given lunch free in the company cafeteria. 
That didn’t stop employees from complaining about the food, which on looking bad, was actually very good. 
A memo went out telling employees if they had a problem with food they should talk to their immediate supervisor rather than gossiping about it. 
We decided it wasn’t worth our jobs to complain.  
Then one of my coworkers picked up a forkful of her spaghetti and there was half a cockroach. Literally cut in half. 
We all put down our forks and it took everything we had not to run screaming out of the cafeteria. 
She was afraid to say anything to our supervisor, so all four of us went together. Safety in numbers!

We never heard another word about it, but they didn’t serve spaghetti again. 

Many years ago a co-worker of mine had a girlfriend who worked for a very large Manhattan insurance company .Employees were able to eat free lunches in the cafeteria.One day my co-worker and I somehow were able to get inside to get a free lunch .We too found something in our food that should not have been there.Ten years earlier I had a summer job for the supposed largest Insurance company in NY .They had a Nutritionist on staff who was in the employee cafeteria giving guidance on the healthy ordering of food.

[bobmacliberty]

22 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

We have made it to Sikeston Missouri and about to eat lunch.  You can tell we have made it South.   The waitress..... what  can I get you honey.  😆 

 

I'm still not used to being called honey or darlin' by someone who've I've never met before.  Even weirder when I'm sitting next to my wife.  But I've learned that it's all part of the southern charm.  I'd much rather have that than a northern waitress who snarls and practically throws things at you.

[lenquixote66]

34 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

TSOTD St. Kitts

My youngest daughter and her husband got married in St.Kitts .That island has been a special place for our family since.

[dani negreanu]

2 hours ago, George C said:

Dani , I would send this information to celebrity, I would think there would be a good chance of some compensation, I have gotten some for way less problems than you encountered.

 

Thanks, but I really lack the energy to pursue the matter. Have little faith that someone will "care" and I don't see us cruising Celebrity in the foreseeable future.

 

I've "published" my "musings" on the Celebrity board now.

[A&L_Ont]

 

 

7 hours ago, molly361 said:

And is it like a 3 way??😇🤣

LOL, the lurkers come out when the right things are said. 

 

7 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

I thought I read that the Carnival fight was because the 3-way happened without the significant other(s), who later found out.  If they had just gone with a 5-way and included the SOs, the fight could have been avoided.  I'm told there are charter cruises that specialize in that.

‘This would have been the perfect comment for the door decoration thread. 

[A&L_Ont]

Dani, I don’t even have the words to describe my thoughts about your experience. Getting Covid at the end would be the icing on top. Glad to hear you are feeling somewhat better. 

[h20skibum]

22 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

LONG - that's my "style". I know... my kids always say to me: "Fast forward, mom". So, fast forward, pls. 😁

 

Some very personal musings about our Beyond cruise,

Dani, so sorry to hear about your experiences on Beyond.   What happened is so unlike Celebrity, and you should make your experiences known to the CEO. How they addressed the wire is unacceptable, and I can’t believe they would still be using wire brushes to clean a grill.  The problem with wires coming loose and sticking to the grill and transferring to food is well known. I haven’t used wire brushes on my grill for at least 20 years, because of that exact problem.

 

I do not know if it is a sign of the times that they don’t want to upset the staff that they have, because they are short staffed, or what.  I think that not only Celebrity, but Royal and the other lines need to address food and staffing now that they are trying to stay near 100% capacity.  Otherwise, they may find their customers looking elsewhere.

 

[Ozark_Kid]

We just drove into a very strong rain storm so we decided to pull over until it dies down!

[h20skibum]

5 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Nice.  How are you liking it.

 

5 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Probably another defective one with the steering wheel on the wrong side.

I was thinking, we are talking about chairs, and what chairs have steering wheels on them?
 

Then I remembered!

 

[Ozark_Kid]

Wow, that was an experience.   Not only really hard rain but heavy fog.  We thought it lighten up enough,  started driving again and another strong wave of it hit and had to pull over again.  A lot of cars on the side of the road.  Thankfully we have made it out but it looks like it is still going strong to the left of us.

[lenquixote66]

9 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Wow, that was an experience.   Not only really hard rain but heavy fog.  We thought it lighten up enough,  started driving again and another strong wave of it hit and had to pull over again.  A lot of cars on the side of the road.  Thankfully we have made it out but it looks like it is still going strong to the left of us.

Hopefully it will clear up very soon.

[Sea Dog]

51 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

I can’t believe they would still be using wire brushes to clean a grill.

That's what I thought. I stopped using them years ago when I read the horror stories.