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

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

Happy Hanukkah to all that celebrate.

Thank you

[sgmn]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

We have 2 cruises on Anthem out of Southampton England next year so hopefully things will have changed for the good by then.

Graham.

We're on Anthem in Sept Graham ex Southampton , I must admit with another year of travel disruptions possible ahead I don't really want to travel to far afield 

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Was just listening to SXM and Led Zeppelin, When the Levee Breaks was playing.  At the end the DJ mentioned it was 50 years old…. Wow.  Time flies

One of my all time favorites. John Bonham was a huge influence on me as a drummer.. His shuffle pattern on "Fool in the Rain," has been used by every drummer like Jeff Porcaro on "Rosanna" and Bernard Perdie with Steely Dan. He was a legend. The rest of the band were no slouches either.

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Was just listening to SXM and Led Zeppelin, When the Levee Breaks was playing.  At the end the DJ mentioned it was 50 years old…. Wow.  Time flies

Earlier today I watched a documentary about the making of Dark Side of The Moon.When Pink Floyd began in 1964 none of them had facial hair.In 1969 they all did.In 2003 when the documentary was made they were all clean shaven.Currently David Gilmour has a beard.

The day after I graduated HS I began growing facial hair..

[lenquixote66]

9 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Happy Hanukah to all those that celebrate.  

Kids get presents every night for 8 nights but not adults,boo hoo

[sgmn]

This morning the weather was beautiful, cold, crisp and a beautiful blue sky, just above freezing. We went for a lovely walk in a country park near us and then a light lunch and hot tea in the outdoors cafe.

 

 

[lenquixote66]

4 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

One of my all time favorites. John Bonham was a huge influence on me as a drummer.. His shuffle pattern on "Fool in the Rain," has been used by every drummer like Jeff Porcaro on "Rosanna" and Bernard Perdie with Steely Dan. He was a legend. The rest of the band were no slouches either.

Stairway to Heaven has been one of my favorite bands for years.Are you familiar with the band Renaissance ? If not check them out.

[dani negreanu]

1 minute ago, sgmn said:

This morning the weather was beautiful, cold, crisp and a beautiful blue sky, just above freezing. We went for a lovely walk in a country park near us and then a light lunch and hot tea in the outdoors cafe.

 

I see that Molly enjoyed the walk and the beautiful weather too 🥰

[Momof3gurlz]

Happy Hanukkah to all those here who celebrate!

 

@Sea Dog and @bobmacliberty thank you for the suggestions, much appreciated. 

[Sunshine3601]

16 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I really think some of the problem has been that the crew has had to stay on board and could not leave the ship on port days. I think that is starting to change now but you have to wonder if some of that was a factor.

That would drive me nuts if I was a crew member.   If they get off at cape liberty there really isnt many places they could head to unless they have a couple hours.  

[Arzeena]

3 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

So sorry to hear this about the crew.  

Did it impact food in wj or dinner in other restaurants, etc?

I hope they improve by january for our b2b in jan.  

If you do jump ship, I would pick the 12 nighter on Equinox.  We liked allure but weren't thrilled with allure.  We would like to try odyssey but I like longer sailings so I would pick the 12 nighter.

 

No, it did not impact food. Food was good. Good variety. Good taste. (subjective, but good for me).

But it seemed like they need more staff to man the WJ. The hand washing enforcement guy has a very hard time to keep everyone on track. Then there are those who escape him and he literally ran after them, while those waiting in line walked in without complying and such technical difficulties. So he difinitely needed a second person there. He was scanning cards and supervising hand washing. They also definitely need more staff at the individual food stations like Celebrity has. A bit more organized flow and some more staff should do it.

What I hated was the attitude the staff got from parents of kids and the adults who were not complying to protocols when the staff was trying their best to enforce them...masks, hand washing, some kids not being allowed into certain venues, elevator capacities (6 or one family) etc. This probably stressed them out a lot. But I was detecting absence of "cheer" from top down. Captain seemed very cold and uncaring. Top crew was completely invisible. It looked like they had no morale boosting.

 

 

We are looking at two .....Allure 1/8 and Reflection 1/19, with a 3 day break in between. Doing the Equinox October 24 and just did it in August, although it was my first choice, but I have to give some consideration to he who will pay the final bill.😁 (very easy things to negotiate on, so very thankful!!!😁🙏 LOL)

[Arzeena]

20 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I really think some of the problem has been that the crew has had to stay on board and could not leave the ship on port days. I think that is starting to change now but you have to wonder if some of that was a factor.

I think that and this particular cruise was just too much on their already frazzled nerves. I also felt a lack of morale.

I am sure they will rotate the crew. Most mentioned that they have been on since seven months. Some mentioned they go home in April.

 

Have to mention: Like you, my DH enjoyed the Indian breakfasts. Burji especially.😁

 

[Arzeena]

8 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

That would drive me nuts if I was a crew member.   If they get off at cape liberty there really isnt many places they could head to unless they have a couple hours.  

Those on their first contracts cannot get off in NY or NJ. Some thing about local laws and immigration. No such thing in Florida they said.

After covid, staff said that they could not get off in the Bahamas, PC and could only go in certain crew areas on Coco Cay. I am pretty sure that is not the case with every ship. And hopefully the are allowed out, even if in a bubble.

[Arzeena]

3 hours ago, jagsfan said:

@bobmacliberty

Yiu may have already done this, but Nights of Lights is worth a trip to St Augustine this time of year. 
There are tram snd trolley tours, but also a cruise along the waterfront. 
It ends Jan 31, so there are a couple of months to see it. 
It’s pretty special, and the restaurants stay open later than usual. 

We will stop bye early January.

I am so happy to see you posting Mimi. 🥰

[Arzeena]

Dani,

We met a lovely couple from Israel,  in the Diamond Lounge. And we chatted a bit  about our CC family thread started by you.

 

[Sea Dog]

17 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

That would drive me nuts if I was a crew member.   If they get off at cape liberty there really isnt many places they could head to unless they have a couple hours.  

 

Riley Trench who was a lighting crew on several Royal ships who did vlogs on YT quit after coming back because the confinement of not being able to leave the ship drove him crazy.

 

 

9 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

I think that and this particular cruise was just too much on their already frazzled nerves. I also felt a lack of morale.

I am sure they will rotate the crew. Most mentioned that they have been on since seven months. Some mentioned they go home in April.

 

Have to mention: Like you, my DH enjoyed the Indian breakfasts. Burji especially.😁

 

 

Yes I don't blame them I would be frazzled too. Yes I am a new fan to the Indian breakfasts. Loved the Burji.

[Ozark_Kid]

I was checking on the garlic garden and found a nice surprise!  I had a few radishes pop up earlier but pretty much gave up on them a couple of weeks ago.  Some are almost twice the size they usually get.  I can’t believe how many I found and more are growing.  They are called Breakfast Radishes.

[Ozark_Kid]

6 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

For that price I couldn't resist and grabbed 2 turkey breasts for around $3.25 each (little over 8 lbs) and will put in extra freezer in the garage to cook this winter. 

I went to Kroger’s to see if they had any deals.  They had several turkey but not a deal like you found!  I still got a 3lb butterball turkey breast but they were $9.99 each. I enjoyed the 1st enough  I got another.  If I remember I will check Wednesday.  that is usually the day their new sale items come out.

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

 

I would rather mow than plow or shovel snow any day

Amen.

[Jimbo]

For those tired of Turkey Leftovers, took my Wife out for Dinner tonight to our favorite Mexican Restrant  in the area. Happy Cinco de Mayo/ Mexican Grill in Max Meadows,VA.They have the largest sized shrimp for Shrimp Fahitias  for Two.. $24.00

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

So sorry to hear this about the crew.  

Did it impact food in wj or dinner in other restaurants, etc?

I hope they improve by january for our b2b in jan.  

If you do jump ship, I would pick the 12 nighter on Equinox.  We liked allure but weren't thrilled with allure.  We would like to try odyssey but I like longer sailings so I would pick the 12 nighter.

 

What did you not like about Allure?

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, Arzeena said:

I think that and this particular cruise was just too much on their already frazzled nerves. I also felt a lack of morale.

I am sure they will rotate the crew. Most mentioned that they have been on since seven months. Some mentioned they go home in April.

 

Have to mention: Like you, my DH enjoyed the Indian breakfasts. Burji especially.😁

 

What was the capacity for your holiday sailing?  

It is truly a shame that passengers cannot cooperate and follow protocols that doesnt help the crew either.

Hopefully the comments on your survey make it to the right hands and upper mgmt can improve the problems with staffing, flow and morale.

Do you think there is anything I could bring the staff to cheer them up when we cruise Anthem in Jan?

 

[Arzeena]

@island lady

I was looking at your pictures (time share west of Orlando) on the top floor. Is it OK to ask and would you care to share what place is this or the name of the resort or give me some kind of hint please? We are looking to rent something similar in January.

I am a little wary of time shares. We rented one at the Sheraton Vistana Villages in Orlando (directly through Marriott) and it was not up to standards. Perhaps I was expecting too much. On the other hand, we have rented vacation condos in Kissimmee via Vrbo and Air BnB and have been very happy. Just wanted a different scenery this time so am asking.

[Sunshine3601]

10 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

What did you not like about Allure?

I cannot pin point one particular thing, just the vibe was a lot different.   Didnt feel that friendly.  

We had a boardwalk balcony and doubt we will get one again on this ship class.   Was nice to see aqua show but we missed the privacy of OV balcony.  We were on Jan 2020 for 7 night sailing then we hoped over to Serenade for 23 or 24 night sailing and felt right at home on Serenade.

[Arzeena]

16 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

What was the capacity for your holiday sailing?  

It is truly a shame that passengers cannot cooperate and follow protocols that doesnt help the crew either.

Hopefully the comments on your survey make it to the right hands and upper mgmt can improve the problems with staffing, flow and morale.

Do you think there is anything I could bring the staff to cheer them up when we cruise Anthem in Jan?

 

As related by D lounge concierge and Loyalty Ambassador:

2879 passengers.

800 plus kids.

 

You could.

I would say just bring back Captain Sreko Ban. The sunshine will follow.

 

 

Edited November 29, 2021 by Arzeena