Will the higher prices per fare and unpopular changes in the MDR have you considering changing lines?

[lakelorain]

1 minute ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Didn't explain well enough.

What don't you understand?  The steak touched the shrimp, before they removed the shrimp from the plate,  and I had to go to medical with my epi-pen because I had a reaction.

[bonsai3s]

3 minutes ago, lakelorain said:

The steak is pre-plated with the shellfish.  If you ask for no shellfish they just take it off.  I know because I had an allergic reaction because the steak had touched the shellfish. 

Lakelorain, just a polite suggestion...if you plan on attending the lunch, perhaps you should let the LA know about your allergies in advance so they'll have something for you. 

[lakelorain]

1 minute ago, bonsai3s said:

Lakelorain, just a polite suggestion...if you plan on attending the lunch, perhaps you should let the LA know about your allergies in advance so they'll have something for you. 

I do.  I also fill out the special needs form and talk to the various waiters etc.  I don't have problems in the MDR.  The LA's don't seem to have any control over the menu.  I even had one walk into the luncheon with me and I still was only offered shellfish.  She tried to explain to several people, that I couldn't eat it, but got very frustrated because no one seemed to listen to her.  Funny, but not so funny, thing was they offered to substitute lobster for the shrimp.  I ended up eating a wedge salad as my meal.

[bonsai3s]

2 minutes ago, lakelorain said:

I do.  I also fill out the special needs form and talk to the various waiters etc.  I don't have problems in the MDR.  The LA's don't seem to have any control over the menu.  I even had one walk into the luncheon with me and I still was only offered shellfish.  She tried to explain to several people, that I couldn't eat it, but got very frustrated because no one seemed to listen to her.  Funny, but not so funny, thing was they offered to substitute lobster for the shrimp.  I ended up eating a wedge salad as my meal.

Oh my...sorry to hear about that. I can emphatize because I am also highly allergic to shrimp.

 

* A few years ago, we ate at Wonderland...told them I was allergic to shrimp.  In the middle of our meal, I had difficulty breathing. Hoping to avoid "Alpha, Alpha, Alpha"...we left and went straight to the medical unit...about 5 hours later, the nice doctor finally released me...total cost: $1,702.17

[Morecruisesplz]

40 minutes ago, lakelorain said:

What don't you understand?  The steak touched the shrimp, before they removed the shrimp from the plate,  and I had to go to medical with my epi-pen because I had a reaction.

Oh, I understand. IMHO you should have specifically asked for a steak on a clean plate. You accepted what they offered without insisting that the understand your situation. 

[ccotting]

17 hours ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Oh, I understand. IMHO you should have specifically asked for a steak on a clean plate. You accepted what they offered without insisting that the understand your situation. 

Well, I see the point you are making but in good and correct food service this is not necessary.  I lunch regularly with someone who has a seafood allergy and good protocol for such allergies means that the kitchen must ensure the production line is clean when prepping a dish for someone with a specific food allergy.  This includes cutting boards, knives and food handling.  Most probably this was a training deficiency with the waiter who presented to the kitchen saying 'passenger doesn't want the lobster' and so they just popped it off rather than mentioning the allergy.  The situation presented by lakeloraian is very serious and she has my sympathy.  She could have died.  It is not her fault.  This is a company that plates hundreds of thousands of meals daily to people all over the world and they would know standard practice for food allergy.   I hope she complained to a high level and the company responded with appropriate apology.   This is a staff training issue and eminently correctable.

[The Fun Researcher]

13 minutes ago, ccotting said:

Well, I see the point you are making but in good and correct food service this is not necessary.  I lunch regularly with someone who has a seafood allergy and good protocol for such allergies means that the kitchen must ensure the production line is clean when prepping a dish for someone with a specific food allergy.  This includes cutting boards, knives and food handling.  Most probably this was a training deficiency with the waiter who presented to the kitchen saying 'passenger doesn't want the lobster' and so they just popped it off rather than mentioning the allergy.  The situation presented by lakeloraian is very serious and she has my sympathy.  She could have died.  It is not her fault.  This is a company that plates hundreds of thousands of meals daily to people all over the world and they would know standard practice for food allergy.   I hope she complained to a high level and the company responded with appropriate apology.   This is a staff training issue and eminently correctable.

Agreed.  Even the most basic food service employee should have understood and be trained on the issue and started with a new plate and new steak. 

[Morecruisesplz]

If something I am about to eat could kill me, you better believe that I'm going to know how it was prepared. Its no one else's responsibility. 

[Incognito1]

On 2/5/2023 at 1:16 PM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

well, I beg to differ... You may be talking about non-school holiday sailings, but unfortunately, having a non-home schooled kid, we are limited as to when we can cruise.

Can't you just take the kid out of school for a week or two?  I'm sure he'd learn more from experiencing different places in the world than he would in school for those two weeks.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

4 minutes ago, Incognito1 said:

Can't you just take the kid out of school for a week or two?  I'm sure he'd learn more from experiencing different places in the world than he would in school for those two weeks.

No. He doesn't experience all that much during his vegging out on the beach.

If he misses 5 days of school, we will get a visit from social services. Truancy is a serious deal in this state. 

If he were in elementary school - that would be different. But he is in middle school now, and missing 2 weeks of school is quite serious. All of us are in vacation mode while we cruise, and he simply doesn't want to spend a minute of that studying anything. DS hates school as it is.

[Incognito1]

6 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

No. He doesn't experience all that much during his vegging out on the beach.

If he misses 5 days of school, we will get a visit from social services. Truancy is a serious deal in this state. 

If he were in elementary school - that would be different. But he is in middle school now, and missing 2 weeks of school is quite serious. All of us are in vacation mode while we cruise, and he simply doesn't want to spend a minute of that studying anything. DS hates school as it is.

OUCH.  That's horrific that social services has anything to do with missing school for a vacation.  It's really none of their business.  I feel for you, having to cruise when ships are completely full and the passenger makeup different.

[davekathy]

19 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

All of us are in vacation mode while we cruise, and he simply doesn't want to spend a minute of that studying anything. DS hates school as it is.

Agree. Can't imagine working or doing school while on a cruise. Your son is spot on with his reasoning. 

[The Fun Researcher]

1 hour ago, fredmdcruisers said:

If something I am about to eat could kill me, you better believe that I'm going to know how it was prepared. Its no one else's responsibility. 

There is accountability on both sides.  The only way to know for certain (despite how clear the passenger is) that a dish was prepared as needed would be for the cruise passenger observe the entire kitchen process themselves.  Obviously this doesn't happen, so there absolutely is accountability on those in the kitchen as well with these possible life and death situations.

[baelor]

1 hour ago, fredmdcruisers said:

If something I am about to eat could kill me, you better believe that I'm going to know how it was prepared. Its no one else's responsibility. 

lakelorain's responsibility was entirely discharged when she notified the staff through the channels that RCI itself provided of her allergies.

 

At that point, it's RCI's responsibility, and your attempt to blame the passenger in this situation is as off-target as it is bizarre.

[baelor]

35 minutes ago, Incognito1 said:

Can't you just take the kid out of school for a week or two?  I'm sure he'd learn more from experiencing different places in the world than he would in school for those two weeks.

I'm not sure that spending part of a day in a new city/area allows for that much meaningful experience.

[Morecruisesplz]

15 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

There is accountability on both sides.  The only way to know for certain (despite how clear the passenger is) that a dish was prepared as needed would be for the cruise passenger observe the entire kitchen process themselves.  Obviously this doesn't happen, so there absolutely is accountability on those in the kitchen as well with these possible life and death situations.

Good luck with that.

[Incognito1]

23 minutes ago, baelor said:

I'm not sure that spending part of a day in a new city/area allows for that much meaningful experience.

It depends.  My 1%er brother took his middle school boys on a cruise that included Belize, and they toured it with locals.  These boys previously had no real idea what extreme poverty was, and it was eye-opening for them.  They were also able to ask questions about the political and economic situations that were affected by the country's history.  A lesson in critical thinking hearing more than one side of an issue.

 

But just the experience of traveling itself can be very beneficial.  Everyone knows their own children, though, and we all make choices. For my own, experiences were much more important than things, but YMMV.  You do your family.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

2 hours ago, Incognito1 said:

My 1%er brother took his middle school boys on a cruise that included Belize, and they toured it with locals.  These boys previously had no real idea what extreme poverty was, and it was eye-opening for them.

there are plenty of places like that in rural and even urban areas of many of the US states. One doesn't have to go on a cruise to faraway places to get acquainted with those.

 

2 hours ago, Incognito1 said:

But just the experience of traveling itself can be very beneficial.

 

yes, but it can be done during school breaks.

[davekathy]

5 hours ago, Incognito1 said:

It depends.  My 1%er brother took his middle school boys on a cruise that included Belize, and they toured it with locals.  

What does being a 1%er have to do with anything? Never mind nothing. 

Edited February 22, 2023 by davekathy

[jencruzin]

On 2/20/2023 at 6:02 PM, lakelorain said:

What don't you understand?  The steak touched the shrimp, before they removed the shrimp from the plate,  and I had to go to medical with my epi-pen because I had a reaction.

You shouldnt be sailing because of food close proximities....are you aware that, even if your steak sat alone, they stack the loaded plates, regardless? Your steak might have touched another plate with shrimp.

Edited February 22, 2023 by jencruzin

[Incognito1]

4 minutes ago, davekathy said:

What does being a 1%er have to do with anything?

His boys live in a privileged bubble; that's what.  And, as far the US goes, it's a completely different situation.  If you need me to spell that out, it might be beneficial to spend some time on city-data.com

 

You do what's best for your own family because only you know what your children need / are capable of / would benefit from.

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, Incognito1 said:

His boys live in a privileged bubble; that's what.  And, as far the US goes, it's a completely different situation.  If you need me to spell that out, it might be beneficial to spend some time on city-data.com

 

You do what's best for your own family because only you know what your children need / are capable of / would benefit from.

I guess I'm thinking a different 1%er. 

No thanks. If you want, I'm listening.

No kids. 

[baelor]

7 hours ago, Incognito1 said:

It depends.  My 1%er brother took his middle school boys on a cruise that included Belize, and they toured it with locals.  These boys previously had no real idea what extreme poverty was, and it was eye-opening for them.  They were also able to ask questions about the political and economic situations that were affected by the country's history.  A lesson in critical thinking hearing more than one side of an issue.

 

But just the experience of traveling itself can be very beneficial.  Everyone knows their own children, though, and we all make choices. For my own, experiences were much more important than things, but YMMV.  You do your family.

I meant more that you can better experience destinations by going to them on a dedicated vacation rather than a cruise.  Someone has not meaningfully experienced, say, Rome by going there for 8 hours.

[bucfan2]

8 hours ago, baelor said:

I meant more that you can better experience destinations by going to them on a dedicated vacation rather than a cruise.  Someone has not meaningfully experienced, say, Rome by going there for 8 hours.

Different strokes for different folks. We did a cruise out of Seattle, and our ‘meaningful experience’ required far less than 8 hours. 31 available flavors for a reason. 

Edited February 22, 2023 by bucfan2

[baelor]

4 hours ago, bucfan2 said:

We did a cruise out of Seattle, and our ‘meaningful experience’ required far less than 8 hours

In Seattle?  As someone who has lived there, I can say that taking in the city requires more than 8 hours.  But perhaps by "meaningful" you mean "surface-level."