Explorer to Bermuda 8/15/09 Very, Very Long Review

[transam84]

I’m going to write this as part chronology, but mostly a summary, the mix just seems to work better for me. I’m sorry it is so long. I like to be detailed.
I’d like to start by giving a little background. We live in central NJ. This is my 8th cruise, 6th with RCCL. I am 50 years old, but very thin and athletic and I watch what I eat most of the time, but eat whatever I want on a cruise. I have traveled extensively for business and pleasure. I go on at least 1 major vacation a year with my DS and DH and 1 with my DM. I consistently get suites. This is my 3rd Voyager class and 4th GS. Next year I have the RS reserved (may cancel due to a bit of an issue with RCCL this time, hence the reason I’m giving some background). My first RCCL cruise was on Voyager, when megaships were just coming into their own. It was such an amazing experience; I was hooked on RCCL and have not strayed since. I am going to hold back nothing, so please take this with a grain of salt, it is my opinion and experience only and everyone is different. I will give all the very positives and negatives of this cruise from my viewpoint just for complete disclosure not to simply complain. Since my DS just came off the Carnival Valor, I will also note some of his observations.
Preparation: Very excited about not having to fly to the ship. As noted, we travel a lot and are very tired of the luggage restrictions. The 50 lb limit per bag is simply absurd. I don’t travel light and even when we traveled 1st class to Hawaii in May it was a hassle since we still had the 50lb limit. We just couldn’t get around it and I’m tired of it. So, this time I felt liberated. I over packed and threw in a bunch of extra shoes into the suitcase simply because I could. Shoes are the biggest culprit we found that adds to the weight. My DS just went on a Carnival cruise out of Miami and we had to put all his shoes crammed into his back pack. His suitcase was exactly 50lbs!
Bayonne/Arrival: OK, so traveling from NJ is nice. We only live about ½ hour from Bayonne, right up the Turnpike. My DH drove my DM and me to the port. We left about 10:30AM and after a quick stop at the supermarket for something I forgot, we arrived in Bayonne about 11:15AM. The line was out to the entrance the port. It moved at a snail’s pace and it took us an hour to get to the ship. My first reaction, this port is Ugly! I am used to the lovely Florida ports; even Puerto Rico was very nice. OK, so we’re in NJ, I got over it. Then we get to the ship and I notice the ship is about ½ mile from the check in area. Interesting I thought. Then I see Rutgers campus buses shuttling people to the ship. This is very funny for me since I’m going to Rutgers for my PhD and I’m there all the time and never take the bus, now on vacation I’m taking my “school bus”. We drop off the luggage in the tent like area and proceed quickly to the check in. Not at all pretty like in FL but at least it seems efficient. We have a suite so proceed to the suite counter. It goes very fast and we quickly are ready to take our welcome aboard picture. In this case there is a brick wall behind us rather than the usual ship background or ship entrance. OK, so I get past this too, not a big deal. Just noting for complete disclosure. Then we walk to the ship and embark on the 1st floor. Again ugly. I have always boarded on deck 5.
Windjammer/Island Grill/Johnny Rockets/Café Promenade: It is 1:00PM so we head to the Windjammer as usual until the cabins are ready. The Windjammer is exactly the same as on the other ships. Same set up same food. I think the Windjammer is laid out very well, as is the entire ship. My DS just came off Carnival Valor and he said their buffet, although better the RCCL in some ways is laid out terribly. There are plenty of choices in the Windjammer for both breakfast and lunch that should satisfy most people. The food is fresh. There are only a couple of negatives in my opinion. There are no made to order deli or grill stations on RCCL. My DS (who also has been on RCCL many times) says that the Carnival made to order deli and grill stations are wonderful. I like a sandwich for lunch and after a couple of days the same selection of pre-made tuna, turkey, ham and cheese sandwiches and veggie wrap it gets boring. They are also rather skimpy sandwiches. Yeah I could take multiples, but then I would have take them apart and put all the fixings’ on one since I don’t want all the bread. Also, I don’t like having the pre-made hamburgers sitting in a pan rather than made fresh. Although there were quite a few desserts, I often could not find anything I liked on this cruise. I am a dessert person, but the desserts this time just did not seem that good to me, except for the standard cookies which are always yummy. Just my opinion and in the scheme not a big deal. Overall, I do think the Windjammer is pretty good. We did go to Johnny Rockets, since I like fresh hamburgers and that was good, but there is a small charge. I often could not find paper cups in the Windjammer and so had to go the Café Promenade to get a paper cup with lid to take to the pool. The Café Promenade always seemed to out of coffee. This is a first in my experience.
Portofino: This restaurant is a real stand out and well worth the small charge. The food is wonderful and the presentation of the food and staff are top notch. I would highly recommend one meal at Portofino.
Cabin/GS 1574: At 1:30pm the cabins were ready and off we went. The GS looked exactly like every other one I have had. It is very nice, large with plenty of storage. We did not even need the 3rd closet for a 5 day cruise and I pack heavy. The bathroom is also nice and the balcony a good size. There are still the “old tube” TVs which I suspect will be replaced when it goes to dry dock. The only very minor complaint was that there was a strange smell next to the bed in this room that I could not seem to get rid of the entire cruise. This is the first time I have ever experience an unpleasant odor on a RCCL ship. Otherwise the cabin was in very good condition. Akil our cabin steward made me lots of towel animals, was very pleasant and kept the cabin in good order. Oh, I forgot to mention, the view from our cabin was amazing. We looked right out to the Statue of Liberty. This made up for the ugly port coming in! Location was right between two elevator areas. I was initially not happy about having to walk a bit from either one, but it turned out better. If I wanted to go the spa I went up the front one, the windjammer up the back. So I did not have to traverse the length of the ship for one or the other.
Muster Drill: The muster drill occurred about 4:00 PM. Hooray we did not need to bring our life jackets! It was done well and was over quickly. When we got back to the cabin the luggage was there and I began to unpack.
Sail Away: Before I knew it we were sailing a little after 4:30PM. I ran up to the top deck for sail away. This was incredible. Going under the Verrazano Bridge was amazing. This is a bridge that I spent my childhood crossing from the top to visit my grandparents in Brooklyn. Seeing it from the bottom perspective was amazing. We were told we clear by 9 feet, but coming up to it seems like we are going to touch. The weather was great and I got fabulous pictures! I got so taken up by sail away I missed the cruise critic informal meet and mingle, sorry about that.
Dining Room/My Time Dining: The dining room is laid out the same as the other Voyager class ships so it was no surprise. I decided to try My Time dining this time and this was a major mistake. It is absolutely horrible and very badly executed by RCCL in my opinion. The reservation staff also handle it very badly. The way I was treated and this experience may actually cause me to stray from RCCL. Again, just my personal experience and everyone is different. On the My Time notice it says “reservations recommended”, HA! The first night we are told since we didn’t have a reservation we may have to sit with other couples. I am totally fine with this, since I love to socialize on a cruise and actually prefer sitting with others. We are seated with two lovely couples and hit it off right away. Another minor complaint is the fact the RCCL has virtually the same menus on every ship year after year. The choices were almost exactly the same as I had on Enchantment a year ago. I am a bit picky and so I end up with the same things all the time on every cruise. The food is fresh and tasty, but I’m just a bit bored with the same choices. As with the Windjammer, for some reason I just was not impressed with the desserts this time. I think they were basically the same as in the past, but nothing appealed to me. We made our dining room reservation for the next two nights and got a table for two both, which was also fine. The third night we went to Portofino and that day my mom was not feeling well so I forgot to make a dining room reservation for the following night. I was also out most of the day and there are only a couple of hours in the morning and a couple in the afternoon when the reservation stand is open. I could have gone to the concierge, but I forgot (my bad, twice). So, on the last sea day I went to the stand at 2:30pm to make my reservation and I was rudely told it was not open yet to come back in 5 minutes. I walked down the promenade and then went back. I asked for a reservation between 6:00 and 7:00pm. I was rudely told that he had nothing available until 8:30PM and I was reprimanded and told I was supposed to make reservations the prior day. I explained I forgot, that my mom was not well and she can eat so late. He waved his hand over the reservations list and again explained he could not help me. I again explained about my mom and that I was a suite guest and platinum (soon to be diamond member). I hate to throw this kind of stuff around, it embarrasses me to appear I think I’m special or something, but I just could eat that late and I did not want to go to the buffet. Since the concierge was in until 5 pm, I went to guest services. I explained my issue and the “girl” behind the counter shrugged and told me she could not help me. So, off I went to Portofino (did not feel like another fancy meal there, but did not know what else to do). I was told they had absolutely nothing for that night but he could wait list me. I explained that I thought suite guest were supposed to have priority reservations for Portofino and he basically stammered some sort of incoherent answer. I left disgusted. So, we decided to go to Johnny Rockets for our final dinner. I did not care that much about the food, just the way I was treated. So, although I love RCCL and have had almost no bad experiences in the past, I’m considering cancelling the RS for next year and switching cruise lines. Overall the wait staff was very nice and professional even with My Time, so that was a positive. I contacted my travel agent with the issue and she forwarded it to RCCL.
Concierge: Ricardo is my all time favorite concierge. He is so warm and genuine. This was the best run concierge lounge in my experience. Ricardo said he could help with the dining issue, but at that point (it was 5:00PM), I was so frustrated, I just wanted to eat at Johnny Rockets.
Shows: The comedians were ok and the shows were ok. I guess since this was a short cruise I was not as impressed with the shows as with the other cruises. I also think RCCL needs to get rid of the 10 silliest questions on the last day. I have heard it 6 times now and it is boring. I think over half the people are probably repeats; I would think it must be getting boring to most repeats. Or at the least come up with a new set of questions. The Ice Show was terrific as usual and a real highlight. I got some awesome pictures.
Bermuda/Tours: This is a beautiful island. The scenery is breathtaking. We did the Tea and Tales tour which was lovely. I also went to Horse shoe Bay, it is very pretty. I think the ship tour to Horseshoe Bay was too short (only 2 hours on beach). I think I would just take a cab or a bus next time. The Dockyard is lovely but I think I would have preferred docking in Hamilton. There is limited shopping right at the Dockyard. We could have taken a cab or bus to Hamilton, but it would have been nice to spend time on both sides of the island.
Pools: I think RCCL has it right. The pools are a nice size on these ships and even on sea days, it’s crowded but not unbearable. My DS said the Carnival pools are like bath tub size and on sea days people are packed in like sardines. Also, I found there were enough beach chairs, on sea days I did have to get there early to get a chair up front on the main pool deck, but there were lots to be had further away. I only a few issues with the saving of lounge chairs and people grumbling about it. I do think a big pool slide would be nice for the older kids. My DS said the Carnival slide was a lot of fun.
Overall: The ship is in great condition. They are always cleaning and fixing. The pools are wonderful. The ship is laid out very well and is easy to navigate. The elevators are slow and frustrating; I think RCCL needs more elevators on their ships. The food is good quality and plentiful. Portofino is fabulous. The cabins are large with plenty of storage. My Time Dining is horrible, and I don’t think it is ready for “prime time” yet. It is handled terribly. Other than My Time the cruise was overall nice. I still love RCCL, but I'm mad with My Time and they way I was treated and so I'm throwing a bit of a tantrum. Please excuse me for that.
Sorry for the long review. I’m going to post the exact thing in both reviews and forums, so don’t waste time reading both.
If you would like to see pictures, there is a link in my signature.

[Homebody]

Is My Time still only one half of the deck 5 dining room? I have heard rumors that, due to the popularity of MTD, they will be expanding it to the entire deck 5 dining room and was wondering if that has happened yet.

[MrPete]

Just right!

THANKS FOR THE REMINISCE!

[pepsicruiser]

I'm sorry you had issues with this cruise. I have heard that the food quality has gone down especially in the dessert area. But as I stated on another thread I guess to keep the prices down we have to suffer someplace and I guess they cut back in the kitchen. I also have MTD for the first time and it's on EOS also. I'll make a mental note to keep up to date my reservations.

[MrPete]

Nice pics too! Either your ship was empty, or you're an early riser like me.

Still can't get used to that second dock in Dockside.

[DonnaK]

I'm sorry you had problems with MTD. It's one of the reasons I love traditional...having a table waiting for me at a regular time with a dedicated wait team.

You spoke of moving to a different cruiseline and I just wanted to comment that we had very similar issues with anytime dining on the Caribbean Princess last year. (Click on the link to my review in my signature for details). It seems that no cruiseline has the execution down pat.

[linkerbink]

Thanks for the review. We'll be doing the Explorer to Bermuda next April. It's our first time from Bayonne, our third RCL trip to Bermuda. While I'm glad I won't have to fly to a port this time, I hear that leaving from Bayonne often a less than pleasant experience. We'll see, I guess.....

[MrPete]

Originally Posted by linkerbink

Thanks for the review. We'll be doing the Explorer to Bermuda next April. It's our first time from Bayonne, our third RCL trip to Bermuda. While I'm glad I won't have to fly to a port this time, I hear that leaving from Bayonne often a less than pleasant experience. We'll see, I guess.....

Actually, after 3 departures from this port, it remains the LEAST stressful. The only negative is that you don't get to sail down the west side of Manhattan. You are at the bridge in something like 15 minutes, and then in the open sea.

[jackdis]

Thanks for your review. We were on the same sailing. I have also been on RCCL a few times and noticed several negative things, especially regarding dining service, food quality and especially desserts. And yes, the menu selection could be changed up a bit.

I also agree with you about the line to get to the ship and your observations of things being "ugly." I agree!!! We arrived at about 11 and it took us 45 minutes in line to drop off our luggage and then another 45 to get onboard.

I am going to check out your pictures now......
My next one will be a Carnival so I am curious to see how they are, since I haven't sailed with them in a few years.

[transam84]

Originally Posted by Homebody

Is My Time still only one half of the deck 5 dining room? I have heard rumors that, due to the popularity of MTD, they will be expanding it to the entire deck 5 dining room and was wondering if that has happened yet.

We were in the Colombus on deck 5, I don't think My Time was the whole dining room floor yet, but could be wrong. Maybe if they do give it more space it will be better. It just seems to me that if someone takes my time and everyone decides to eat between 6:00 and 7:00 they should try to make accomodations. I wouldn't mind waiting 20 or 30 minutes once I got there, or offered to sit at a large table. I'm pretty flexible, it just seemed they did not offer me any other options but to eat very late. Oh well, as I noted there were other things that were still very good.

[transam84]

I also want to thank everyone so far for being understanding about my issue with My Time. I was afraid I would get flamed a bit for "complaining". But you have all been very nice, should have know RCCL cruise critic members would be understanding.

[GMoney]

Originally Posted by transam84

I also want to thank everyone so far for being understanding about my issue with My Time. I was afraid I would get flamed a bit for "complaining". But you have all been very nice, should have know RCCL cruise critic members would be understanding.

Well, hate to ruin things, but I'm not sure why you labeled MTD a "major mistake," saying "It is absolutely horrible and very badly executed by RCCL in my opinion." All that over the one incident with reservations? Rude treatment is unacceptable for sure, but I'm really sure what you expected them to do. There still the WJ and room service. Seems like a small thing to cancel a RS and / or cruise over, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

As far as ship menus being the same, it seems like a small gripe. Even unchanged, menus are have many choices. It's tough cruising so much I guess...

[Homebody]

Thanks for the reply. My SIL and BIL were on your cruise and wanted MTD, they boarded early and went directly to the sign up area. They were told MTD was full. They were very surprised. When they were on the Explorer in April the had no problem signing up when they boarded. It told them in the time between their cruises they opened MTD up to people when they were booking their cruises now, also, more and more people had found out about it.

I hope the problems that you had were just "growing pains" with the program, though that by no means excuses the rude treatment you received.

We have MTD booked for our Oct. cruise. We wanted to try it because we want the flexibility of dining when we wanted. We will be a party of 6, and won't necessarily know the day before when we want to eat the next night. It seems that this now may be a problem. We still have time to decide if we want to switch back to late seating. I will be watching the reviews until then.

Thank you for your review

[Princesshhi]

MTD is wonderful. You can sit with other people right away or wait a little while (have a pre dinner drink) before you are seated. I prefer to dine with different people each evening. I have always choose this type of dinning if offered. It has always worked well. I never make reservations because I never know when I want to eat. I think this is the purpose of MTD>

[teddie]

And I do like them long

I appreciate your frank and objective approach. The Explorer was our first cruise, and I look forward to sailing her again in about a month. I chose to stick with the traditional dining, and your comments only serve to reinforce my choice. I enjoy that routine, and for me, it's an important part of the cruise experience, since it an old custom from way back.

Can you comment more on the Tea and Tales tour? Were the high tea offerings substantial enough to justify the cost of the ticket? How was the touring part of it? The place looked very charming. (I don't know if you come up north as far as Chester, NJ, but there is an adorable place called "Sally Lunn's Tea Room" and it's lovely!)

We've only gone as high as a Junior Suite, but the GS looked fabulous.

Thanks!!

Teddie from Union County, NJ

[maddycat]

We were on the Explorer in May and did MTD. At that time MTD was fairly new. We loved it. We never made a reservation. Showed up between 6 and 6:45 and never had to wait for a table. We always got a table for 2.

We're cruising on the Explorer again in Oct. and once again have signed up for MTD. I just hope that we don't have the problems that you had. To me making reservations defeats the purpose of MTD.

[pattiea]

Originally Posted by transam84

I’m going to write this as part chronology, but mostly a summary, the mix just seems to work better for me. I’m sorry it is so long. I like to be detailed.
I’d like to start by giving a little background. We live in central NJ. This is my 8th cruise, 6th with RCCL. I am 50 years old, but very thin and athletic and I watch what I eat most of the time, but eat whatever I want on a cruise. I have traveled extensively for business and pleasure. I go on at least 1 major vacation a year with my DS and DH and 1 with my DM. I consistently get suites. This is my 3rd Voyager class and 4th GS. Next year I have the RS reserved (may cancel due to a bit of an issue with RCCL this time, hence the reason I’m giving some background). My first RCCL cruise was on Voyager, when megaships were just coming into their own. It was such an amazing experience; I was hooked on RCCL and have not strayed since. I am going to hold back nothing, so please take this with a grain of salt, it is my opinion and experience only and everyone is different. I will give all the very positives and negatives of this cruise from my viewpoint just for complete disclosure not to simply complain. Since my DS just came off the Carnival Valor, I will also note some of his observations.
Preparation: Very excited about not having to fly to the ship. As noted, we travel a lot and are very tired of the luggage restrictions. The 50 lb limit per bag is simply absurd. I don’t travel light and even when we traveled 1st class to Hawaii in May it was a hassle since we still had the 50lb limit. We just couldn’t get around it and I’m tired of it. So, this time I felt liberated. I over packed and threw in a bunch of extra shoes into the suitcase simply because I could. Shoes are the biggest culprit we found that adds to the weight. My DS just went on a Carnival cruise out of Miami and we had to put all his shoes crammed into his back pack. His suitcase was exactly 50lbs!
Bayonne/Arrival: OK, so traveling from NJ is nice. We only live about ½ hour from Bayonne, right up the Turnpike. My DH drove my DM and me to the port. We left about 10:30AM and after a quick stop at the supermarket for something I forgot, we arrived in Bayonne about 11:15AM. The line was out to the entrance the port. It moved at a snail’s pace and it took us an hour to get to the ship. My first reaction, this port is Ugly! I am used to the lovely Florida ports; even Puerto Rico was very nice. OK, so we’re in NJ, I got over it. Then we get to the ship and I notice the ship is about ½ mile from the check in area. Interesting I thought. Then I see Rutgers campus buses shuttling people to the ship. This is very funny for me since I’m going to Rutgers for my PhD and I’m there all the time and never take the bus, now on vacation I’m taking my “school bus”. We drop off the luggage in the tent like area and proceed quickly to the check in. Not at all pretty like in FL but at least it seems efficient. We have a suite so proceed to the suite counter. It goes very fast and we quickly are ready to take our welcome aboard picture. In this case there is a brick wall behind us rather than the usual ship background or ship entrance. OK, so I get past this too, not a big deal. Just noting for complete disclosure. Then we walk to the ship and embark on the 1st floor. Again ugly. I have always boarded on deck 5.
Windjammer/Island Grill/Johnny Rockets/Café Promenade: It is 1:00PM so we head to the Windjammer as usual until the cabins are ready. The Windjammer is exactly the same as on the other ships. Same set up same food. I think the Windjammer is laid out very well, as is the entire ship. My DS just came off Carnival Valor and he said their buffet, although better the RCCL in some ways is laid out terribly. There are plenty of choices in the Windjammer for both breakfast and lunch that should satisfy most people. The food is fresh. There are only a couple of negatives in my opinion. There are no made to order deli or grill stations on RCCL. My DS (who also has been on RCCL many times) says that the Carnival made to order deli and grill stations are wonderful. I like a sandwich for lunch and after a couple of days the same selection of pre-made tuna, turkey, ham and cheese sandwiches and veggie wrap it gets boring. They are also rather skimpy sandwiches. Yeah I could take multiples, but then I would have take them apart and put all the fixings’ on one since I don’t want all the bread. Also, I don’t like having the pre-made hamburgers sitting in a pan rather than made fresh. Although there were quite a few desserts, I often could not find anything I liked on this cruise. I am a dessert person, but the desserts this time just did not seem that good to me, except for the standard cookies which are always yummy. Just my opinion and in the scheme not a big deal. Overall, I do think the Windjammer is pretty good. We did go to Johnny Rockets, since I like fresh hamburgers and that was good, but there is a small charge. I often could not find paper cups in the Windjammer and so had to go the Café Promenade to get a paper cup with lid to take to the pool. The Café Promenade always seemed to out of coffee. This is a first in my experience.
Portofino: This restaurant is a real stand out and well worth the small charge. The food is wonderful and the presentation of the food and staff are top notch. I would highly recommend one meal at Portofino.
Cabin/GS 1574: At 1:30pm the cabins were ready and off we went. The GS looked exactly like every other one I have had. It is very nice, large with plenty of storage. We did not even need the 3rd closet for a 5 day cruise and I pack heavy. The bathroom is also nice and the balcony a good size. There are still the “old tube” TVs which I suspect will be replaced when it goes to dry dock. The only very minor complaint was that there was a strange smell next to the bed in this room that I could not seem to get rid of the entire cruise. This is the first time I have ever experience an unpleasant odor on a RCCL ship. Otherwise the cabin was in very good condition. Akil our cabin steward made me lots of towel animals, was very pleasant and kept the cabin in good order. Oh, I forgot to mention, the view from our cabin was amazing. We looked right out to the Statue of Liberty. This made up for the ugly port coming in! Location was right between two elevator areas. I was initially not happy about having to walk a bit from either one, but it turned out better. If I wanted to go the spa I went up the front one, the windjammer up the back. So I did not have to traverse the length of the ship for one or the other.
Muster Drill: The muster drill occurred about 4:00 PM. Hooray we did not need to bring our life jackets! It was done well and was over quickly. When we got back to the cabin the luggage was there and I began to unpack.
Sail Away: Before I knew it we were sailing a little after 4:30PM. I ran up to the top deck for sail away. This was incredible. Going under the Verrazano Bridge was amazing. This is a bridge that I spent my childhood crossing from the top to visit my grandparents in Brooklyn. Seeing it from the bottom perspective was amazing. We were told we clear by 9 feet, but coming up to it seems like we are going to touch. The weather was great and I got fabulous pictures! I got so taken up by sail away I missed the cruise critic informal meet and mingle, sorry about that.
Dining Room/My Time Dining: The dining room is laid out the same as the other Voyager class ships so it was no surprise. I decided to try My Time dining this time and this was a major mistake. It is absolutely horrible and very badly executed by RCCL in my opinion. The reservation staff also handle it very badly. The way I was treated and this experience may actually cause me to stray from RCCL. Again, just my personal experience and everyone is different. On the My Time notice it says “reservations recommended”, HA! The first night we are told since we didn’t have a reservation we may have to sit with other couples. I am totally fine with this, since I love to socialize on a cruise and actually prefer sitting with others. We are seated with two lovely couples and hit it off right away. Another minor complaint is the fact the RCCL has virtually the same menus on every ship year after year. The choices were almost exactly the same as I had on Enchantment a year ago. I am a bit picky and so I end up with the same things all the time on every cruise. The food is fresh and tasty, but I’m just a bit bored with the same choices. As with the Windjammer, for some reason I just was not impressed with the desserts this time. I think they were basically the same as in the past, but nothing appealed to me. We made our dining room reservation for the next two nights and got a table for two both, which was also fine. The third night we went to Portofino and that day my mom was not feeling well so I forgot to make a dining room reservation for the following night. I was also out most of the day and there are only a couple of hours in the morning and a couple in the afternoon when the reservation stand is open. I could have gone to the concierge, but I forgot (my bad, twice). So, on the last sea day I went to the stand at 2:30pm to make my reservation and I was rudely told it was not open yet to come back in 5 minutes. I walked down the promenade and then went back. I asked for a reservation between 6:00 and 7:00pm. I was rudely told that he had nothing available until 8:30PM and I was reprimanded and told I was supposed to make reservations the prior day. I explained I forgot, that my mom was not well and she can eat so late. He waved his hand over the reservations list and again explained he could not help me. I again explained about my mom and that I was a suite guest and platinum (soon to be diamond member). I hate to throw this kind of stuff around, it embarrasses me to appear I think I’m special or something, but I just could eat that late and I did not want to go to the buffet. Since the concierge was in until 5 pm, I went to guest services. I explained my issue and the “girl” behind the counter shrugged and told me she could not help me. So, off I went to Portofino (did not feel like another fancy meal there, but did not know what else to do). I was told they had absolutely nothing for that night but he could wait list me. I explained that I thought suite guest were supposed to have priority reservations for Portofino and he basically stammered some sort of incoherent answer. I left disgusted. So, we decided to go to Johnny Rockets for our final dinner. I did not care that much about the food, just the way I was treated. So, although I love RCCL and have had almost no bad experiences in the past, I’m considering cancelling the RS for next year and switching cruise lines. Overall the wait staff was very nice and professional even with My Time, so that was a positive. I contacted my travel agent with the issue and she forwarded it to RCCL.
Concierge: Ricardo is my all time favorite concierge. He is so warm and genuine. This was the best run concierge lounge in my experience. Ricardo said he could help with the dining issue, but at that point (it was 5:00PM), I was so frustrated, I just wanted to eat at Johnny Rockets.
Shows: The comedians were ok and the shows were ok. I guess since this was a short cruise I was not as impressed with the shows as with the other cruises. I also think RCCL needs to get rid of the 10 silliest questions on the last day. I have heard it 6 times now and it is boring. I think over half the people are probably repeats; I would think it must be getting boring to most repeats. Or at the least come up with a new set of questions. The Ice Show was terrific as usual and a real highlight. I got some awesome pictures.
Bermuda/Tours: This is a beautiful island. The scenery is breathtaking. We did the Tea and Tales tour which was lovely. I also went to Horse shoe Bay, it is very pretty. I think the ship tour to Horseshoe Bay was too short (only 2 hours on beach). I think I would just take a cab or a bus next time. The Dockyard is lovely but I think I would have preferred docking in Hamilton. There is limited shopping right at the Dockyard. We could have taken a cab or bus to Hamilton, but it would have been nice to spend time on both sides of the island.
Pools: I think RCCL has it right. The pools are a nice size on these ships and even on sea days, it’s crowded but not unbearable. My DS said the Carnival pools are like bath tub size and on sea days people are packed in like sardines. Also, I found there were enough beach chairs, on sea days I did have to get there early to get a chair up front on the main pool deck, but there were lots to be had further away. I only a few issues with the saving of lounge chairs and people grumbling about it. I do think a big pool slide would be nice for the older kids. My DS said the Carnival slide was a lot of fun.
Overall: The ship is in great condition. They are always cleaning and fixing. The pools are wonderful. The ship is laid out very well and is easy to navigate. The elevators are slow and frustrating; I think RCCL needs more elevators on their ships. The food is good quality and plentiful. Portofino is fabulous. The cabins are large with plenty of storage. My Time Dining is horrible, and I don’t think it is ready for “prime time” yet. It is handled terribly. Other than My Time the cruise was overall nice. I still love RCCL, but I'm mad with My Time and they way I was treated and so I'm throwing a bit of a tantrum. Please excuse me for that.
Sorry for the long review. I’m going to post the exact thing in both reviews and forums, so don’t waste time reading both.
If you would like to see pictures, there is a link in my signature.

As you stated when you started your review....it's 'your opionion' which everyone is entitled to and overall your review is not that bad....your complaint about lunch and sandwiches could have somewhat been remedied by going to the dining room for lunch, they have great lunches....perhaps next time.

[transam84]

Originally Posted by teddie

And I do like them long

I appreciate your frank and objective approach. The Explorer was our first cruise, and I look forward to sailing her again in about a month. I chose to stick with the traditional dining, and your comments only serve to reinforce my choice. I enjoy that routine, and for me, it's an important part of the cruise experience, since it an old custom from way back.

Can you comment more on the Tea and Tales tour? Were the high tea offerings substantial enough to justify the cost of the ticket? How was the touring part of it? The place looked very charming. (I don't know if you come up north as far as Chester, NJ, but there is an adorable place called "Sally Lunn's Tea Room" and it's lovely!)

We've only gone as high as a Junior Suite, but the GS looked fabulous.

Thanks!!

Teddie from Union County, NJ

Hi Teddie, I do think the cost of Tea and Tales was rather high for what we were given. That being said I would do it again in a heartbeat. We were a very small group of only about 12 people. We had a van and were given a very nice tour of this part of the island. We visit Gibb's lighthouse, the smallest church, overlooked some lovely beaches and took pictures, passed Horseshoe Bay but did not stop. The driver was pleasant and rather informative. We then stopped for the tea. We were given an assortment of finger sandwiches, turkey, ham and cheese, cucumber, tuna, egg salad. Then they brought out and assortment of desserts that included the scones with clotted cream amoung many other selections. And of course we were given a choice of various teas. I'm not too adventurous so I just went with the English Breakfast Tea. We then had a bit of time to walk around the lovely grounds and down to the beach. I thought the hosts would give us a bit more in the way of "tales", there really weren't any except some information about the Inn itself. Other than that I really liked this tour. My Mom is elderly and is restricted to what she can do, so this was lovely for her. Hope this helps. Laura

[transam84]

Originally Posted by GMoney

Well, hate to ruin things, but I'm not sure why you labeled MTD a "major mistake," saying "It is absolutely horrible and very badly executed by RCCL in my opinion." All that over the one incident with reservations? Rude treatment is unacceptable for sure, but I'm really sure what you expected them to do. There still the WJ and room service. Seems like a small thing to cancel a RS and / or cruise over, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

As far as ship menus being the same, it seems like a small gripe. Even unchanged, menus are have many choices. It's tough cruising so much I guess...

I think I was not particularly clear. The "very badly executed" refers to the rude treatment I received for which I feel there is no excuse for. The fact the reservationist looked down his nose at me and and in rude tone reprimanded me for not making reservations the day before is not proper treatment for any guest. The treatment I received is my major gripe, I don't even care that I could not eat in the dining room, Johnny Rockets turned out fine that night. The only other objection I have is that, As I think someone else mentioned, in my opinion having to make reservations the day before somewhat defeats the purpose of having "my time" dining. As stated, this is all my opinion and I don't mind being challenged on it (actually kinda like it). I also have not cancelled my RS for next year yet. Deep down I really do love RCCL and my DS deserves a great grad cruise after all his hard work. So, I need to wait and see how I feel when I cool off a little more. I'm just insulted at the treatment right now. Laura

[teddie]

How did this go? When we cruised out of Bayonne in 2005, the return was a mess. Dark, spooky building, and very little assistance to be found for a piece of lost luggage, which was fortunately located after a long search.

Please tell me it's better!

Teddie