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big_schots

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  • Posts

    543
  • Joined

About Me

  • Location
    Fort Worth, TX
  • Interests
    Staying employed
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Princess, RCCL
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Alaska

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big_schots's Achievements

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Cool Cruiser (2/15)

  1. We were on this cruise and went to Tuscan Grille two nights and Murano once. The Tuscan Grille was truly a wonderful dining experience. We had Norest as our waiter the first night (2nd day of cruise) and he was amazing. Nothing was ever too much, and his demeanor was extraordinary. My wife tends to want to deviate her order from the norm, and he did it all with a smile, and everything came out exactly as she asked. We asked for him on our second visit (6th day of cruise), and it was the same as our first visit. The truly standout dishes were the lobster rigatoni alfredo and the veal marsala. I had the ribeye both nights and it was nice little steak, cooked perfectly (medium rare) both times. Now on to your question about reservations. Before the cruise, I bought the 3 individual specialty restaurants separately, and not as a package. I wanted specific times and with the package, you had to wait until on the ship before making your reservations. I think I paid like a total of $20 more pp, to do it this way. We usually like to eat around 6:30 P.M. and didn't want to get stuck with 8:30 P.M. or later. Right before the cruise I checked, and Murano said it was completely booked the entire cruise, while the Tuscan Grill only had late seating (> 8:30 P.M.) available. I don't think it would have been a problem switching our times onboard, though. Every day, right by the entrance to the Oceanview cafe, there is a person selling/pushing specialty dining. Waiting for my wife, a few times, I heard him tell people that for all the specialty restaurants, whatever time you wanted was available. Whether true or not, I'm not sure, since I didn't stick around for the whole sales pitch. But, our first visit, the Tuscan Grill was pretty empty, while the second was quite a bit busier. There were multiple parties of 10+ people. Murano we decided to eat later (8:00 P.M.), since we were in Curacao (day 5) and didn't want to rush back to the ship. When we finished dinner (~9:45), there were only 5 other parties left in the entire restaurant. I don't think I saw anyone come in after 8:30, even though reservations go out to 9:15 P.M. Even at 8:00 P.M., Murano was never more the 75% full. So, after all my meandering, I think you should be fine switching up your dining reservations on board.
  2. I was in the casino quite a bit, and never saw a single vaper. Nice to have a smoke free casino. If it is allowed, I never saw it.
  3. We'll be on this cruise with you also. Finally, after 3 cancellations (first was March 2020) we are making it onboard the Equinox. Congrats on the educational achievement. Last cruise on Celebrity was 2002 on the Mercury in Alaska. Really disappointing about all the cutbacks, but we'll just roll with the punches. Been going on RCCL and Princess recently (pre-Covid), so we'll compare. Just looking forward to getting away from Texas and the heat (today the heat index was 117). Hope to see you onboard, either at a trivia event, or I'll look for the "young" female wearing long sleeves on deck. Have a great cruise, and I'll look forward to reading about the "same" cruise from a different perspective. Eric
  4. Thank you for taking the time to write up an informative and entertaining cruise review. You are a true CHAMPION of the everyman, average cruiser. I’ve enjoyed your reviews for the past 7-8 years. Even though probably only 7% of a cruise ship is suites, Cruise Critic gets around 70% of the truly detailed reviews from people sailing in suites, and who have the highest loyalty ranking on the cruise line. I enjoy those reviews and appreciate the amount of work that goes into them but have a hard time relating to much of their trip reports. They don’t always represent the where/what a regular cruiser experiences. Your reports are a wealth of knowledge/ideas for less experienced cruisers, and I have directed a few “newbie” cruise, less affluent, friends to your reviews because of that. I, like you, place a premium on entertainment, and know that RCCL does entertainment right, especially on those Oasis class ships. But, Princess still does have a solid product. Keep up the great work, and I always look forward to your next installment.
  5. Just back from a 5 night trip on the RCCL Adventure of the Seas, and I can confirm that self- service is definitely back. The crew said our cruise was the first one to re-implement it, on this specific ship. Our ship was at 90% capacity. I can say that people are back to their old ways. I watched a handful of children doing the "sometimes" nasty things kids do. I try to avoid the Windjammer as much as possible. Due to smaller staffing necessary, it will probably only be a matter of time before Celebrity brings it back.
  6. Just got off the Adventure of the Seas, this past Monday, and Tornado Tonya is the current cruise director on board.
  7. Just back from a 5 night trip on the Adventure of the Seas, and I can confirm that self- service is definitely back. The crew said our cruise was the first one to re-implement it. I can say that people are back to their old ways. I watched a handful of children doing the "sometimes" nasty things kids do. I try to avoid the Windjammer as much as possible. On another note, the cruise director says that the Love and Marriage Show has been reinstated, but no news on when Quest will come back. Our ship was definitely full and other than the masked crew, it looked like pre-Covid times, with plenty of crowds everywhere. On the last sea day, with sunny skys, the pool area was a mass of humanity.
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