bmswart3

2 hours ago, cheermomof2girls said:

The hibachi is worth the 15 charge in my opinion.  It was one of the better meals we had on the boat.

 

I was able to book all reservations for our party of 9 last cruise without them being with me.  We had the key and while at the lunch at chops they made the hibachi reservation and I went and made all of the others after lunch

Thanks! that is a relief! 

1 hour ago, RCFirstTimer said:

#1 - truish - all except for Hibachi.  Sometimes they can call, but from what I remember, Chops (for instance) can make reservations for all of the restaurants except Izumi's.  We usually end up visiting Izumis if we want to plan eating there (especially for Hibachi).

 

#2 - Yes - see first answer

 

#3 - Yes, if you have all the room #'s, they can book the whole party

 

#4 - Sometimes.  I think it depends on the ship.  We were booking our week of reservations in Chops once and they said - well do you want lunch today?  We open at...  We have had other times where Chops is not open for lunch that day, but other restaurants were.  If they are open, you can definitely eat there with the UDP.

 

#5 - It ends up being a LOT of food every day.  Pace yourself and enjoy.  We like the elevated food, but mostly, we love the upgraded atmosphere over the MDR which is loud, busy and packed.  Of course, the restaurants can be too, but they can only fit so many people in.  Wonderland is fun, but for us, we've done it twice and that's enough.  150 CP is our favorite, but Chops is pretty good.  You will get 1000 different opinions on all of that, so just try time all once.

 

Also, they will probably tell you that you don't need reservations for lunch on sea days, but this is not true.  Our first time with the UDP, we could not get into lunch on a sea day because they were all booked.  Book your lunches.

 

Thank you, i had read differing opinions about booking lunch, so , we are definitely going to book our lunches

21 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Note that hibachi isnt more expensive booking direct.. but as you said harder to book. I'm sure to are aware, but just in case, there is a surcharge to book hibachi. .. so if you are booking 7 for hibachi .. who is paying the surcharge. .. I personally would save it for another visit. No way im paying for unlimited ... and a additional surcharge. Enjoy chops another night. 

 

It was $15 extra per person ... did it go up? In addition to whatever you paid. .. go do another included. 

Yes, i know its more, but, we have NEVER done hibachi on a RCCL ship...so its been on our bucket list for a while. So, regardless of the upcharge...we will definitely be going. 

Good Morning All! So, today was check in day for our cruise on Wonder in September! We purchased unlimited dining for the 1st time, so I'm hoping I could pick a few experienced brains for some of our questions. 

I know we have to book all of our dining as SOON as we get on the boat. So, to that end, I scheduled our check in time for 1030am, happy I could get it. However, my family is a party of 5, but we are traveling with extended family that will make us a party of 7, all with unlimited dining. However, the other two aren't checking in until 1130. So, please see below questions: 

1. I have read all dining reservations can be booked at any of the specialty restaurants at a single time instead of running from restaurant to restaurant to book each, is this true? 

2. I know Hibachi is the hardest to get, is it better to go TO the hibachi restaurant to book my dining reservations so i can try and book that first? 

3. without the full party of 7 being on board at the time of booking, will they still allow me to book for all 7 if I have the other party's room and reservation number? 

4. I think I read that we can use our UDP on embarkation day for lunch at one of the specialty restaurants? Is that true, and, if so, does anyone know which of them will be open? 

5. any other hints, tips, tricks, etc about the unlimited dining would be super helpful. We have the unlimited drinks and unlimited dining...so its sure to be quite the trip. I am always looking for ways to make the most of it. We are foodies and haven't been enamored with the main dining room, so we always gravitate to the specialty dining, and being an Oasis class ship the dining plan will allow us to try them all. 

Thanks everyone, appreciate it! 

2 hours ago, gold1953 said:

exactly!  I want my lunch!!

 

Agreed. That was my question 🙂 however I called and was told “just show up, we will accommodate you at the earlier time”

1 minute ago, cruisestitch said:

The broad answer is that the priority boarding system is on hold now if you are not suite or zenith 

Thank you. I’ve never been on Celebrity nor done concierge so I was unsure what “priority boarding” meant since that’s listed on my list of benefits that I got from Celebrity. Most of this is all new to me. 

2 hours ago, macaroni said:

Why don;t you call and ask them to change it. We did for a different line and was accommodated.

Thanks. Worth trying. 

2 hours ago, emmas gran said:

I believe you asked the question on roll call on Friday and were told only suites get on board early

I asked and someone assumed I was talking about suites. In their response they seemed to acknowledge they answered about suites. But I didn’t get a yes or no I’m regards to concierge. So I was hoping that by opening up the question to a broader audience I might stumble across someone who has experience as a concierge guest. So, I guess thanks for taking the time to respond without providing any pertinent info. 

I have a question I can’t find the answer to. I had a cruise cancelled at the last minute (two weeks out) so we quickly rebooked for one for the same week. But when I went to check in for the new one, the only check in time available was 130pm versus the 1130am I had for the first. But we are concierge and supposed to have priority boarding. So, my question is, can I show up early since we are concierge instead of waiting until 130pm? Has anyone had luck with this? Will they turn me away? 

1 hour ago, outdoors27 said:

We were on the Horizon 8/1. We debating getting off the ship in Bimini but decided that morning to do so. Went to customer service desk and grabbed the $39.00 excursion tickets to Resort World. Took the Tram got dropped off one stop further than the entrance we were supposed to go in and cut across the sand. Yes, we were stopped for no wrist bands but security pointed us in the right direction and we got our bands. The beach was nice and the water was great. Drinks are over priced like the small food selection but it's vacation so who cares. My girls enjoyed the hammocks near the pool which we also had access to. They did see a stingray which was cool, but no jellyfish as someone mentioned. Would we ever get off there again? Not sure. Have a nice cruise.

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. I haven't quite decided yet, but I love hearing about how others' experiences have been. I have teenagers, so its great to know your children found a way to enjoy it as well. 

7 minutes ago, MissyKish said:

Is Cheers worth it? Is the Steakhouse worth it? Is the Che's table worth it?  Another should I question that nobody can answer for you. 

I disagree, I got some great feedback from people who had recently experienced it. Clearly I wasn't asking anyone to MAKE my decision for me, I was only looking for some insight from those who had experienced so that I could make my OWN informed decision. As to the other questions, I've already answered them for myself....through research, asking others, etc to reach an informed decision. But, thanks so much for your supremely helpful feedback on the topic. Update: Based on the ridiculously ugly tone of your response I just went and read some of your posts on other boards....wow....do you just run through these to find ways to add some snark and nastiness towards others? Honestly, get another hobby....if you have nothing better to do on these boards than sarcastically mock others, then your lack of ability to be helpful to other humans makes me sad for you. What goes around does eventually come around. 

9 hours ago, vintagegarage said:

Carnival Magic just left Bimini a few hours ago.  As far as I could tell, everything was open.  Please read my trip report at:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2785688-carnival-magic-august-7-2021

 

The report from Bimini is at the end of page 3, and includes 36 pictures and current information.

Thank you! that was some great information! 

26 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

agree on the beaches but they had pricey tags to get in.  Going downtown would be another reason.  

I read on another post that everything is closed for COVID, so I didn't know if it was even worth trying to go downtown. 

I am booked on Horizon starting sunday 15th, and I've read different things about Bimini. Some say it isn't worth it, some say everything is closed anyway. Has anyone actually been there on a recent cruise and have an opinion? I was considering getting off the boat with my family and renting a golf cart for the day to explore the island. Is it worth it? Or should I just hang out on the boat and consider it another day of relaxation? THanks 

Hello all, for those that have been on the recent Horizon 6 day itineraries, which nights were formal nights? I want to book the steakhouse on a night that ISN'T formal night...but I can't even begin to fathom which nights will be formal. Thanks! 

18 minutes ago, wgeddings said:

 

YES!  That was one of the great things about the HUB app.  You could view the activities, menus in the main dining room, etc. for the entire week on a day by day basis.  We did exactly what you described and saw that for us, Friday had nothing we really were excited about for dinner so we booked Fahrenheit 555 for that night.   Being able to view the menus for all the restaurants was nice and there is a feature that lets you "check" activities that you like and I think that you could share that with the rest of your party.  

Perfect, thanks so much for the info. thats a huge relief. I hate to miss out on something super yummy in the MDR, but I definitely want to spend an evening at Fahrenheit! 

18 minutes ago, wgeddings said:

THINGS I WISH I KNEW ABOUT HORIZON BEFORE - First and foremost, this is a great ship and you will have a great time

 

1 – This is a very big ship!  Despite how big it is, you do not feel it is that large because it is well designed with dividers and such used well to make areas feel smaller.  Check the dimensions to compare to what you are used it.  This was roughly twice the size of most of the large ships we have sailed in the past. 

 

2 – Lots of food choices – in addition to the places you have to pay extra to eat at, there are any free places.  The Lido Buffet (The Marketplace) has basically 2 entire buffets.  Each buffet area has 4 buffets, a salad bar, a sweets bar and each one has a different specialty area (one has a deli and one has Empanadas and Gelatos).  There are 2 main pools (Resort Pool and Tides Pool).  By Resort Pool, you have Guy’s Burger Joint on one side and the Burrito/Taco place on the other.  By the Tides Pool, you have the Seafood Shack (which is not free) and the pizza place (which is free).  Cucino del Captaino and JiJi Asian both offer lunch menus for no additional charge. 

 

3 – The Carnival HUB app works really well on board.  Checking it before boarding, it was not very good and I was uncertain about it and the fact that there were not going to be Fun Times printed out.  Onboard however, once connected for free to the Carnival WiFi (which is free for HUB purposes although you cannot connect to anything else like the internet without a package), it is very intuitive and simple.  Menus are easy to access and so are maps. 

 

4 – Elevators are “smart”.  You go to the bank of elevators and select what floor you want.  The elevators are given letters (A, B, C, D, E) and the system then tells you that elevator A (for example) will take you to your floor.  When that door opens, you board and there are no floor buttons.  It takes you to your floor.  It actually does make things quicker and easier. 

 

5 – Simple Muster – when you board, you go to your muster station and are shown how to wear a life jacket (as stupid and quick as it sounds).  Then you are done with the muster and there is no mass gathering in the heat.  You can watch a safety video in your cabin.  Still some people do not comply with this 2-3 minute process so be prepared to constantly hear reminders when you are getting on ship. 

 

6 – Movie theaters – In addition to the “Dive in Movies” (movies they show by the pool on a huge overhead) there are 2 movie theaters.  One is the Thrill Theater which is similar to many movies/shows at Disneyworld (such as “It’s a Bug’s Life”) where the seats rattle a bit, water sprays, things tickle your legs, etc.  It only shows 3D immersive videos and each is about 4-5 minutes long.  They are shown in blocks of 3 and are Thrill Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 (based on how scary or active they are).  I did not do these but heard they were fun.  The other is a full IMAX theatre.  If you have been to an IMAX theater, you know what to expect.  It is quite large (tip, sit toward the back because with a huge screen, sitting close means having to turn your head a lot).  It shows standard IMAX fare like under sea things, space things but also shows first run movies.  When we were there (Aug 1-7, 2021) they were showing Snake Eyes and on Thurs and Friday when The Suicide Squad opened in theaters on land, it was shown there too.  Price was about the same as a movie on land so it was awesome.

 

7 -  Incredibly poor at answering simple questions – The crew were incredibly nice and polite and wanted to be helpful but if you asked questions, we almost always got an incorrect answer the first time.  If you ask a question, and they answer, confirm it with them!  Example, for the water taxi to Half Moon Cay, the notice put in everyone’s cabin talked about the timing of water taxies and how you need to go to 10 Forward to get a ticket for the time you wanted.  On 10 Forward, tickets were just numbered as Zone 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.  We were part of a large group of people all standing there trying to equate the zones with times.  I asked a crew member and he proceeded to “explain” that it was a water taxi port so everyone needed a ticket to determine the time they could board the tender and blah blah.  I had to stop him and explain that we understood that but we needed to know what TIME the zones would be.  He then explained that since there was no docking system, water taxies/tendered needed to be used so we should take a ticket for the time we wanted and blah blah.  I tried a final time to get him to understand that we just wanted to know what time, for example, Zone 6 might be boarding.  He said Oh, it will board after Zone 5.  I just thanked him and waited for a ship’s officer to walk by.  Same thing happened where he was determined to explain the mechanics of docking vs water tendering and would not answer the simple question.  I just thanked him and used the telephone to call Guest Services.  After being on hold for about 15 minutes, someone picked up and just hung up.  We gave up and just took tickets for Zone 6.  Same thing happened with several other issues. 

 

8 -  Port of Miami – We had an 11:30 “boarding time reservation”.  The line was VERY long and we waited in the lovely Miami muggy heat for about an hour to get into the building where there was another line.  Porters taking luggage were making huge stacks everywhere but shockingly, apparently all bags make it onto the ship.  Porters were telling people that they had no idea why the line was so long which caused me, and many others, to walk to the front of the line looking for a Carnival employee to ask to confirm that this was the line we needed to be in.  It was the correct line and I can only assume that porters were getting their jolly by telling lies to people.  Beware.  Once in the building, it does move pretty quickly.  By then you will be drenched in sweat though and tired of carrying whatever you planned to carry on. 

 

9 – COVID changes – There were very real changes due to COVID.  The crew all wore masks the whole time (depending on what the current requirements are when you go, hopefully you will not be required to wear one.  We only had to wear them when embarking, disembarking and then in the port of calls if required locally).  Buffets still operated normally with self serve.  Ice cream was still self-serve.  Seating in theaters was still seat to seat.  Crew were very quick to clean any table when someone left but otherwise it was the same as it has always been. 

 

10 – TV Stations – Although the TV was nice and large, you had to turn it off and on a couple of times before it would work.  From the comment of our cabin steward, that is normal.  The only channels are Carnival stations about food, excursions (not necessarily for the ones you are able to go on), ship cameras, spoken What’s Happening, TCM (Turner Classic Movies), HGTV, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Discovery, Travel Channel (aka Ghost Hunters any time all the time), Food Network and CBS News.   There is no movie channel but there are on demand movies.  Some are free, some are $4.99. 

 

11 – Smoking – I am not sure if the casino is a a gambling place where people smoke or a smoking lounge with some slot machines.  All I do know is that it almost seemed that smoking was mandatory in the casino because there was a LOT of it.  Casino is midship on Deck 4 and there is a large opening to Deck 5 so if you walked midship on Deck 4 or Deck 5, you better like smoke.

Question about the HUB app and menus....once boarded, were you able to see the Main Dining Room menus for the whole week? Or were they only available on each day? I was hoping to get on board, review the MDR menus and then make decisions about when to plan for my specialty dining, and figure out when the formal nights will be. thanks! 

9 minutes ago, Cruisesfun65 said:

I have 5 friends on the Horizon at this moment. Since I'll be boarding in 2 weeks  they're sending me all kinds of information and updates.

awesome, I board sunday the 15th and really concerned about the overpolicing of masks. I am looking forward to hearing your updates 🙂 thanks!! 

2 minutes ago, Cruisesfun65 said:

According to someone on the Horizon currently, everyone is smoking in the casino with masks down their chins. No policing going on.

where did you find information from someone on the Horizon? I am going next week and super concerned about over policing about masks and would love to hear a first hand experience as to how its going. thanks! 

I am new to RCCL and have noticed that they have standardized menus, but I can't find anywhere how to predict what order they will be in for my upcoming (Aug 27) 9 night New England/Canada itinerary. Does anyone have any insight on how to predict which menu will be on which night? I'm trying to plan which nights to reserve at the specialty restaurants and I don't want to miss out on good MDR nights :)