yogimax

Oxymoron. Assuming you are talking about the waiters, assistant waiters and cabin attendants, not the captain.

Big difference between a red zinfandel and a white zinfandel.

Absolutely true. For example, no Ravenswood Zinfandel on last three cruises.

Sad to say, no.

What difference does that make? Are you saying their salaries should be based on the average salary in their home country? Would you reduce the meager salary they make by 67%? C'mon, their salaries are based on working on a cruise ship.

Actually, there is a vast amount of agreement... Keep the auto tips in place and tip extra if you wish. It is the minority that will remove the tips. One wonders what the actual reason is.

Not all ships have it but we love the stir fry or Mongolian barbecue.

Have never seen this.

Does anyone have an update? Were they confined to their cabins? Were they kicked off the ship? Were they banned from all future cruises? The worst outcome would be that nothing was done.

That's sad. I do. Delta Airlines flight attendants were at the forefront of the movement to ban smoking on airplanes. Why? They saw their fellow flight attendants coming down with horrific cases of lung cancer due to inhalation of second hand smoke. Delta could have put profit ahead of the well being of their employees and passengers knowing that they would lose the business of some of their passengers who smoked. The rest is history. If a major corporation like delta could ban smoking so can RCCL. By the way, smoking on airplanes was banned on February 25, 1990. Here we are 32 years later and still smoking is allowed in RCCL's casinos.

Don't you see an ethical problem with that - placing corporate profit over the health and well being of cruisers and staff?

o.k., I'll pose the ethical question... We all know that smoking (including breathing in second hand smoke) is harmful to health and lowers life expectancy. RCCL has made the decision to put financial gain over the health of its customers and casino employees. To me, the decision should be based on more than just the bottom line and yes, I'm a shareholder.

Terrible odds but still a lot better than the slots.

Horrible... that's quackocide!

Consider yourself fortunate. Sure some days have no problem but don't count on it.

It doesn't. A week ago, it was a mess. On arriving for our Adventure cruise around 11:45AM, they were only allowing handicapped parking in the lot. We were waived to an outside lot about 1/4 mile away. As we arrived there, it was being closed. Next stop another outdoor lot that had buses waiting to shuttle folks to check-in. That one was filled up. Finally, waived back around to the garage which they then opened. We parked on level 4, just before roof parking. I should reiterate, the arrived well after the vast majority of people from the previous cruise had left.

Nothing on my Delta AMEX.

As they should be. MTD was a mess and nothing was done.

No need to shame the OP. Not everyone spends hours on CC.

Worry about the things over which you have control. The weather isn't one of them.

No, the tables were not "all taken." When finally seated after 1/2 hour, 50% of the tables in our section were empty. It's not a matter of not being able to add tables, it's a matter of effectively and efficiently managing the numbers. Everyone should have the ability to eat at their desired time, especially considering the prices folks are paying for their cruises.

As of yesterday, Deck 5 was still in use.

Soda isn't that cheap. We were told my wife's ginger ale would cost over $4 if we paid for it.

Nope, as usual the crew members were terrific, not blaming them. We also totally understand how hard working they are and noted that their work level was pretty much the same as it has always been. This was a systemic problem caused by a failure at the management level.

Just off Adventure of the Seas today and totally disappointed with the MTD experience. I made reservations months ago. One the first night, we arrived on deck three to find long lines at both counters for those with and without reservations. The "with reservations line" snaked around the dining room entrance and into the passenger corridor on Deck Three. Thirty minutes in line to gain entry despite having made reservations. I talked to the head Waiter and mentioned that we were D+ (which I really don't like to do). He said he would talk to his manager and have the problem fixed. Nothing happened. O.k., on leaving, I stopped by the reservation desk and asked for the same table tomorrow. "No problem," was told but would still have to wait on line. Night Two - Again long lines snaking into the passenger corridors. When we reached the check in desk, we asked for the same table or waiter and mentioned I had reserved that. "Oh, we don't reserve tables, just times," was the response. Really? Moved to a new table and noted that our reserved time was 7:30 and we weren't seated until 8PM. So much for "reserved times." Also, half the tables in the area were empty. Night Three - Arrived at 7:25 hoping the problem was fixed. Nope. Again, long lines into the passenger corridors with people opening cabin doors to find a horde of folks in the hallway. Again, a thirty minute wait. Night Four - While waiting in the hallway, our waiter from the previous two nights poked his head around the corner and beckoned us to our table. He was checking to see if any of his guests were waiting. This waiter should be promoted immediately. I spoke with numerous people regarding this nonsense including the Food and Beverage Manager. Apparently, the agreed upon excuse was that too many people had signed up for early dining at 5:30. Not sure what this had to do with 7:30. Bottom line is that something went terribly wrong and no one took responsibility. Never met or saw the Hotel Director who I would assume had ultimate responsibility. In essence, absolutely nothing was done. As Mrs. Yogimax said, "If this were my first cruise on Royal, i would never be back." Just writing this as a warning to those who have future reservations on Adventure of the Seas where the adventure will be standing in long lings where pre-made reservations don't mean anything!