ChinaShrek

It did for me!

Just use the app as soon as you get on the ship to make Pinnacle Grill reservations. No need to line up or interact with people.

It seems that Europe and the United States are trying to limit cruise ships. What about Asia or South America? I am worried that we will be only able to cruise in the Caribbean/Mexico in 10 years!

First, there is only one outlet behind the bed as traditionally arranged, not multiple. Someone at the Captain's Q&A actually complained about the lack of multiple outlets behind the beds. I wish I took pictures of the beds as we arranged them, It actually provided more room in the cabin as well access to the balcony then the way you like the bed. I cannot believe it was a safety issue considering the amount of cleaning carts, vacuums, and dirty trays sitting in the hallway all day long making it difficult to walk Finally, I would be shocked that if I was the first person to re-arrange beds on a cruise ship but perhaps I was.

To be honest, we would have put the beds back in the "proper configuration" if the attendant had been nice about it. One more question. Should the bed sheets be changed during a 7 day cruise? They were definitely not changed at all. I saw a chocolate stain on mine for most of the week.

Yes, a good size path actually. Maybe two feet. My question is, Is that illegal or wrong?

Yes, I recognize that. It will make me shy away from larger ships in the future. Although, I probably should have booked early fixed seating. One waiter said there was no waiting to get a table on early fixed seating.

You are correct. We put them perpendicular to the balcony. I should have taken a picture. All of my pictures are of Alaska or Victoria.

The cabin attendant made it clear that service would be in the morning or night. We asked for morning but he actually did it around 1pm. No wine glasses were in the cabin. I had to call room service to get them. The ice bucket was never filled but we never asked to have it filled.

At the end of a long cruise, I am tired and have no desire to do anymore sightseeing. I just want to get home. Cruising in Europe is rarely relaxing. I have a 10 day cruise booked for 2024 and 8 of the 10 days are port days. I will have tours booked in each one of them. When the cruise ends in Amsterdam, I will have no desire to do any additional touring.

I don't really want to dwell on the negative but I am going to start off on things that annoyed me. This is my first time sailing Royal Caribbean since Covid but I have sailed Carnival and HAL several times since 2021. After my Ovation cruise I don't think I will sail on another Royal ship for some time. 1. The Cabin Attendant. I was traveling with a friend and we asked to have the beds separated on the first day. He obliged but that didn't give us much room between each other. My friend and I decided to move them so that each bed was up against the cabin wall (each facing the balcony window). This really annoyed the attendant who said he would have to get special permission from the Captain to allow this. Is this true? Did we make a mistake moving the beds in a different position? In any case, we were allowed to leave the beds as we wanted them. However, this led to what I would call mediocre service for the rest of the week. Water glasses in the bathroom were not replaced daily. The floor was not vacuumed at all during our stay. We definitely got the feeling he was punishing us. 2. . We really hated the food on the cruise. I will give you several examples. Braised lamb with spinach, mashed potatoes, and beans. Spinach wasn't cooked. The masked potatoes weren't fully masked and the beans were the same beans served at breakfast in the Windjammer. Furthermore, who serves beans with lamb?. The vegetables were rarely cooked through and were often served as a garnish on the plate. Food was rarely served hot at dinner. 3. The MDR. We selected my time dining and we had to wait until 6:15 to go down to the dining room. That's fine I guess but different from Carnival and HAL. We also had to wait to 15-30 minutes to get a table (standing in a line) each night to get a table. Reservations were already full when I checked on the app on the first day of the cruise but I'm not sure that would help much because I saw people waiting for a table even with reservations. 4. Disembarking in Juneau. It took us an hour to get out of the ship on 7/9/22. The line started on Deck 4 and wrapped around the casino on Deck 3. This was annoying. Again, with HAL and Carnival, I am always off the ship in 10 minutes or so. I don't think ti was the size of the ship because I was on the Carnival Mardi Gras and got off quickly and that ship has more passengers. When I combine disembarking in Juneau with the waiting for dinner each night, I think I will call this the Waiting Cruise. 5. The entertainment is still top notch. We enjoyed going to the shows every night. Don't miss the Las Vegas Tenors! 6. Technology issues.The Royal app is okay but annoying, Chat did not work as well as we wanted to. We had to have the app on for chat function to work or messages would arrives hours later. We ended up just texting while on the ship. WiFi was inconsistent. Sometimes it was super fast but often we would have turn our devices internet off and on to get the internet to work. I thought the internet on the ship was better than HAL but worse than on Carnival.

I guess it's about about why you cruise. I cruise for the ports and exploring the various cultures and history at each port. I see a ship more as a ferry that provides transportation and sustinence. I find the MDR a stressful experience: meeting new people every night, watching what I say, what we talk about, ugh. Give me a buffet so I can just load my plate up and eat quietly in the corner.

I am happy with the Pinnacle Class ships. I am not interested in a small ship especially for a 7-day cruise. What's the point? I'm there to have a good time - not make friends. Seeing the same people over and over is so awkward. I do want a smoke free casino. The ship doesn't have to be smoke free but keep smokers away from me as I gamble away. I would be up for taking out the MDR altogether and just providing the Lido. They could expand the size of the Lido to two levels. I hate the long service in the MDR. Many nights I just want to eat and go on my way. I do like the specialty restaurants. They have been quicker than the MDR lately.

I'm not sure when you sailed but ALL of the specialty restaurants were fully booked on the Koningsdam over Christmas. The same thing happened on the Rotterdam last July on a sold out cruise to Norway. HAL specialty restaurants are far better than Olive Garden or Applebee's.

I was in Amsterdam last summer for a cruise and I found out that even the homeless there take credit cards! I was eating outside in a cafe and someone came up to me asking me for money. I said I didn't have any cash on me (which was true) and he said, "we take cards now" and pulled out a small credit card reader. I laughed and said, "I'm still not giving you any money." So, now, you do not need any cash in Europe even if you wish to donate to the homeless.

I actually agree with this, The Crow's Nest never seemed very welcoming to me. Most of the chairs were taken by the same people for hours on end. I think a renovation was done to also move these people along.

Many times these middle-men can give you a much better price than by booking directly. They will buy tours in bulk and pass the savings on to cruisers. I don't care who gets my money. I just want the best deal.

That's what I was hoping to hear!

I am sailing on the Pride in February 2024 to Panama. Is there a good place to sit on the ship and watch the locks?

I would just grab something from the Lido and bring it with you to the Tamarind.

I also have no interest in sitting for two hours at dinner. I can manage my time in the Lido much better.

I just got off the Mardi Gras (sailed April15 - 22) and ate at Chibang 4 times. I had Anytime Dining. I was not charged any additional fees.

And you will be assigned a different table and waiter every night.

I am also on the Mardi Gras right now. I have gone to Chibang three times, twice for dinner and once for lunch. Can't you go for lunch to try it out? There is no fixed dining for lunch. I will echo your comments that I prefer to go to Chibang and Cucina del Capitano over the MDR and I am happy that I selected YTD. I have found the food to be superior in Chibang and Cucina over the MDR and the dishes come out piping out.

Thank you. I'm getting excited about the cruise.