Engineroom Snipe

Just off of Enchantment of the Seas. MTD was offered up to two days before sailing. The last two days before sailing, the reservation system is not available online. Times were available from 6:45pm before sailing. Onboard, same day, seemed to be between 7:45pm and 9pm. If you reserved one day early, about 7:15pm and on available. We did not use standby MTD. We were seated almost immediately when using reserved times. Last September on Oasis, even with reservations, MTD was delayed by 15 to 30 minutes. We stopped using it on that trip and just went to Windjammer.

You are correct. Most of my time was spent on small boats out of Little Creek with occasional special assignments to mine hunters and inshore underwater warfare. I have served with carrier personnel and they stated our fuel smelled like aircraft fuel (which had a specific gravity just a bit heavier than JP8).

As experienced cruisers, we would give the cruise a 9 out of 10 based on once a day cabin service, somewhat reduced Windjammer offerings, and the reduced availability of MDR options. I believe we had a great cruise for the price we paid. We did not reserve another cruise onboard as we have in the past. I would not repeat this cruise at prices more than double what we paid. I found fellow passengers to be polite and well behaved. The ship was at high occupancy with a 50/50 mix of passengers older and younger than 45 years of age with a small group of families and young children. A new cruiser would most likely give it a 10 out of 10 and not notice any negative items that we knew only from past cruises. They paid the going price and would book it again without hesitation compared to us. 1. Boarding: Arrived by car at port parking at 9:20am from New Jersey. We were requested with others to return after 10am. Returned at 10:05 am and placed in staging lines of about 20 cars in five lines. Directed towards luggage drop-off, moved around to toll booths for parking payment. We were directed to assigned parking space. Able to directly walk into terminal, no questions about check-in times (we had 11:00am). Security lines were short. Cruise check-in required passport and Set-Sail Pass. Directed to waiting area with about thirty people seated in aisles of 15 seats. We then boarded one aisle at a time. Went to our muster station for check-in. Relaxed in Solarium before 11am. Very smooth boarding process overall. I would give the experience a 9 out of 10 because there was no protected parking garage, just open air parking. 2. Cabins: Available by 12:30pm. Interior cabin, deck three, center, center, 3571. Everything worked, cabin showed some normal wear and tear but clean and functional. No chiller or refrigerator in room. Tried to locate cabin attendant to request ice bucket but unsuccessful. This was the first cruise I did not see my attendant until the fourth day of the cruise. I did locate a cabin supervisor on day two to request an ice bucket and it was in my room within an hour. I saw my attendant on the forth day since I requested am service and we are out and about early. I believe this is a direct result assigning more cabins per steward and some stress was evident. Cabin movement was minimal even during a huge storm at night later in the cruise. We did not even know we had any type of storm until we heard other people talking about it in the Windjammer the next morning. This was a QTY assignment and we were extremely happy with the location. I NEVER heard any of my neighbors with only the occasional muffled sounds of the torpedoes being launched (toilets 🤣). 3. Food: Windjammer breakfast was excellent. Omelettes available with pagers (started two months ago after questioning a food server). Only reduction I noticed was fruit preparation and diversity, reduction of toppings for yogurts, no roasted tomatoes, and small things like that. Food and staff service was excellent. Staff offered to get coffee and juices every morning. The view from all Windjammer seating was fantastic. Wonderful experience to watch the sunrise. Windjammer lunches were good but lacked diversity. We eat light lunches and normally try the available charcuterie. Compared to previous cruises, almost non-existent. Small, deli sliced pieces of Swiss, provolone, American, ham, pepperoni, which tasted blah. Blue cheese cubes were observed twice in eight days under direct staff observation (I noticed the glaring eyes of staff guardians if you went for the third cube in one pass 🥹). Olives of any type were seen as an garnishment but not available individually. Egg salad spread and chicken salad spread were good. Sometimes the egg salad spread was a bit watery. No tuna fish spread at all during the cruise. Windjammer dinners (five of eight nights) were OK. They were satisfying but nothing was WOW. Salad and toppings were MUCH more limited than in past cruises which is a shame because they are my cruise go to food at dinner should nothing else be found. Ribs were good. No boneless chicken except in prepared dishes with sauces. BBQ chicken and chicken had bones and the preparer was cutting them through the bone shaft so it was sharp and left small fractured pieces of bone in the meat. I let a staff supervisor know about this. I have never had bone pieces in my chicken before and I would be upset if someone else starting to choke if they were not careful. Every piece of chicken the whole week with different preparations of sauce was the same. Maybe they are supplied this way to the ship. I did not go to MDR breakfasts or lunches. I would like to go to MDR lunches to see if the charcuterie is better. MDR dinners were acceptable. Beef tenderloin, lasagna, and cheese tortellini were my main dishes. I ordered my appetizer, entree, and dessert at one time. I did request an additional escargot appetizer when the first calamari looked and tasted like potato crisp shoe strings. I did not order more than one entree per meal. We ate leisurely and were still out in about 45 minutes each time. MDR staff services were excellent. 3. Entertainment: Lots of music and action in the center public area of the ship. The cruise director was visible and active during the whole voyage. The activities were appropriate for all age groups and I saw many young cruisers shoulder to shoulder with older cruises. Music on the main pool deck was augmented with DJ music. Solarium was sound isolated from main pool deck if you wanted solitude. Great views all around. They opened ventilation doors at the top as needed. Temperatures were well regulated. Very little or no chair hogs noticed. Everyone was polite and pointed out open chairs as people walked in. The only problem might have been seating a group of three or more together. This was our favorite spot for late morning and late night relaxing. Great conversations with fellow passengers. Viking Crown Lounge is spacious and has stunning views. We spent two evenings watching the sun go down. WOW! Coco Cay was as good as ever. We had the large swimming pool to ourselves from 8:10am to about 9:20am for a great water workout. Food was excellent (did not pay anything extra) which makes me wonder why some of the hot-sandwiches and fresh taco toppings cannot be provided in the Windjammer. My wife and I thought the lunch was a 10 out of 10 and very memorable. 5: Weather: Except for one night and last morning of cruise, the weather was mostly sunny and warm. 6. Leaving ship: Self-assist with a few pieces of luggage each. I think most of the ship did the same thing. This was the only time I sensed a bit of passenger frustration but it was limited and dissipated once the lines started moving. It was like a Disney World ride queue which led through multiple parts of the ship. It was only about thirty minutes start to finish but seemed much longer as everyone was tired and not looking forward to going home 🥹. The post ended up being longer than a "snap-shot" but I have appreciated the reviews of others and wanted to contribute something to them.

And there were more than six "man overboard" cameras in the immediate area that I observed this. I know they were all running since it was near a gang-plank boarding area on the port side of the deck I was on (lifeboat muster deck with cameras everywhere). If the Captain wanted to file a complaint, I would not like to be in the Naval Press Corp trying to put a spin on this one. I wish, as a very proud Navy Veteran, to try and defend this fly-by. If something had gone just a bit north or south, we would be watching this on every channel on this planet for a very different reason.

Imagine being in a bathroom and feeling the boat vibrate strongly and the sound of a freight train going by at 400 Miles per hour. When you attend an airshow, you know what to expect. Most cruise ship passengers cannot even fathom having such a rare event occurring.

The exact reason I would not even think about posting a video. That would get into an ugly mess in a heartbeat.

East of Virginia in International waters as the casino and shops were open.

Yeah, sad to say, it was not "an approved flight pattern". The Captain of the ship has all of this on video. Not a good day for that pilot. I do not want to be on the "Review Board" on this one. Excellent flight reflexes and control of an aircraft. The pilot will be reminded that the plane belonged to the taxpayers. That said, "If I needed close air support, I am on a forty-foot rib-boat, with enemies danger close, I want that plane and that pilot as close as possible." Living on the Edge (Aerosmith)

Easy, easy, we just finished a tribute aboard which has started at 10:30 am to Veterans. So nice to participate and know we are stronger together. That said, most Navy pilots are good swimmers! 😉

There was only a hint.... a bit like the diluted diesel exhaust of an older truck. Maybe the wind was moving it away from the ship at the time. Anyone on board a carrier always seemed to have that odor embedded into their uniform no matter how hard they tried to clean them. That smell gets cemented into your brain. I did not get its intensity.

Scared the "exhaust ports" of many people on-board. "Mission accomplished!" 🤣

The Captain had to reassure the passengers with an announcement because most had no idea what was going on. Some were thinking that we had struck something or the ship had some type of mechanical explosion.

At about 11:15 am on April 27, 2023, (yesterday). I was sitting on deck five outside of the midship elevator bank on the port side. I witnessed what appeared to be an F 18 do a high speed fly-by cutting from our starboard bow and sharply following our port side with the one wingtip lower than the top of the deck railing. I had a complete view of the top of the jet. It might have been about 200 feet away at most. In all of my years in the Navy, I have never seen a plane almost touching the water on its side at about 390 knots. It was a Top Gun moment where I could distinctly make out the details of the pilot's helmet. The same jet made another high speed pass from our stern passing along the starboard side before doing a vertical afterburner ascent disappearing into the clouds in about five or six seconds. I guess we looked threatening but after closer review, found not dangerous. I do think it was a bit unsafe. I would hate to think what would have happened if a wingtip touched the water or God forbid, have struck the ship. The Navy is not proud of it for I cannot find any reports about it with any search engine. "Maybe it was the Air Force.........." 😉 🫢

Thank you for taking the time and effort to post pictures and provide additional commentary. We have speculated about the menu changes but seeing is believing and you are giving your perceptions with reasoning and background. 👏 😋

Families, always something simmering below the surface. After a great week on your own, may you fave the energy and Zen to smile and enjoy your next week. Thank you for your postings.

I LOVE the Nemo fish display. "As Disney says cease and desist any references to copyrighted material" and they respond, "This fish has been around LONG before Disney Copyrights.." Thank you so much for sharing your journey. May I post a review as good as yours.

What I am trying to say is, "Welcome to Cruise Critic. We all get to criticize your criticisms. How ironic is that?" Hopefully, honest and free speech is a good thing.

Do not try and defend your position. You gave your honest opinion and others might not agree. You keep posting and we will agree to disagree with your opinion. 😁

Just make sure you do not walk across any subway ventilation shafts and get a "Marilyn Monroe" photograph! 🤢

How much will I have to pay to join? 🤑

@Saab4444 has a point. Even if my cruise contract does not show my address, my TA uses my contact information (to include mailing address) when he fills out my information on RCI's TA Website. RCI still indirectly gets "AN" address about me. 🤔

All of my cruise contracts always include citizenship of all passengers. That might be how they are determining Primary Country of Residence. I am not sure how they would handle dual citizenship if the situation occurred.

Very similar to finding a free parking space that normally cost money to have the parking authority install a new parking meter after they find it! 😭

I didn't think RCI would stuff the 'turkeys' until November. I guess RCI is getting us ready to be plucked. 😮

Ok @Ret MP, we will short-cut "your excursion" off of the ship with the 'triple gold-plated Star Class Block' chained to your neck (I mean, that is where you wear it anyway). You might even get a close look at the fishes on bottom. 🤣