coffeebean

On 4/1/2024 at 6:36 PM, blackwing said:

No, I was saying 10 years ago, the NCL cruise I was on felt like a more refined group of passengers.  There's something elegant about seeing most passengers in formal attire.  Like the early days when cruising was a means of transportation to get from England to America. 

 

If this is the same cruise I think I am remembering, on the formal-suggested nights I think I remember the dailies saying that if you want to dress casual to eat dinner at the buffet.   For the most part, people complied.  They didn't turn anyone away in the MDR though.  Maybe I am getting my past cruises mixed up?

 

This time around, no mention of any formal or formal-suggested nights.  Since I hadn't cruised in years, I don't know when this change happened.  I wore t-shirts in the dining room, as did many others. 

NCL has never had formal nights since we started cruising on NCL in 2001. NCL is the Freestyle cruise line. They are the innovators of this type of cruise experience. Funny how all other cruise lines have adapted what NCL inititated years ago.

We sailed on The Ascent recently. I don't recall a restaurant called Le Bistro. I know there is Le Bistro on NCL ships though. Where is Le Bistro on Ascent?

On 2/26/2024 at 7:41 PM, Oxo said:

It is only for 2 hours from 5 -7pm.

 

Now RCI allows the Diamond (4), Diamond+ (5) and Pennical (6) everyday at any time at any bar including MDR, showroom, Specialty Restaurants. 

That is a really nice perk we have on Royal for our Diamond Plus status. I'm hoping Celebrity will eventually be as liberal as this with their benefits for Elite. I've recently cruised on Beyond and just off Ascent. I'm REALLY loving this class of Celebrity ships.

4 hours ago, Lastdance said:

If you know or meet someone in the Retreat, have them bring you an almond croissant...simply delish!

Cafe Al Bacio serves almond croissants too. Are they the same as what is served in The Retreat?

9 hours ago, catsmit said:

Ok, here’s the Nutella croissant. The Nutella was very good, the croissant was a little chewy for my taste. 
 

LOVE!

11 hours ago, drakes2 said:

Not a fan of their croissants I find them tough. I buy my croissants frozen and bake myself.   They are made in France. 

The crunch on the outside of the Celebrity croissants are reminiscent of the Italian pastry, Sfogliatelle which is one of my favorite Italian pastries. That is the Italian pastry that resembles a shell, is filled with Ricotta and dusted with powdered sugar.

Just off Ascent.......OVC has the best ever plain croissants. Even better are the Nutella croissants at Cafe El Bacio. Sinful!

Another vote for Wonder. Your wife will be blown away with Wonder OTS.

3 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Do you have traditional dining in the MDR? If you do and you tell your servers that it's going to be your daughter's birthday they will go out of their way to make it really special for her, probably more so than at one of the speciality dining venues. You can order a birthday cake and they'll bring it to your table and sing happy birthday to her.

 

Obviously, I don't know your daughter but I would think that at 5, the food is unlikely to make or break the occasion for her so I'm not sure that paying extra for the speciality dining just for that reason is really necessary. In fact, I'm inclined to agree with @Mum2Mercury's suggestion.

 

If your daughter goes to the kids' club, be sure to let them know as they'll have all the kids sing Happy Birthday to her for sure.

We dine in specialty restaurants quite a bit. I have seen many birthday celebrations with the waiters singing to the birthday guest. There is a cake too that is presented in the specialty restaurants.

On 10/17/2023 at 2:47 PM, island lady said:

Medical is on deck one.  

I actually like the taste of the water from the bathroom faucet than the bottled water that is given to us as Diamond Plus members. I have never become ill from drinking the sink from the bathroom faucet.

On 10/7/2023 at 6:30 PM, trihawks1 said:

We have reserved a 6 pm for Hooked on Symphony in a couple months.  We don’t get “fresh” seafood Per se where we live…mostly red lobster type places.  Anyway, we decided that since we have done chops a couple times in the past we wanted to try Hooked as it isn’t on a lot of ships.  So…fingers crossed we enjoy the dinner.  We are looking forward to the clam chowder, lobster, crab cake, surf & turf, etc.  

 

if anyone can give any recent updates on the selections of what they loved or disliked (wouldn’t order again)…please post your opinions.  Thanks!

Red Lobster has live lobsters in an aquarium in the lobby that you can choose which one you would like for your meal. It doesn't get any fresher than that. Plus Red Lobster has plenty of fresh fish too.

We dined in Hooked for dinner on Wonder. The meal was not nearly as good as the meals I have always had at Red Lobster. Hooked Cheddar Bay buscuits were delicious but not quite up to par as Red Lobster's.

Hooked served me a very rare piece of salmon. When I showed the server what appeared to be raw salmon from the center of the fish, I was told that is how the salmon is prepared when it is blackened. Really? Ok then.

19 hours ago, PMO said:

You are wrong on both counts we were Early Seating and they were trying a new program with everyone needing a reservation. This caused major problems as we could not book our times in advance as MTD did prior to sailing. You also did not get the same wait staff. We fought hard to keep them but needed to keep changing our time’s constantly to do so. Everyone was furious. 

That does not sound like traditional early seating. This new program they were trying sounds more like My Time Dining than Traditional Dining.

NCL started something like this many years ago and they call it "Freestyle Dining". Show up when ever you like and you will be seated but sometimes with a wait. NCL will accept reservations if that is what you want to do but it is not mandatory to make a reservation. You will likely be seated sooner with a reservation though. Maybe Royal is trying that type of dining.experience for everyone. Hubby and I cruise NCL quite a bit and we do like the Freestyle dining very much.

On 10/5/2023 at 5:21 AM, Ocean Boy said:

What is the crew supposed to do? Is it written anywhere in RCI's rules that they can't be there. I don't recall ever seeing any sign about an age minimum.

Sorry. I don't agree. I think it is abhorable that kids are taking up seats at a bar coloring with crayons when adults may want those seats to order cocktails sit at the bar.

On 10/4/2023 at 9:51 PM, HBE4 said:

 

That's one way to keep young teens out of the Solarium.  Last thing they want to see are people their parents age engaging in a little PDA. 😁😁

 

😉😇

 

I kid, I kid. 

We are older than parents of teens. Older than dirt? Maybe.

12 hours ago, bigque said:

I never understand the reasoning that the filet is better at one of the other. They don’t order from different suppliers. They are using filets from the same boxes. Unless Giovanni’s is adding different seasonings the filets are the same. 

Could it be the method of cooking the filet?

29 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

One night on Odyssey a mom was sitting at the bar in the Schooner Bar with her two small kids taking up bar stools and coloring with crayons. So I disagree with you. They had no business being in a venue like that taking bar seating away from adults.

And the crew did nothing about it? There is no excuse for them to allow that to occur.

3 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

I would hope no one lets loose and parties a little harder in the solarium, as I believe it is intended to be a quieter place.  What in the world would someone do in a public pool area that is so extreme that it can't be done in front of children.  Yikes.

 

M

 

I was about to bring that up. Hubby and I enjoy a hug here and there and a little kiss when we are in the hot tub or the pool. I would not feel comfortable doing that if young teens were in the solarium. If young teens are present, we don't do that little bit of PDA. I really like the 18+ change in the minimum age. I really enjoy the adults only area on ships.

On 9/26/2023 at 7:15 PM, TravelBluebird said:

 

Hearing this, I’m really looking forward to the Solarium on Wonder next week!  Are there good ocean views from the Solarium?

Yes, there are wide views of the ocean. Enjoy.

On 9/29/2023 at 4:19 PM, Tree_skier said:

Happy belated birthday Jane.  I hope the rest of your cruise is great.  I'm enjoying following along.

I don't know why but I always thought Firefly was a guy. I remember "sparring" with this this poster during the pandemic.

On 9/29/2023 at 2:23 AM, firefly333 said:

I was referring to the ones they were putting in our cabins for a while, after they sat out. These were regular WJ cookies except delivered as the chefs treat. I am guessing they got push back as now we have seen other treats. Maybe you arent a high enough loyalty level to remember a time last year they were giving us a plate of cookies in our cabins ..same cookies as WJ. 

 

Agree the ones in the WJ have been fresh and delicious. They have had my favorites all week, the mudslides and the macadamian cookies. 

Now that you reminded me, I do recall cookies delivered to our cabin. Agree.....those cookies were not fresh as we had on Wonder last week.

Just off Wonder of the Seas. WHAT a PLEASURE to spend time in the solarium with no kids. Every person who was there was of the proper age. I didn't even see anyone who appeared to be in their 20s in the solarium. It was quiet, serene and relaxing. It is so nice not to have the solarium located on the ship as a "pass through" for everyone, including kids. Good job on this Oasis class ship.

On 9/22/2023 at 9:54 AM, firefly333 said:

No I just asked about izumi. But hibachi isnt bogo they said though I didnt want it. 

 

A frequent cruiser sat down with me in izumi and told me all her favorite things to order, lol not what I ordered. And she doesnt like the desserts so they let her pick a 2nd small order and even packed it up to go for her and then she asked if she could pick it up tomorrow at noon and they said sure and they would make it fresh for her then. I thought they were very accommodating. 

 

In the Mdr when I finally made it aftrr chops there I sat again alone at a 8 top feeling silly. They stuck me in with 2 tables of all one family and the other 7 did chops that night. A nice couple alone at a 6 top invited me to join them the next night and the head waiter said ok. 

 

I brought snacks for my cabin steward and been getting him drinks with unused vouchers. He likes diet coke he finally told me. Suites across from my inside balcony so hes top notch, very shy and quiet though. 

 

I got my usual random bottle of wine or champagne... addressed to Casey someone else ... not my name. Weather has been hot and humid and seas glass smooth. Someone said carnival ships are rockier. I think it has also to do with no winds or waves. Though I agree oasis class doesnt rock much we have same weather as dallas .. not a drop of rain. 

 

We got our chefs pick or whatever it's called. I especially liked the brownie in the middle. Better than stale WJ cookies. I hope Casey also got his bottle of champagne. I gave mine to my steward.

 

Did you say "stale WJ cookies"? I'm just off Wonder and the cookies every day were fresh, soft and so delicious. Every day (on the kid's buffet section) were chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and coconut ranger cookies. I never saw the kids helping themselves but the adults were always getting those cookies.

I have to say, after 60 cruises, these cookies were among the very best I've had on a cruise ship. The ONLY cookies that were better than these were on the NCL Star way back in 2001 when they were served warm right out of the oven in the Blue Lagoon. They were warm because they would no sooner put them out they were gone. Those cookies kept coming though so they always had them.

1 hour ago, parrotfeathers said:

I think only 3 of us here have admitted to doing this.  

 

I don't remember if I admitted to eating a french fry or an onion ring as I walk around the WJ, but I do. I'm very careful not to touch my fingers as I munch. I see nothing wrong with it as long as you do not touch your mouth and that is very easy to do.

2 hours ago, Mikew0805 said:

giovannis-italian-kitchen-menu-sample.pdf 3.76 MB · 1 download

I see a desert menu for the kids (Bambinos) but do not see the desertmenu for the adults.

8 hours ago, nelblu said:

Is Giovanni's Kitchen a Pizzeria while table being an Italian Restaurant.  By any chance do you have a menu for G Kitchen.

We have a cruise booked on Wonder soon. I can bring up all the menus on the RCCL app. It even tells you when the restaurants are open for lunch.