woodlands

I just went and looked again too . . . It's available in Cruise Planner and let me put it in my cart but I read the fine print also and saw the same thing you did. My wife wants to try Chops once, I may just do that and not have something screwy happen when they figure out what they did (or didn't do).

PS we were allowed to use our BOGO on Christmas Eve in Chops last year

I was on Serenade this past Christmas and New Year, on Christmas Day it was the standard Pomodoro menu with a roast ham as well. If you were going to book into a speciality on one or the other, I would do it for Christmas Day. On New Year's Eve they did make a bit more of an effort with dinner than a normal night and there were plenty of table decorations too.

New Years Eve Menu

Appetisers

Shaved Proscuitto and Arugula Salad,

Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli

Berkshire Pork Belly

Tuna Tartare

Gazpacho

Lobster Bisque

Entrees

Wild Mushroom Pappardelle

Seared Halibut

Grilled Filet Mignon

Broiled Lobster Tail

Rack of Lamb

Desserts

Dark and White Chocolate bar

Red Velvet New York Cheesecake

Grand Marnier SOuffle

Lemon Buttermilk Panna Cotta

I cannot say that 100% of all cruises have thus perk. However, I've not seen any reports of D+ or PC not having this perk lately. We had it on a Brilliance TA last fall.

We had this perk last week on a short Independence cruise out of Southampton. Many of the staff didnt know about it, we purchased our drinks package from a bartender in the boarding area who told us the discount would be auto applied but it wasnt and we had to go to guest relations who made a few phone calls to check it was valid before sorting it out.

Not forgetting the jacuzzi

We were in Southampton today and went to the Carribean 'festival', I have to say there was less Royal Carribean/TA presence than I was expecting. We took a tour of the port (well, I say a tour, it was just a bus trip round the docks, without a commentary, and it cost £6 each) which I thought was expensive, but we got right up close to Indie, well the closest I'm going to get until Friday :)

Hi Eileen

yes we will definitely meet up for a birthday toast!

Cobh is quite small, it's nice just to walk round to see a typical Irish small village we were quite an attraction when we arrived last year and it was a national holiday too so there was a traditional music competition and a market on. I'm not sure we'll enjoy the same this year. There was a small exhibition at the port itself about the great liners that used to leave from there which was interesting. When we arrived the streets were lined with people there to see the ship or meet friends coming off it, they were allowed extremely close to the ship. The atmosphere was very special.

We'd originally booked a tour to visit a farm whose owners are quite well known in Ireland for their hospitality but unfortunately it was cancelled due to lack of interest. There is a train into Cork from near the port. We've been a few times before to Cork itself, it is quite a small 'city', by US standards probably classed as a small town with really not that much touristy stuff going on, there is the gaol to visit though or you could go up to Blarney Castle outside the city centre and kiss the stone.

Berni

Hi Eileen

we're also on the Cork trip at the beginning of May, it was also a surprise bday trip for my husband, but it didn't stay a surprise for long. He could tell I was up to something because apparently I was grinning from ear to ear :) We did the same trip on the Navigator last year and it was a great break, not too short. The only thing last year was we only stayed a few hours in Cork, this time we're staying overnight. The town where we will dock (Cobh) is very quaint

Not long to go now

Berni x

Great thread...thanks so much for all the info on Southampton!! We are sailing on her inaugural in a few short weeks. There are only 3 posts to the thread I started...sure hope that others are as excited as we are:confused: . The trip is a surprise birthday present for DH, am bursting at the seams to keep it a secret until March 30!!!;) His grandfather emmigrated from Cork to Pennsylvania so there is a real tie to his heritage!!

 

Hope to see some of you ...

 

Cheers,

 

eileen