alyssamma

Gotcha, ok, sounded different from your original post. So you are doubting the weather is too bad for a helicopter? If not, and you agree it is too bad for that, what is faster other than returning to port? You didn't answer my Q...is it windy? Do you know the weather requirements to land a helicopter on a ship? There are emergencies all the time where the "fastest" way isn't used for safety reasons. Also, I guess it depends on the emergency. Something that can be stabilized but not treated on the ship? A true life or death situation? Etc But overall it sounds like you think they should use a helicopter, but the captain says that is too dangerous, and that is your issue?

So you are doubting there is an actual emergency? You think the captain is lying to you and the rest of the passengers? Is it windy? Do you know the proper weather conditions for a helicopter to land on a ship? I suspect this isn't an easy thing to do in normal weather. You are right that "every minute counts" which is why they are turning back. I guess I'm not sure exactly what it is that you think is "fishy"

Menu from the diner...

Ok, went to deck 8 and found out the deal...for this cruise and the last one, because of "high volume", whatever that means...on sea days they are the same as the MDR. And when I ate there it was a sea day. On the other days they are the American Diner. Furthermore, they are aware they don't show up in the app (which is why I couldn't find them) and they've talked to IT about it (lol, sure that will be fixed REAL soon) The menu looks good ..all day breakfast, wings, burgers etc. And they are open during the day for lunch I'm going to try and do dinner there tomorrow. Wow...I didn't think things could be this confusing, but obviously they are.

You are on the ship now? Have you eaten on deck 8 for dinner and gotten a different menu? I mean actually eaten there and not just seen a menu. I'm going to go up there tonight before dinner and see what they are serving...

Interesting...wonder if it is just a lunch thing? Can you see if they've had a different dinner?

For this cruise, all 3 decks...6, 7, 8, all serve the normal MDR food Edit: Just spoke to guest services...was told they sometimes have the American diner and sometimes don't. I can say every night on this cruise there was no deck 8 dining option in the app. I can also say I got 4 different answers from guest services about how tendering would work in Santorini and none of them matched the actual reality of what happened. So my advice, get on the ship and see what experience you have lol

I also thought this was the case. However, at least on this sailing, it isn't so. It is definitely confusing...here is what it says for deck 6. Note in the app it only has decks 6 and 7... no mention of 8. You can see it says fixed time, but also says walk ins welcome. Below that is what the app shows...only decks 6 and 7. I found 8 when exploring the ship. I could swear I read somewhere that it had a different menu but I ate there for dinner and it was the normal MDR menu.

It's possible because things are so new they are in flux. It's also possible they only have a set number...say half...of their capacity with fixed dining times so can handle walk ins.

So...this was my understanding but it is not how it works. I've eaten on 8 and the menu is the exact same. Also, as mentioned, the wait is very minor...we normally eat around 730.

My wife said there was soup...but only one kind...and she doesn't remember the type unfortunately

You mean for dinner? No...but I did for lunch one day.

So, it is a little confusing. They do the Arena (basically the theater), the Piazza (the atrium) and Live (right next to the atrium). Shows in Live are USUALLY 2x per day at 7 and 9 and in the Arena at 8 and 10. But things switch. For example, the woman last night in the arena is tonight in the Piazza. And some production shows are in the Piazza (they have things that come down from the ceiling). And they do game shows all night in both Live and the Piazza. It's actually a mess in Live because people are rushing in for one show right as the previous show ends because there is no gap.

Another thing I forgot to mention...laundry is free. But there are only 2 machines on each deck so it can be crowded.

Yes, you can eat on 6 without assigned dining times.