Sail n Snow
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Posts posted by Sail n Snow
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16 minutes ago, BuckeyeMark said:
I'll weigh in. It's not RCI's fault and it appears to me they are doing everything they can to be accommodating and helpful. I'm pretty impressed with the offer. Don't know if I'd get on the Anthem but wow - that's a lot of credits they're tossing around. Good for RCI!
Yes knowing it wasn’t corona and getting a 50% fcc to sail and the 50% off. I would happily go on this cruise. -
1 hour ago, cruisecop2006 said:
Stick93 as I indicated in the original post. I would at the least have expected an email on my return home, maybe giving details about when the persons became sick, so that we could be cognizant of the 14 day incubation period.any information would be helpful but we got nothing.
In the US there is a little thing called HIPAA. So unfortunately without consent and probably going through their legal team they can’t mention anything. Good news from the post above the 4 cases are not corona according to the newshttps://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/laws-regulations/index.html
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5 hours ago, Jzx1103 said:
It is discriminatory and unfounded, as I said earlier there's really no difference between potential risk of a Chinese passport holder with a U.S. greencard vs US passport holders who happens to be Chinese. It only matters if you had any connection to China in the recent month. Their previous policy was on target, this new one jumps the gun.
Actually it’s mostly just business (with cruisers health a 2nd priority) and has to do with countries banning Chinese passports. RCI has already had to change ports of call and this possible outbreak issue on Anthem helps to make their case. It’s unfortunate but fear is taking over and by making this move they are trying to show that a cruise ship is safe to be on at the expense of one group. Think about when a norovirus outbreak occurs on a ship it cause a small disruption. A Coronavirus outbreak is a possible 2 week quarantine sitting in the middle of a bay (Princess in Japan).
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9 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:
NBCnewyork has picked up the story. Confirmed that it is anthem of the seas where there is concern.
This news story says over 2 dozen Chinese people fleW From China to board anthem for the Jan 27 departure. Still within the 14 days they could be contagious but not showing signs.
It may not matter if you show signs or not anymore. The problem is the unknown of the virus. How contagious is it and how deadly is it. The regular flu is deadly when not treated (and sometimes when it is treated) The key is can this be treated effectively only time will tell.
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11 hours ago, mochuck said:
I wonder if they will quarantine the whole ship for 14 days now? And if they do will people be able to use public areas?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-05/coronavirus-on-cruise-ship-in-japan/11931688
Here’s another one being quarantined but in Hong Kong.
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11 hours ago, caribbeanboy said:
No, she is docked in Busan, South Korea with all crew onboard.
Looks like Spectrum left Busan at 0832 GMT on 5 Feb for Nagasaki. Maybe testing a new route or just waiting for the 14 days of “self quarantine” to be over so they can let the crew off the ship for a break.
A bit off topic but since the ship has no passengers I wonder if they let the crew sleep in the guest cabins just to give them all some space. It would also help to stop anything from spreading just in case someone is sick but isn’t showing any signs of infection.
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Supposedly they have contingency plans. Wonder if they’ll put them into place? The first canceled sailing for Spectrum was Jan 27th. So assuming 14 days from the 28th the earliest they could make plans are the 10th.
https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22389-bayley-contingency-plans-in-place-for-spectrum.htmlQuantum of the Seas was supposed to do a nine day cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong on 15 Feb and then another 9 day back. It has since been rerouted and will cruise out of Singapore for both cruises and the itineraries have been adjusted.
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3 hours ago, Wine-O said:
I'm still trying to get over California Casual -- jock straps and shower shoes. 😉🍷
I almost spit out my ☕ reading this. 🤣 -
14 hours ago, FSHLOT said:
Sometimes, if it was a long day of alcohol consumption, i actually forget what i ordered.😎
Very true! Or when you order 3 appetizers and 2 mains and don’t remember what’s coming out next. I’ve asked to hold off on dessert just in case I’m not hungry. I do enjoy being able to customize the mains by asking to leave things off the plate. I hate wasting food and feel like I have to eat it all (unless it’s bad which doesn’t happen very often to us). -
20 minutes ago, lovelife said:
When I reached 2500 points the first year of this new program, I asked the casino host if I now got free drinks the remainder of that sailing. He said no, not until my next cruise. 😕
That doesn’t sound right. I started my last cruise and wasn’t prime. I asked the hair how close I was and in typical fashion didn’t know. 2 nights later I was talking with the Casino manager and asked him. He took my member number and went to check. Came back 10 min later with a sticker for my card and apologized said I should be prime now.
I would say if the host isn’t giving you good info go up one more level. This seems to be the best way to handle a lot of issues with RC not just the Casino.
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We’ve done wonderland in two different ships. Almost the same menu on both but both were great experiences. Ahead of time let the reservation folks know and then the waiter know if any food preferences. We have a no seafood eater and they brought out items that didn’t involve seafood for them.
Dessert was amazing and remember you can always ask for seconds 🙂
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We cruised this past Christmas (23-27) and it was pretty much all Christmas music in the common areas. They had both Christmas events and non Christmas events still and we had a great time.
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6 hours ago, stevea36 said:
If you don't see something here that he will eat you can either contact the special needs department at special_needs@rccl.com or see the Maitre'D or head waiter in the MDR. They will make every effort to satisfy his cravings (with your approval, of course).
Steve
You can also ask your waiter for the next nights menu to preview during dinner. We have a gluten allergy in the family and on one night there was nothing that was appealing. So a request went in and the next night a grilled chicken breast and broccoli was served.We’ve found the MDR staff to be very accommodating (served escargot on nights that it wasn’t on the menu for instance). Now we do the early dining so we have the same waiter and I tip a small amount the first or second night just because I know we will have some special requests but of course it’s not necessary.
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We sailed Quantum of the Seas a few months ago and really enjoyed it. Never felt crowded and plenty to do. Our kids enjoyed it as well. Take a look at the photos Anthem of the Seas Photos to get a feel for the ship.
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6 minutes ago, lr657 said:
You would need an N95 mask for protection against the coronavirus. Wearing a flat mask will not offer much protection. You are touching the mask and your face taking on and off, which actually could give you more exposure to the virus. The flat masks are better for use by people that are sick to help prevent spreading the infection, not for protection.
Yes the N95 mask may help but it has to be worn properly with the proper fit and it will not filter out all of the virus as the virus is smaller than what the mask can filter. It may stop large particles but can still let smaller particles in.
The best advice is to wash you hands and try not touching your face along with avoiding large crowds. This hold true for the flu as well. In general if think you are have the flu it’s best to stay home and if you must go out then wear a mask to help stop the spread of the virus.
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4 hours ago, hood65 said:
I think Voyager of the seas later this spring
Quantum of the seas is also sailing out of Beijing
Voyager and Quantum sail from China (Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong) occasionally as they also port in Singapore and Australia.
afaik the only ship that is permanent to China (home port is Shanghai) is Spectrum.
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12 hours ago, Mapleleafforever said:
WIthout reading any of the other replies I'll give you my 2 cents,......
...This whole business of auto grats bothers me and I prefer it the old way where you tipped for good service and services you use only.
Before anyone says I'm cheap or anti tipping that's far from the case. In fact I believe that Royal Caribbean (and the other cruiselines) should just pay their employees better and add grats to the initial cruise price.
This to me is spot on and I completely agree RCI should pay a better wage and move on from auto gratuities. Things change and evolve all the time. RCI has the data and could very easily figure out and pay a fair wage and get rid or auto gratuities if they wanted to.But as it’s been argued tips are their wages that debate probably will not end as there are competing definitions of gratuity we should all just agree to disagree and continue to do as we individuals feel is right.
One day RCI will make a change one way or the other (mandatory gratuities or non at all) and when they do the debate can rage on.
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8 minutes ago, cruise cruise cruise said:
If person 1 is logged on and person 2 trys to connect, who gets this message, person 1 or 2?
We have purchased Voom for our upcoming cruise. Adults would like to use Voom early morning before the teens wake up. Do we need the teens to log off before going to bed, or will adults be able to "Swith Devices"
The person trying to logon will get this message. So no need to log off the device when you establish a new connection with a different device you can “boot” the other person off pressing the switch device. -
I wrote a review in the link mentioned above and everyone is different but to me if your getting the VOOM package the key is a better option. It’s even better if you can get it on sale.
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The past 2 cruises we had The Key so ate in the MDR “Chops Lunch”. I’ve heard if you have the unlimited dining plan and a specialty restaurant is open that you can eat at them as well.
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8 hours ago, brillohead said:
So make up your mind.... did people start making less when more people got part of the tip pool because the same amount of money was being divided up by more people, or did the auto-grats amount increase to cover those changes? You can't have it both ways.
we can agree to disagree and you may have not taken the time to search and read the article but it does a good job of explaining the issue.
If a steward is part of the tip pool and now a worker who never was in the tip pool is added to the equation. The steward looses money because some of that tip pool gets distributed to the other worker and that new worker may now make more money because of the distribution.
A corporation is out to make a profit sure but in today’s world they should be responsible corporate citizens and while paying a fair and decent wage not relying on tips. Just because it’s always been done this way doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be changed.
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22 minutes ago, DustFSU said:
I am traveling with my parent's and my dad gets the Voom while on the ship, but I don't want to have to go back and forth having to log off for him to log in. If we are in the same cabin I can purchase my own and it won't effect us correct?
correct if you each purchase a package or buy a multi package to save then it will have no effect. It’s only if you share one purchased account that you would have sharing issues.
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47 minutes ago, brillohead said:
THIS IS NOT HAPPENING.
The companies NEVER paid the worker a "normal" wage... their monthly salary was always a tiny portion from the company, and the rest from gratuities.
Why do you not understand that? NOTHING HAS CHANGED other than, with the auto-grats in place, there is less likelihood of dishonesty and more likelihood that workers will receive more money.
The employees LIKE having the auto-grats in place versus the old way, because too many people stiffed them under the old practice.
Now they're still getting stiffed occasionally, but not by as many people because, fortunately, more people leave the auto-grats in place these days.
But IT HAS CHANGED!Before I went on a cruise last summer I did some research for what to do. First the amount of workes in the tip pool has increased and it probably depends on who you ask to who is happy about auto gratuities. Those that never received them before I’m sure saw an increase and those that worked extra hard to make more probably saw a decrease.
I’m not sure if I can link to the article but with the quotes search google for
“Cruise Ship Gratuities Increase by 70%. What about the crew members salaries?”
If I’m allowed to post the article let me know and I will.
There was also a USA Today article that exposed the shell game the cruise lines use in regards to auto gratuities and taking advantage of their customers good will.
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22 minutes ago, brillohead said:
So, in your mind, there is no reason to tip a waiter at a US-based restaurant unless they go way above and beyond?
Wow. That's just pathetic. I hope that you don't go out to eat very often.For the record, the employees who receive the auto-grats contract with Royal Caribbean to earn a certain amount per month based on a certain number of hours worked. Their contract INCLUDES the money they earn from gratuities. The gratuities ARE THEIR WAGES, not bonus money. Just like tips in a US-based restaurant are wages, not bonus money, for servers.
Not sure why you can't understand that concept.
In the US it is a customary practice to tip. Unless you go to certain locations where the law has changed and minimum wage for a server is more (Seattle is $15 and restaurants have either added a service fee or increased prices).
So it becomes a question of fairness and ethics. Should the cruise line pay a fare wage and be done with gratuities? Fares would go up but you wouldn’t shell out an additional $14.50-17.50 a day in added costs. So wouldn’t the two balance out?
You keep saying auto grats keep fares low but you then have to pay the auto grat at the end of a cruise. So why not pay it all up front in one lump sum? Again this would make everyone pay it and we’d be done worrying about tipping on board.
SPECTRUM OF THE SEA
in Royal Caribbean International
Posted · Edited by Sail n Snow
It will be interesting to see what happens with Spectrum. We were originally booked on Voyager for a Tokyo - Hong Kong 8 night Cruise during the Olympics. They cancelled that sailing 2 months ago and have Voyeger (Jul-Aug) doing 3-5 night cruises out of Shanghai now. We had rebooked on 9 night out of Shanghai.
I know the summer is a ways out but still can’t help wonder if things don’t get better in China over the next few months what RC will do. Or how far out they decide to change/reposition ships for the rest of the year.