meatloafsfan

10 hours ago, MissP22 said:

If Princess actually offered better food in CC it might be worth it but since it's the same as in the regular DR it becomes a total waste of money.

Of course some people just don't care about the extra cost & it makes them feel special.

Well, I think that depends on your head server in CC.

We were treated not only to the extra entrée and either appetizer or dessert every night in CC but also lots of special "extras". One night Mirelle sent us a plate of calamari (unfortunately my mother is allergic) and then a plate of sautéed shrimp (and we loved these so she started sending them just about every night!), she made my dad macaroni and cheese, brought us desserts from lunch menus that we really enjoyed (fudge cake, eclairs, peach something-or-other) and offered that if there was anything else we wanted, she would try to make it happen. I had one of the best steaks of my life in CC dining one night (far, far superior to what we had in the Crown Grill). Another guest really loved Key Lime pie and said that she made a better one than what was served in the dining room and so Mirelle made some special key lime pies one afternoon for the whole CC dining room (and these were so much better than the one that was served from the regular menu).

So our experience has been that it wasn't "the same as in the regular DR" but I'd be happy to hear about YOUR personal experience with CC dining.

On ‎4‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 6:27 PM, calico cruiser said:

Bed rental depends on cruise line.  Special Needs told  me that neither Princess or HA allowed.  Went with lift chair on Princess as this was next best option for Alaskan trip.

We did have to get Princess' permission but they did give it. It was on the Caribbean Princess ship so....and funny enough, it was at the suggestion of their special needs department (I was asking for a rollaway which is available on that ship - we've had it before - because the new beds were too high for a transfer for my mother). Special needs specifically said to me, "Have you considered a hospital bed rental?".

It took some back and forth to arrange (getting the quote, getting the cruise line approval, getting the rental agreement, providing that to the cruise line, getting a fit to travel note for the cruiseline) but it was well worth it for us.

2 hours ago, nukesubsailor said:

On our 28 days aboard we had Mirelle for the first part but then she left the ship as her contract was up.  We thought she was great as was her replacement.  Mark and Sonja told us they had to change sections of Club Class each turn-around day.  So my wife and I did the same so they could continue being our servers.  I sure hope to meet up with them all again someday on a future cruise.

Because we needed a wheelchair accessible table for 3, we pretty much stuck to the trio of tables right by the entrance. Mirelle was kind enough to ensure that regardless of where Mark & Sonja were assigned, they were able to serve us.

And yes, I have booked the Caribbean Princess for next January again in hopes that we meet the same wonderful CC dining staff.

Within reason, I think that special requests are honoured for the most part. I believe that they have a small garden salad on the kids menu. Anything that they have the ingredients on hand for would probably be fulfilled.

Garden Salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato) - yes

Greek Salad (with feta cheese, black olives, special dressing) - probably not.

On ‎3‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 6:48 PM, nukesubsailor said:

There has always been a letter in our suite the first day telling us we were entitled to Club Class dinning.  If you were signed up for traditional rather than anytime dinning, you would not be offered Club Class dining as it is strictly anytime.  The dining room staff in Club Class, Mark and Sonja,  were excellent when we were aboard Jan 26 - Feb 23, 2019.

My goodness but aren't Mark and Sonja the best!

We were on the CB for 38 days from November 24 2018 - January 2 2019. We had really great service in the MDR - club class dining was just amazing. Almost every night there was a fresh made pasta dish, plus an additional entrée. When there wasn't a special pasta dish / appetizer, there was a special dessert. And the head server for cc (for us it was Mirelle) was just fantastic and wanted to make us special dishes all the time - we had so many sautéed shrimp (served on a large plate for the table), we could dwell in the sea now! And if we really liked one of the lunch desserts (chocolate eclairs! yum), she would keep them for us for dinner dessert as well. I prefer a plastic glass for my soda (it tastes funny in those small glass glasses), and Sonja started keeping large plastic glasses in the dish area and would use them just for me.

The WFM was interesting - there was lots of stuff they got right - these little round philly beef sandwiches, nachos, roasted chicken, premade sandwiches with lettuce, tomato, thin sliced onion, and a variety of meats. Small batches of hot foods, good international variety (some Indian, some Greek, some other countries). But when it was wrong, it could be really wrong - dried out meat, weird salads, tasteless mini cupcakes. I found it no different than any other buffet - lots of hits with a few misses. They really were on top of the food temperatures though - constantly checking with their thermometers.

The downsides is that the ship seemed to run out of a lot of stuff - vanilla flavour at the coffee shop, the "good" butter, just a few little things that were like, "Huh?"

On ‎12‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 11:41 PM, Dreamer115 said:

I see that I can buy OBC at a lesser exchange rate than going to my bank and then I would not have to take US cash with me.  Can it not be withdrawn to spend while in port?  On RCI you can get some daily (can't remember amount) from the casino.

Buy casino credit instead of OBC. You take the card that's in the room (like you get for pre-buying anything from the water, to the soda package, etc.) and go to the casino. They give you the cash - no messing with putting money onto your account and "pretending to play" and then cashing it out. Casino credit isn't added to a casino account; it's given to you in cash. (Last November/December on the CB, I had pre-purchased both OBC and Casino credit - the casino credit was so much easier).

25 minutes ago, loving goldens said:

Thank you for the info so we might have to take a cab?  

 

Yes, plan on getting a cab.

Though check with Guest services onboard your first ship to see if they have anyway to transport you from one ship to another (I've heard of shuttles between Royal/Celebrity ships) - you never know.

Go first to logout.com

then it should give you the option to log back in.

When we were having difficulties on the Caribbean, he said it's like when you have issues with any device and you're asked "Have you tried turning it off and back on?".

For the cruise internet, it's "Have you tried logout.com?"

Everything but the bed situation would make me vote for the Valor. Although there's less new bells and whistles, on a 5 day cruise with 2 port stops, you may not miss them.

The bed thing is what would make me choose the Dream.

Instead of a traditional power strip, I have a new box type one that has 2 plugs and 4 USB ports. It has no surge protector. I purchased it from Amazon. It really works well because so much of what I plug in anymore has a USB end.

10 hours ago, IPlayWithString said:

The buffalo chicken is one of my favorites from the new deli menu. Holy crap is it good.

I agree. I really like the new buns too.

Had some pork thing on a pretzel bun - wow!

What I don't like is the new bread - I think it's rustic Panini bread? It dries out too fast and gets too hard. My mother had the grilled cheese and didn't like it. Basically ended up just eating the centre because the rest was too crispy.

Nope. Mocktails, soda from a gun, and hot chocolate. No bottled water (fizzy or plain).

I would do the Journey cruise - you'll have unique menus each night (the side by side, you'll repeat menus), different entertainment, trivia, and activities, and no packing up in the middle of the trip. 1 longer cruise is better than 2 shorter cruises.  

Tuna Sandwich

Caesar Salad

Chocolate cake

The English muffin for the tuna sandwich is usually perfectly soft.

I've had the BLT and found the bread is usually lightly toasted (which I understand - overly crispy bread is probably received as a complaint more frequently than when the bread is under-toasted).

You can order a congratulations cake through Bon Voyage to have delivered at dinner. Prior to delivery, you can let your servers know that it's to be delivered to the kids and that it's to celebrate your 2 year anniversary as a family (you could also get a happy anniversary cake though it would probably take more explaining to your servers that it's not your wedding anniversary).

And it's no problem with anytime dining - that's one of the reasons why they get your room number because the cake order will be attached to your room.

2 hours ago, granmarl said:

On the Splendor now, received the tervis cups. I do have a question, will be on our 1st premier cruise end of May and understand there will be a gift for premier cruise. Is it the same as the platinum gift? Thank you.

 

 

No, the premier gifts are different.

On the premier cruise on the Sunshine in January we got large plastic cups with lids, string backpacks and towels.

Red Frog rum bar has pitchers of spike lemonade - they are $26-$27;

Blue Iguana Bar has pitchers of margaritas - I think the same price as the spiked lemonade.

On ‎3‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 5:23 AM, RWolver672 said:

The title of your posting asks if you like your gift or not, but your actual posting has nothing to do with the title. 

 

We just received our first Platinum gift.  It was two "blankets".  We probably will never use them because they are so thin that they shouldn't even be considered a blanket.  It was free, I'm not complaining, just saying we probably will never use them.

While the blankets may be lightweight, they are quite warm and wonderfully soft. We got them on the Sunshine in January - one of the best Platinum gifts we've gotten (I've received the tervis cups a couple of times, the croc visor, and the backpack that folded up into a small pouch).

I would recommend slippers with a sole. The floors can be slippery and lots of the slipper socks don't have any kind of grip on the bottom.

For me:

Most Pushy -

St Lucia - left my mom alone for 2 minutes to find out what was taking my dad so long in the store, only to find a tour guide trying to push her wheelchair to the tour booth to get her to book a tour.

Antigua - Witnessed 2 tour guides (orange shirts) fighting over customers; had a hair braider follow me for 3 blocks despite me saying no repeatedly; had a woman try to put a necklace on my mother where I literally had to block her hand from doing so.

St Kitts - decided just to return to the ship because this one guy with a monkey just would not leave my mother alone (and she's a bit of a captive audience as she's in a wheelchair and can only use 1 hand so it's not like she can push people away); he followed us around and was there every time we came out of any shop or paused to take pictures of the buildings.

Least Pushy -

Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Jamaica (Falmouth - the people were so nice and really not pushy to us at all), Grenada, Tortola....we really haven't had a lot of issues at most ports. 

I just can't wait for Carnival to start adding steps into their pools. I'm okay without the fancy-schmancy stuff - just give me a set of stairs and not a ladder.

Thanks for the start of the review.

We love the Pride and I've booked another cruise on that ship for this summer. I'd love to hear what shape she's in since the dry dock.

I know I'm a little late to the party but I thought I'd throw in my opinion.

Some plusses for Royal:

Most of their pools have stairs in;

They offer a refreshment package which includes non-alcoholic beverages including mocktails, bottled water, specialty coffees;

Many of their ships have the Freestyle coke machines;

They have a lot of active activities (like rock climbing, ice skating, etc)

Café Promenade is 24 hours and conveniently located in the interior of the ship and offers a variety of foods (both savory and sweet).

Some plusses for Carnival:

Great daytime food choices with many made-for-you options (Guy's, Blue Iguana, Deli, Pizza, Pasta bar, etc.)

Good beds, pillows and bedding;

Cheap on demand movies $5 compared to $13-$15 on Royal;

Great variety in the MDR including extra vegetable sides;

Lots of daytime activities that are not "sporty" (like Trivia);

Partnered with Dr. Seuss and Hasbro which increases non-sporty activities;

Dedicated comedy clubs which host multiple shows each night.  

We're on the CB for 3 cruises (38 days) so we brought on 4 cases of canned soda. We put it in a rolling suitcase and put a luggage tag on it. We experienced no problems at all - the suitcase and it's contents arrived unharmed and perfectly drinkable.

I just wanted to let people know that if you need a hospital bed, you can rent one for your cruise - we did.

We're on the Caribbean Princess for 38 nights and my mother uses a hospital bed at home and for such a long trip I thought it was worth looking into. We rented through Special Needs at Sea and emailed back and forth with them and Princess to get permission. It was around $410 for the 38 days; it's a fully electric Drive Medical bed with a mattress and rails on each side (head and feet adjust as well as the whole bed goes up and down).

The room steward isn't phased at all by it and has no issues making it up. 

Although not as nice as her hospital bed at home, it was a great investment to make the trip a little easier for my mother.