DebJ14

We just got our letter from Christian Dellosa. He is the Suite Lounge Concierge on the Mariner.

According to my doctor not 100% is removed, so best to stick to naturally GF. The government allows 20ppm to still call it GF. Some of us are sensitive to that very small amount.

My horrible experince on the AOS was in Feb 2023. Previous sailings before Covid were fine on that ship. Our recent good experience on the VY was in Jan. 2024.Horrible experience on the Navigator, but that was 2014 and several good experiences on the Voyager and Mariner back in 2009 and 2013, but I don't consider those. Everything changed with the introduction of the new menus in Jan 2023. Fingers crossed for next week on the Mariner.

If there are any GF snacks that your wife particularly likes, I would bring them. Unfortunately, the suite lounge does not have an GF crackers to go with all the cheese they put out every night during the evening happy hours. I bring a box of GF crackers and a few snack size baggies and slip them into my purse before heading to the suite lounge for drinks.

There are some items that are naturally gluten free, so you need to stick to those. If newly diagnosed then you may not be aware. Fresh eggs, plain meats (no gravy or sauces), steamed veggies, baked potato, salad (but always be firm about a GF dressing and no croutons) fresh fruit are all naturally gluten free. I was diagnosed 17 years ago. Many cruises since and I have been glutened twice on Royal, both times in the MDR and both on first nights. However, I had my most positive experiences in the main dining room with waiters and head waiters that went out of their way to insure a good GF meal. Because GF dinners in the MDR are ordered the night before, room service in a suite is probably not an option for dinner. You didn't say which ship. Those with Coastal Kitchen may fare better. On the older ships where suite guests have breakfast in one of the specialty restaurants, we have fared OK. We try to make a connection with the waiter the first day, explain our dietary needs and then try to stick with that waiter for every breakfast, and if having dinner there, requested that person as our waiter so we did not have to go through the whole song and dance all over again. Worked great on the AOS, but not on the VY. Ships vary and so does their ability to handle gluten free. Since Covid we had a horrible experience on the Adventure, except for our waitress at breakfast and one dinner in Giovanni's Table. The Windjammer had zero entrees or vegetables marked GF on the Adventure and, only a couple of desserts. On the Voyager, the Main Dining room was great, but our dinner at Giovanni's Table was a disaster. Breakfast at Chops was just ok. We had multiple waiters in Chops at breakfast and they never remembered from day to day that we were gluten free and were always pushing the pastries. For lunch in the Windjammer we stuck with salad every day. We do get room service breakfast on the days we have an early excursion. That has always been fine. I always get bacon and eggs and coffee. Hubby usually orders the GF toast. I am allergic to yeast, so bread, even GF, is out for me. I never order the scramble eggs from room service in case they give me the powdered eggs, which are often not GF. We always go with scheduled dining in the MDR. Our last cruise on the Voyager, our waiters had 3 tables of GF and went out of their way. You need to notify special needs ahead of time so that the ship is notified. They need to know how many GF people to expect, otherwise that have been known to run out of GF bread and pasta when they are suprised with larger than usual numbers. special_needs@rccl.com is where you need to send the notification. They always respond, first with an automated email and then a full explanation of how it is handled. On embarkation day we check with our Maitre"D to make sure it is noted. The head waiter usually comes over that first dinner for introductions and make sure to remind the waiters. Also check with the head waiter and chefs in Windjammer and they will give you a tour of the GF options or they will make something separately in the back for you. In the beginning it is really hard to have to be forceful and make your needs known. Also, the longer you are off gluten the worse the symptoms of being glutened get. She will have to take responsibility for herself. My doctor always says, "When in doubt, do without." Also, research GF alcoholic beverages before you go so you can request a specific Vodka. Rum and Tequila is always GF.

One day we each used 2 vouchers at the pool bar, went to the Suite Lounge for pre-dinner cocktails and then to Giovanni's Table for dinner. When we told the waitress we wanted to use a voucher each for a glass of wine, she came back and said they were all used up for that day and that she would have to charge us. We said fine, and had Maria deal with reversing the charges the next day. That is how we found out the bar waiter was using our vouchers in the Suite Lounge. Others heard our conversation with the Concierge and chimed in that they too had been denied drinks in other bars and knew they had not used all their vouchers and it opened up the floodgates. She had to fix many accounts, and was still fixing them at debarkation and promised she would take care of everyone.

I have always had a Suite Card. The Concierge on the AOS explained that due to staff shortages, she had to pull bartenders from other bars and they didn't seem to get the concept of FREE drinks in the Suite Lounge. Those who were first timers or did not qualify for coupons actually got charged money for their drinks. She spent lots of time fixing accounts. On VY an officer said they were instructed to keep track of how many drinks were being consumed in the Suite Lounge. I jokingly said it was either to figure out a way to have more cutbacks and/or raise the prices on the suites. He did not disagree with me!

On our last 2 cruises they definitely asked for the cabin number in the Suite Lounge or for the Sea Pass to get the folio number On the AOS in 2023 the waiter mistakenly used up our Diamond vouchers, so they were unavailable to use in the MDR or by the pool. Thankfully, Concierge Maria fixed the problem for us, but seemed unable to set the bar waiter straight, so she had to fix it multiple times. On the Voyager in Jan. 2024, the drinks from the Suite Lounge appeared on the bill as $0.00.

Same here!

That was also our experience in Bermuda. We take our passport cards off the ship in ports. The Drivers Licenses stay in the safe along with the passport books

Absolutely nailed it. We never heard a peep from the family in the connecting cabin, but the people on the non-connecting side ran their TV loudly all night long.

The hotels we stay in both in the US and Mexico provide full service every day and evening turndown that includes fresh towels, ice and emptying the trash cans. We tried once daily service on another line and hated it. Never got the extra towels we asked for. Hubby showers twice daily, just as he does at home so I always lost my washcloth. We also never got the second bucket of ice that we requested multiple times.. They filled the ice bucket in the morning and after a long day out and about, I need to ice my ankle that has chronic tendinitis. Kinda hard to do with a bucket of water. (I bring an icebag from home). Guess we will continue to book a category with twice daily service, even if the cost of the cruise is double. We'll just go much less often, so they won't make as much money on the specialty restaurants, casino, excursions etc.

M6 is also Reserve Class. On the Regal those are the forward cabins with the huge balconys. The M1 Reserve Class are more mid ship. M6 is cheaper than M1, but still Reserve Class.

They should contact their Congressman. Ours sends out a weekly newsletter and says if anyone needs help getting a passport issued to please contact the Congressman's local office and the staff will assist you in getting appointments or if you have already applied, they can somehow speed up the process.

I never said 3, and besides that was just from our last cruise. We have only traveled in a GS or above since 2012 and I can assure you that during bridge tours, backstage tours, and in the SL we were repeatedly told by Pinnacles ( wearing their badges) that a suite was a waste of money because they never spent any time in their cabin. I can assure you that if I was in an inside I would never spend any time in the cabin either. But in a GS, OS or PH suite on Princess we do spend lots of time in the cabin or on the balcony. Actually, we found the nicest group to be those in the Yacht Club on MSC, many of whom were former RCI and Celebrity cruisers.

We did not decide until right around Christmas 2022 to book AD for Feb 2023. I don't call $3900 for 2 people for 5 nights in a GS cheap. But, we had not cruised at all since 2019, so the money we would have used on 3-4 cruises per year was still in the bank.

We had several Pinnacles in our SL on our last cruise bragging that they were in the cheapest inside possible. They pretty much told us we were fools for paying for a full suite. Ah, but we do get double points and that is the only reason we made it to Diamond with so few RC cruises.

Seems kind of crazy that just before the pandemic they were required to do away with all single use disposable items, including butter pats and straws because of that judge in Florida.. I would have thought that public health would have prevailed and allowed them to return to the more sanitary single use items. Sorry, but way too many times I have had to send drinking glasses and coffee cups back because they were dirty. No way am I drinking straight out of a glass. Those crocks of butter on the buffet are gross half way through lunch! I will bring my own individually wrapped plastic straws. Before they went to the candy straws they were using paper straws, but they were glued with wheat paste. As a celiac if I had not been forewarned by specila needs to avoid them, I would have been really ill.

Hubby and I are both Diamond. Haven't seen any VIPF offers in years!

Yes to all. Giovanni's Table was actually the most helpful as our waitress from Peru has a child back home with severe food allergies, so she went out of her way to get the chef to do things, as well as going out into Windjammer trying to find food I could have. My husband is also GF, but doesn't have any other issues, so he fared better than I did.

I used a TA and applied a gift card to the deposit. We had to cancel the cruise. I received my deposit refunded as an E Gift card. It was emailed to me within a few days of canceling the cruise, and seemed much faster than any credit card refunds in the past.

Royal Caribbean originally gave us an FCC with a book by April 2021 and sail by Dec. 2021. We figured it was money down the drain because hubby could not be vaccinated for medical reasons and the requirement was there in 2021. Out of the blue we got an email from Royal in 2022 stating that our FCC no longer had an expiration nor a sail by date, but that it would say 2049 because that is only how far out the computer would go. However, we were assured it had no expiration date. Thankfully, our TA had a record of it because I had long since deleted it and thrown out the hard copies. Of course being over 70 we will be probably be dead and buried before 2049 so we used it in February 2023.

The whole problem stems from the fact that neither of you called Carnival to cancel prior to the sailing. She was a no show and telling Guest Services does not count. First you cancel with Carnival, then you call the insurance company to start the claims process. Had you called Carnival to cancel out your friend, they would have charged you the single supplement while they had you on the phone. Then, you would have received her cancellation notice, including penalty amounts. You would have received a new confirmation showing that you paid the single supplement. Then, you would have each filed separate insurance claims. If she was too ill to travel, she would need documentation from a physician to complete that claim based on canceling for medical reasons. You, would have to file a claim to get the single supplement refunded.

I agree it is totally unacceptable. I have celiac disease and I am highly allergic to dairy, beef and yeast. Sadly, I have been glutened on 2 Carnival ships and on one Royal Caribbean ship. When it happens, I get the privilege of spending the night in the bathroom and feel awful for days after. In every case, I have missed ports and the cruise lines have refused to refund shore excursions. In once case I had a devil of a time convincing the medical center that I did not have noro because getting glutened causes the same symptoms. In the past they have always tried to be very accommodating. On my last RCI cruise in Feb. 2023 the word I heard all the time was NO. No GF pasta, no changes to any entree to make it gluten free, even when pre-ordering, no desserts that did not also contain dairy, and weirdly no Caesar salad, even without croutons.The only GF salad dressing was oil and vinegar. I know the poor waiter felt bad when he had to deliver the NO, NO, NO. Removing the GF designation from the menus makes the job much harder for the waiters as they have to continually ask the chef. I have until April 4 to pay a non refundable deposit (suite booking) or cancel in favor of another cruise line that I can count on to deliver meals that I can eat. Frankly, I was shocked after having had 9 great gluten free cruises on Royal to see things change so drastically.

That attitude changed with the new menus. We were on the Adventure at the end of February 2023. I notified special needs and got the old letter, none of which was applicable. The new menus do not indicate what is gluten free. The poor waiter had to check on everything. With classic items only appearing in rotation, the night the strip steak was on the menu, it was the only available GF item. I am allergic to beef, so I had to have just a baked potato and the broccoli and carrots. So many of the new menu items are more like casserole mixtures, loaded with gluten. If dairy and gluten free, as I am, there was not one dessert available on the ship the entire cruise. It was all either ice cream or a pudding of some sort or cheesecake. I was told in Chops that even the sorbet was not Gluten free and the Caesar dressing was off limits as well, according to Chops, the MDR and Windjammer staff. Lesson learned. Bring some packaged GF dessert items and salad dressing packets. Also, they offered Kellogs in the am and none of their cereals were GF. I am allergic to eggs, so I had bacon and coffee. They used to be very accommodating, but no longer. I hear Carnival has gone the other way and is even more attuned to food allergies than ever with interactive menu boards. Right now we are deciding between a Carnival and an RCI cruise for our anniversary next year. It is either lots of food choices and an iffy cruise on Carnival or a great suite experience on RCI, but with limited food.