pcur

The evening appetizers on most ships are a good variety. About 4 hot/warm offerings: chicken, beef skewers, tempura, wings, mini-quiches. Plus, fruit, nuts, cheese, chocolate covered strawberries, and other mini desserts.

I did not pay attention to the comparison between the MDR and the WJ, but found the WJ to be very iffy on several ships this past Feb, March and April. The Anthem was fantastic!! Many different food stations, great quality, lots of interesting salads and appetizers. The Grandeur: I had a hard time getting a decent dinner in either the MDR or the WJ. I have posted about this cruise before. The Vision was disappointing in the WJ. They had cut the offerings so drastically that only the smaller side buffets as you enter on either side, were plentiful. The mid, round buffet stations were soup, desserts, and EMPTY. I posted about this previously, also. On the Vision I was able to get the UDP with my sister for a very good price, so my WJ experience was lunch only. I have since heard and read that training new dining staff had a lot to do with the diminished offerings, as well as the published menu changes. Supposedly things have improved. Here's hoping.

A. Meclizine is the same ingredient as the Dramamine the ship was giving her, only the slightly more expensive non-drowsy formula. It is also OVER THE COUNTER, not prescription. B. She was not able to get off the ship to buy it herself, and I bought it for her. C. I am not an idiot.

(I wish this board had a cynical font; it would help lessen the blow) I say give the crew member the $25 AND the $5 in candy! I have actually befriended many crew members over my years with RCCL. I have been told many times that having a genuinely friendly conversation helps them a lot, since they are separated from their families for so long. One cabin steward told me she and the Loyalty Ambassador onboard are friends back home, too, and when they have their breaks between contracts, they take care of each other's children if the other one is still on a ship. That really helps them both get by. That particular cabin steward was having a VERY hard time with seasickness up the Atlantic US Coast. I got her a 250 pill bottle of nondrowsy meclizine, because the itinerary was repeated every week. The ship gave her Dramamine and she could barely keep her eyes open. One cabin steward was going home to see his wife after the cruise, and when I found out the hardback book I was reading was her favorite author, I gave it to him with a bottle of champagne (free to me). It's not always about money: it's about human caring, kindness, and chemistry. They take care of me; I take care of them (besides tips).

CFEO.....Chocolate For EveryOne!!!

😇

Wasn't looking for another thank you. Seeing your head buried in the bag when I gave it to you was a huge thank you! (Pssst....I may go back to Kauai next year....stay tuned)

Well, I guess paying off all my cruises in advance didn't work in my favor for the Bahamas, huh? 😉

That would be her daily sugar coma break? Good on her!!

Belgium chocolate is soooooo good.

Another opportunity to build my ignore list. And....I see that two of my other ignore favs reacted to your post. It's like a tiny club.

I went on a "chocolate farm" tour in Kauai in 2021. They gave us samples to eat from 24 different countries so we could taste the difference. Truly educational (hint: it's the soil). Anyway, yes, US chocolate is not made the same, but most people just taste the chocolate flavor. Kind of wine connoisseur vs just somebody that wants a good tasting wine to drink. But, if I was working somewhere I had little access to chocolate, ANY chocolate would taste great to me! IMO, Ghirardelli chocolate is one of the best US made chocolates, but I'm a local and prejudiced. Godiva is next IMO. If you want THE best, order online some from Lydgate Chocolate Farms in Kauai. Also, if Coralc is anywhere on this board, she can tell you what she thinks, too. I brought her a bag of it home with me.

I say give them both so they don't have to spend the tip to buy the candy. Win-win.

I agree. Add the candy to the cash tip. Make it chocolate: like get a bag of the pre-wrapped Godiva chocolate/caramel balls. Little bits of heaven.

Not your question, OP, but flying into Long Beach (LGB) on Southwest is soooooo much nicer than LAX. Small airport, but a great sitting area outside between the terminals. 20 minute drive to San Pedro dock. I Uber to a Long Beach hotel, and then Uber to the dock in the morning.

Excellent suggestion. Also, RCCL will transfer you to the new ship's dock at no charge. In FL, they will transfer you to/from POM and PE.

Speaking of which, I just reserved the UDP on the Grandeur for this September. On sale right now.

It's worth the extra expense, IMO. Depends on the ship and whether I'm with others.

I gave up on MTD last year on the Grandeur. I sailed as a "bridge" cruise between cruising with friends before and after the Grandeur. I went to the MTD entrance early, saw about 250 people waiting in line, and said, "Nope, not for me" in my head. Immediately went to fixed dining, asked to be switched, and have stayed with fixed dining, the WJ, or CK, ever since. This is after some very difficult experiences since 2019 getting tables, overcrowding, and SUPER noisy dining rooms. About 10 different ships, with and without family and friends, over 4 years now. I watch the UDP prices carefully if I'm cruising by myself.

Aware of this. I have no clue about Astoria, except it's beautiful countryside.

My son went to college in SB, living there for 5 years. I texted him and said, "what would a cruise passenger do in SB". His reply was cryptic, but succinct: "State Street; Channel Islands Nat'l Park; go up to SB City College for the view".

This thread reminds of the "should I take my passport with me off the ship" discussions. Everyone's got an opinion, and they are absolutely right; until their not. I like my "sense of security" to be as real as I can get it, rather than a "false one". Each person has to decide their own comfort zone. (And, regarding the idiotic posts....................thanks for reinforcing my need for my ignore list. Every so often I take a look at a post, but it's always, "Yep, they are still reinforcing my decision".)

My Surface Pro is updated daily with my personal data, and I don't want to recreate that when I get home depending on when I last backed it up. So, it gets put away when I leave the cabin. And, no, I'm not into cloud back-ups, either.

I use a Surface Pro X, and it fits in almost all shallow and wide drawer in the cabins' "desk" areas. If not, I store it inside the cabinets on top of the safe, packed in a plain gray zippered case, or in my KYSS bag. The little padlock that comes with the bag fits through the zipper pulls on the bag, so it cannot be opened or easily taken. Most crew will not touch a laptop sitting out: they want to keep their jobs. Many passengers walking by WILL take it. That bag is also fabulous for traveling solo. I chain my luggage and the bag to a table when I get food in airports. No more juggling it all while I get carryout food.

She didn't realize until halfway through the meal that there was a problem, as there was such a small amount of sauce. It was probably the thickener that did it. From what I watched I would NOT want to see her ingest more than she did. She did talk to the head waiter about her pre-ordering and how important it was. But, the waiters didn't cook her food: the kitchen did. There was no way to visually see what had been done, so changing tables wasn't really necessary. The entrée looked sauceless. By the time she realized and stopped eating it, the reaction had already started.