pittnh

wine list in MDR was underwhelming, happy I brought my own that were more interesting

On 5/6/2023 at 7:02 PM, ATG said:

We had the carne asada on odyssey and it was not very good, definitely the worst thing we had on the ship.

I ordered it and thought it was very good.  To each his own.

I think you can take water onboard with you if you like

2 hours ago, BennyandBo said:

Bad food, bad service. I'm really concerned about next month. 

Don't be, I was on Oasis in March and disagree with just about everything the OP said.  Except room condition, there was a fairly nasty carpet stain in our room, and a mysterious wet spot on the carpet that never seemed to dry up the whole cruise.  But I've stayed in a lot worse places, that's for sure.  Overall the room was clean, and the cabin steward was very friendly and accommodating.  

I have a post I could link if you like on my thoughts on mostly the MDR food.  Cliff notes version was that the quality wasn't noticeably different from my cruise on Oasis several years ago with the original menus.

just returned a few weeks ago.  Public areas fine.  Boardwalk balcony cabin.....could use some refreshing.  There was a mysterious wet patch that appeared on our carpet about half way through the cruise.  Originally I thought it was from one of us coming back from the pool or out of the shower (spot was near the bathroom door).  But it never dried.  I guess I should have called maintenance about it.

Also, pretty nasty carpet stain by the nightstand at head of the bed.  Maybe they should do like some of the Disney resorts and ditch the carpets and go with wood/laminate flooring.  And there was a leak on the balcony roof that dripped every day.  Didn't affect where we were sitting, closer to the railing.

I know one room doesn't represent a huge ship, but that's just my observation.  As I mentioned, no complaints with dining rooms, public areas, etc.

My favorite motto about wealth comes from Texas, where the saying is big hat, no cattle.  Many people make very good incomes, think nothing about dropping 20K on a suite, and are probably pretty close to living paycheck to paycheck.

5 minutes ago, zoepipes said:

Don't they empty them every night?

the cruise compass listed some as open 24 hours but I would hope the ones that weren't were drained nightly.

front row by the beach...yes.  But that would be a problem with just one ship.  There are rows upon rows of loungers.  May have to walk around a little if you want one closer to the shore.   

28 minutes ago, Tatka said:

I thought Firenze was Florence 🙂 

it most definitely is, I take it as some type of typo from Orville in their post

30 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Irrelevant to the statement you made. I have never had Cincinnati chili, but I trust that it somehow began its existence in Cincinnati. Just as Caesar salad started in Mexico, but most think it is somehow Italian, BTW, Firenze is closer to Florence than it is to Rome, and Florence has its own unique white sauces that you won't find elsewhere in Italy.

not true.  I said there is no sauce or item on a menu called Alfredo in present day Italy.  Maybe in some form there was an Alfredo who created it long ago but if you order it today in Italy you might as well get a side of Hamburger with it since it will be in the most touristic of spots and caters to the americans.  

35 minutes ago, HappyTexan44 said:

 

It was created by a chef in Italy to tempt his pregnant wife to eat.  

 

maybe but having lived there for several years the only place I saw it on a menu were tourist traps in Firenze catered towards americans

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

There is no one italian sauce. Sauces can range from cream based Alfredo sauces in the north to garlic and olive oil based sauces in Sicily, from puttanesca to marinara. Sauce in Naples is much different than sauce from Tuscany which is completely different from Roman sauces.

there is no such thing as Alfredo sauce in Italy

10 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

SOME drinks are around $14, not all of them. You can get a lot of decent drinks in the $10-$12 range. That's still a lot more than I pay for drinks locally but it's better than $14.

I think the drink of the day is in the $10-12 range and that's usually what I stuck to.

25 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Family of 4 with a 15 month old toddler will be cruising.  Don't think they care about a wine list, or drink packages.

they asked what was new, and the drink package is somewhat new.  I traveled with young children and cared about the wine list.  You can still enjoy wine with a family, they will save a bottle for you for the next night, and the night after that if you don't finish it.

2 hours ago, melbur said:

Then be sure to avoid the smoking areas and you'll be fine 

And I will also say we sat on deck chairs above the smoking area on 16 and again it wafted up.  So that's a whole other area that is affected by the smokers.

2 hours ago, melbur said:

Then be sure to avoid the smoking areas and you'll be fine 

I did avoid the smoking areas but the smoke from the casino came wafting in the 4th floor MDR.  Grant it we were seated very close to entrance.  We had a large group so didn't want the hassle of trying to reseat but the smoke was definitely noticeable and unpleasant while dining. 

3 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Day 6: Sea Day

 

 

The next morning began with Coastal kitchen again and after wrapping up breakfast I had just enough time to get to the theatre for the Captains corner.  The captain, the cruise director and the Hotel Manager were the speakers.  I can’t remember the Hotel managers name but he was a Scottish fellow and stole the show. He was very funny.

 

The Q&A that followed was typical.  The usual questions about how much food is wasted.  How much time off do crew get etc…. And the one question that always seems to be asked and never ceases to amaze me that people ask this is “What happens to all the poop”. Not once in my entire life have I ever considered the journey my excrement takes once I push that button or depress that lever. My morning constitutional is completed with slightest curiosity about what comes next.  My mind is on other things.  Perhaps I would concern myself with this if I was a more environmentally conscience individual but alas that is not one of my virtues.

 

 

After that it was straight off to Rising Tide for the veterans tribute.  I met a very nice young lady recently out of the army.  Also, a fellow Canadian who served with the PPCLI who now lives in Brampton. We exchanged a few good Canadian Armed forces stories.  The ceremony began, it was short but tasteful and then it was time for a walk about the boardwalk.

 

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I think it is time for a room tour.  This was our first CLS and I have to say it was a really impressive room that’ll make it hard when I back in my usual balcony cabin

 

 

Lunch was at DW’s favorite Giovanni’s.  We sat outside this time the temp and humidity cooperated and it made for a comfortable afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the casino to give back all the money I had won and a little bit more.  Easy come easy go.

 

Dinner that night was Izumi Hibachi and we were seated with a really great family from Minnesota. .  Actually two really nice families of 2 preteen kids each.  Coincidentally, we had the same last name with the exact same spelling.  They had been on a couple of cruises of Royal and a couple of Carnival but this was the their first Oasis class ship and they were just blown away by the experience and now claim to be Royal Loyalists.

 

It was this evening we chose to celebrate our 30th.  I'll forgo the pics of our dinner at Izumi Hibachi and just show you dessert. 🙂 

 

 

That evening was the long awaited performance of Cats.  I first saw Cats in 1986 in Vancouver on its first continent wide off broadway run.  I remember loving it then and 37 years later it was still as fabulous as ever.  Truly a show not to be missed. 

 

Cats seems to draw controversy on these boards which is completely inexplicable to me.  It is an iconic Broadway production that is as timeless as can be.  Royal’s production of it is shortened because of the anti-aesthete aboard the ship.  I think this is tragic but none the less it is still an excellent performance.  When Grizabella, with her haunting performance of “Memory” is chosen to go to the heaven side layer and be reborn into a new Jellicle life a tear welled up in my eye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the curtain call many justly stood for their ovation of Grizabella.  After that DW went back to the room and I went back to the Casino to double down on my previous losses. I should have gone to the room with her.  Or karaoke or just about anywhere else on the ship…  I’m doing well to assist Royal in its post pandemic financial recovery.

 

 

great review.  I'll add that on the sea day the winds were really something, along with the rocking. One pool was closed most of the day, it resembled a full force wave pool.

1 minute ago, Magicat said:

couscous is basically pasta, never thought of that as a true protein source, more of a carb.

58 minutes ago, MellowMel said:

Bon Voyage Night

Mediterannean Tapas Medley

Classic Caesar Salad

Braised Lamb

Pecan Crusted Salmon

Spaghetti Bolognese

Dark Chocolate Brownie

Warm Apple Cobbler

we missed Bon voyage/Mediterranean night.  How was the braised lamb?  I miss the lamb chops from the old menu. 

I thought the unlimited drink package spelled the end of the wine package

I was on this with you, looking forward to reliving my adventure, lol.  Yes, the Aqua show was incredible, much better than I remember from a past Allure cruise.

16 hours ago, vwlmember said:

This was before the menu changes. Anthem cruise last April I ordered the eggplant parm in the MDR. It arrived as a single slice of breaded eggplant about 4 inches wide in a bowl with sauce on the bottom. One of my table mates looked at the dish, looked directly at the server and promptly stated " Really?"  It was the root of every joke at dinner for the rest of the cruise. 

yeah, even with the old menu there were misses, as with the new.  We just told out waiter it wasn't what we expected and he brought out something that was much better (again, I'm looking at you Tofu Taco)

10 minutes ago, rimmit said:

Also right about 6 years ago they started charging for room service.  That may have been on your last cruise or not.

 

It may have been there 6 years ago, but you have to scan your card to get pool towels.

 

Based on ship, could be all of them but not entirely sure if all ships have changed to this procedure, you now get your seapass card at your room now, and not when you check in.

 

Based on ship AO is no longer in three age groups.  They have 3-5 year old lumped together and then 6-12 now lumped together rather than their old age ranges or 3-5,6-8,9-11.  This is ship dependent based on if the AO space was refurbished in the most recent refit.  If the 6-12 yo grouping it is much less structured and more like Disney’s Kids club in that it’s more like a free for all.

good points I forgot about charging for room service, that is a definite change.  I think scanning for towels has been around awhile, I remember it on my previous cruise

also, this is probably just my perception, but it seems with the advent of the drink package, the wine list in the MDR has become somewhat uninspiring.  Seemed like with the old wine package there was a lot more options to chose from