pittnh

Labadee was absolutely beautiful

to be honest, I didn't notice much different procedurally from my previous Oasis class cruise that was actually longer apart than yours. The muster drill at the top of my head is a little different, completing it online. Photo package, no prints on display, everything is on the terminal

I don't sail often enough to say for sure, but I would think offering unlimited drinks for a set price encourages people to "get their money's worth", and then some. Too much alcohol, without anywhere to go to at the end of the evening except your cabin is a potential for trouble. Grant it, I didn't experience unruly teens, or much drunk behavior on my most recent cruise, but you would have to think that the alcohol package is a bigger risk for bad behavior

the Tofu Tacos on Mexican night were something to behold, as were the cookies & raspberry (literally one raspberry on the dish with two hard, boxed cookies). I don't like to dwell on the negative but I think its best to warn people about these two dishes.. But the Beef Tenderloin on French night, the poblano soup, warm chocolate cookie & lobster tail all were outstanding.

to each his own.

check out my post #37, just made it right before your post

So, here’s my thoughts on the new menu after our recent Oasis cruise. This was cruise #4, last one was on Allure with the original menu. In comparison, of course the obvious difference is the reduced selections available, and especially the elimination of the same “classics” each night. But in terms of quality, I didn’t see much difference from my experience with Allure. I never ordered off the “classics” so it wasn’t something I missed. I usually try to order the nightly special or chef recommendation. Sticking with those selections, I had no issues, everything was very good. The meat specials were good, including the prime rib, beef tenderloin, carne asada, and the beef bourguignonne (could have used a little more gravy). Others in my party ordered the Indian dishes and really liked it, along with some of the vegetarian entrée’s like the creamy risotto with asparagus and the stuffed portobello mushroom. And white meat such as the blackened pork chop and roast chicken all got positive reviews from the people who ordered them. I posted previously, the lobster tail was also outstanding. Important to remember, we aren’t talking Morton’s here in terms of size & quality of the meat cuts. But to tell the truth I’m glad it wasn’t a huge portion; it was more than enough on the plate and the quality was sufficient. Here's a shot of the beef tenderloin, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Of course, as with the old menu, there were misses. The Tofu Taco’s on Mexican night may have been the worse entrée I’ve ever seen. The person we were with who ordered it had to send it back and ask for something else. And the fried chicken didn’t taste as good as it looked. Side topic, what’s with the way RCI butchers their chickens? Anytime it is served, it is cut in a very strange way, hard to pin point exactly what you are eating. Get the old “parts is parts” feeling from McDonalds Chicken McNuggets. But I will say the same chicken parts were tasty in the solarium for lunch, and when served jerk-style on the buffet in Labadee. Here's a picture of the chicken, looks good, but didn't taste like it looked. Note the strange looking parts, lol In terms of deserts and appetizers, no real issues. Classics like shrimp cocktail, escargot, and French onion soup were there most nights, enough to keep me happy. And some of the other ones which I assume were new were definitely hits, especially the poblano soup (warning it has a kick), the Asian pork bao taco’s, and the Coconut Shrimp. And I liked all of the deserts I ordered. The warm chocolate chip cookie was outstanding. But I think someone posted in another thread, the cookies with raspberries was very lame. Seemed like two hard boxed cookies served on a plate with one raspberry. That was the desert that got the biggest complaint on the cruise from our traveling party. Here's a shot of the Asian taco's and coconut shrimp. I’m definitely not a picky eater, so I like most things. But I can tell when things aren’t good, like any time I eat at Bravo or Olive Garden, lol. My opinion is there isn’t any discernable decline in food quality with the MDR. In fact, my only complaint with food that I ordered was the pasta dishes at Giovanni’s. Not good at all. This was my only real food disappointment on the cruise (although the filet more than made up for it). Could a few dishes have been served a little warmer? Sure, but when feeding that many people I’m willing to cut them some slack. One final thought….cruise was packed. Given pent up demand and staffing issues due to the pandemic, I can understand if one of the reasons for implementing the new menu was to make things easier on the staff. Hopefully it does as this can’t be an easy job. I will also add that the secret is out on the Solarium Bistro. Crowded most days at breakfast and lunch. Also, forget about Loco Fresh on sea days, line stretched for miles at lunchtime. I’d usually run down to the boardwalk for a hot dog (very good) or Park Café for the Kummelweck sandwich (ok, I’ll make one more complaint here. The Kummelweck lost something off its fastball from my last cruise on Allure. The bun was too big this time, and not enough meat was on the sandwich. And the meat that was used was somewhat tough and grisly. So if you want to vote for something that declined from a previous cruise I would say this is my choice).

yep, that was the case. Never charged. Although the Maître D' at Giovanni's threatened to charge us when I was making a reservation and asked if I could bring it down the night before to chill. So I managed to free some room in the fridge and squeeze it in there, and gave the bottle directly to the waiter at dinner who didn't charge us. I thought it was kind of funny that even though it was my own bottle, he still uncorked and presented it to me and had me sample. What happens if I say I don't like it, lol

This is the much-maligned Carne Asada from the new menu. I ordered medium rare and thought it was very good & tender. Tasty as well. I will hopefully put together a fuller post shortly on my thoughts of the new menu from my recent cruise.

This was our lobster tail from the new menu. I enjoyed it

I can't remember specifically, but the odds varied based on how you got to 20. I think a pair of kings with the same suit paid like 8:1 whereas two 10's were maybe 2:1.

forgot to mention I was also on Oasis

so there was a "happy hour" twice on Oasis from 12-6pm on 2 port days. It was a $6 minimum but came with a catch. To play that bet, you had to bet $5 on the hand, and a mandatory $1 on the side bet of getting a 20 on your first 2 cards. Otherwise you could bet the standard $10 minimum with no side bet. Not real crazy about this. I know you don't see $6 minimums often, but the mandatory side bet seems like a money maker for the house. I don't have the time or knowledge to run the numbers, but I would be interested to see if you are better off just playing the $10 bet in the long run. Most likely this is the case.

I wasn't able to get a surf & turf together on lobster night, had to bring the steak out separately after the lobster. Not a huge deal for me.

are there any stations onboard for refilling water bottles? The kind you usually see attached to drinking fountains or something like that

sort of related, and I'm sure this is pretty rare, but our last cruise only my wife bought the soda package (can't live without her diet coke, lol). Our waiter at dinner served her and my young kids soft drinks every night, even though she was the only one who had the package. And he would have given me one as well if I wanted it.

is the corkage fee still rarely applied (in the dining room/restaurants)?

I thought you did a survey and that's how they assigned tags/departure times? Is it just random now unless you request an earlier time?

My flight home leaves MIA at 12:15pm (Miami cruise port). Do you think I am able to do a regular departure rather than self-assisted? I'd prefer not to have to drag my suitcase around if possible. I vaguely remember around the last day or so doing a survey and telling them your flight time and they assign a tag number/time based on that, is this still the case?

The casitas on our cruise were booked for awhile. For the heck of it, I happened to check late one night, after midnight, and it suddenly showed availability. I quickly booked, and when I woke up in the morning it was back to listed as sold out. So I assume it was a cancelation that was reposted.

my understanding is that as long as someone from your room is in the picture it is fine.

so how does this work exactly? Do they give you access to a website and you just pick 100 of your photos to download? It says you can also chose to take home a print, does it have to be one or the other? Can you get a few prints and then download the rest? The other curious thing on the description is that it said you are limited to only a 8X10 maximum size. What's to prevent me when I download the photo from taking it to Walgreens and getting a 10X13? Is the resolution too low?

interesting, thanks for the info I wonder who is making it if the company shut down? Are they just selling through their inventory?

lol, the recipe that came on the bottle for a cocktail was actually pretty decent. Straight up may be a different story And that would make sense, something that is special to St. Maarten. Bummer since our cruise doesn't stop there and I liked it the last time I bought some, as I mentioned mixed in the cocktail

Is this available anywhere else besides St. Maarten on an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, perhaps St. Thomas or on-board the ship?