billsgal

Had the same experience with Willie when we did our b2b on Freedom last December/January. Very disappointed in his attitude.

 

We had the pleasure of cruising with Fernando on the Jewel TA in August of 2012. What a wonderful and caring individual he is. You are in for a real treat.

Thought it was just me when we were on Freedom and had no interaction with Wilfredo(notice I don't call him Willie:).

Don't remember Fernando on the Jewel TA, but do remember you Patty & Jim:D

Will be boarding the BR on Sunday, so we will see if there has been any attitude adjustment.........when we were on for the Baltic and transatlantic the concierge told me he was returning from vacation for the Oct. 27 cruise, but we all know how fluid things are on RCI. I did see a posting from someone on this weeks cruise that they will have to use the Colony Club (could be the Safari lounge I get the lounge names mixed up) as the overflow CL as there will be so many D+ Pinnacles (30 I hear) onboard. We had 800 D, D+ and Pinnacles onboard for the TA and the CL was overloaded the whole cruise as was the D Lounge, even though they opened up the whole VCL as the Diamond Lounge. Can't imagine how this will work, but we'll see.

Ok,I stand corrected, she didn't say overwhelmed.

However, the concierges on our transatlantic were overwhelmed (IMHO)by the volume of members having access to the lounges. However, the diamond concierge seemed to handle it better, as he did try to say hello to everyone who entered the lounge. On the Baltic part of our B2B, the concierge in the concierge lounge was able to handle the guests without a problem, but on the TA he didn't acknowledge the guests as they entered the lounge and didn't come around to speak to the guests (but to be fair he was sitting at his desk on his computer so he could have been solving problems for guests).

However, on our Allure cruise the two concierges sat at their desk and said hello and goodbye....never bothered to mingle with the guests.

To be fair, that Allure cruise and our experience with Willie on the Freedom were the only times in 60+ RCI cruises that we had no interaction with a concierge. In all our other cruises the concierges have been friendly, outgoing, and certainly have been interacting with the guests. Guess that is a pretty good average:)

We were on Oasis, this week.... And yes, the concierge lounge is way too busy, even with two of them! We had not problems!!! with 175 D+ and suites guests, it's very hard for them to get to know everybody!!!

I think that Allan and Charmaine did a great job!!!

Franca

 

 

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Wow, if the two concierges were overwhelmed by 175D+ and suite guests, what would they do with the 900+ diamond, diamond plus and suite guests that were on our recent transatlantic:confused:

No diamond lounge on Jewel.

Not sure about the balcony dividers.

Just got off Grandeur yesterday and asked the Food and Beverage Manager why the casino had smoking even on formal nights.....his answer was that it is not a fleet wide policy, so the Grandeur allows smoking in the casino any night!

Wish that was a fleetwide policy:(

There was a small non-smoking area, but people were smoking in that area, even right next to the "This is a non-smoking area" sign, and none of the casino attendants did anything about it. the non smoking area probably had 10 machines........

Thanks -- do you know how long Sascha will be on FR? We cruise on May 19. I thought that Mangesh was on the ship until June -- did he go on vacation?

sorry, but i don't know how long Sascha will be there. He is scheduled to join the Brilliance the end of July, but I don't know if he has a vacation scheduled before that..........

Sascha was the DL Concierge on FR instead of Mangesh?

Yes........

Kathy, we just got off the Freedom on Sunday, and Sascha was the DL concierge. He will be on for a few more weeks, and then he goes to the Brilliance as permanent concierge on BR..............at least that's what he told us.

He was excellent............the Suite Concierge not so much:eek:

Cabin - 8650

Midship starboard side,

Cat - D6

Balcony - standard size, but I like the larger table. no wind, but we were only cruising between Florida and the Bahamas at a slow speed, so don't know how it would be during a cruise

Bed near closet

Connecting cabin - no sofa, just one chair plus desk chair- no noise, but don't know if someone was in conencting cabin

Location was very convenient, about 10 rooms from elevators, near Dazzles, entrance to Central Park - no noise at all from Dazzles

As others have said, rooms are much tighter than D cabins on other classes

and outlets are not easily accessible. Not much storage space in these cabins, two drawers in desk only, and six shelves in closet. Also, placement of bed near closet made accessibility difficult.

If you can, try to get a room with the bed near the balcony.

Also, I did see other cabins, and a friend was in a Boardwalk view cabin. It wasn't noisy at night.....however, when the zipline started at 9 a.m., he could hear the screams from the zipliners!

Add DH and me to the Robert Taggert fan club!

We just sailed 13 days on the Jewel with him, and also sailed the Jewel TA in September. He is definitely one of the most accessible Hotel Directors I've ever encountered. Very charming and funny, too!

Rita

Cyndi, I remember....

We leave Sunday for this years transatlantic (in 9078), but I'll take some pictures and send them to you when we get back. We also have that cabin booked for the Jewel repo in October and the 3 night cruise immediately following that. We've booked 9092 (same kind of room, just the other side of the centrum) for our Alaska cruise on Radiance next year.(One of our friends is in 9078). Funny you seem to be doing the same cruises we are:D I have a couple of friends on the Ultimate Alaska cruise with you. If you meet Tony and Nancy from California, say hello for me. Also Nikki and Joe from the Cape......both couples will be onboard.

Enjoy.....I love Alaska and am looking forward to going back next year.

Rita

9078 is our favorite Jewel cabin, and we've sailed in that cabin 4 times and have 3 more cruises booked in the same cabin. The balcony is much larger than the side balconies. However, there is quite a bit of shade on that balcony, more so than on other side balconies. However, the location of the cabin is so convenient, near elevators and stairs, but we never experienced any noise from either. We have had 2 loungers, 2 chairs and a table on that balcony, and it was not crowded. There is a large metal panel forming one side wall of the balcony, and some people feel that's a bit claustrophobic for them. It never bothers us.

BtW, it's not a JS, it's a D category.......:D

Enjoy.

Rita

Yes, EN has had a CL for a couple of years, at least for the past two. We sailed

EN three times, the last being a Canada/NE cruise two years ago, and Guisseppee was the concierge, and we are sailing again next month, and I hope Julian will be the CL, as there have been great stories about him and his singing! Even without the CL we loved the EN, and stretching her has only improved her!

Sorry, but JS is not entitled to use the CL. It is for suites (GS and above) and diamond and diamond plus members. Platinum members also cannot use the CL unless they are in a GS or above. However, EN is a wonderful ship, even if you can't use the CL.