Questions from a newbie on menus/dining, in-room entertainment & toiletries

[VioletHill]

My ship is Adventure of the Seas/Eastern Med.

 

Toiletries: I saw one poster's photos showing a selection of hotel sized toiletries in their bath. It was JS. Do all cabins have this? I have a Superior OV Balcony (1 catagory below the JS) Will I get these things? or should I bring a week's worth? Becuase of the int'l flight, packing space is at a huge premium and leaving shampoo, lotion, conditioner at home would be huge - even a week's worth.

 

Are there movies/tv programs available in the rooms? Any tv shows or just re-runs of ship entertainment and infomercials? The one cruise I took several years ago had nothing but 10 year old sitcoms, a bridge cam and adverts/sales pitches for ship's paid activites and services. (Before you tell me to get out of my cabin or that I will never be in it, please know that I do not eat in the dining room and like to relax on my own in the evening with the exception of a very special show - part of the reason I spring for the balcony)

 

I will be ordering room service. I understand I can get anything offered in the dining room. How do you know what is being offered each evening? Do they supply menus for the alternative restaurants like the cafe, Windjammer, etc. in the room? On the Baltic cruise we had to visit each dining area during the day for a posted menu for the evening before we made our choice.

 

One more question. Is the pool/whirlpool open 24 hours? Are any areas adult only besides casino and bar? For example any pools adult only?

 

Thanks so much. Anyone who has been on this ship for the Med route would be a great help!!

[Sheffie]

You will have to bring your own lotions. There is a shampoo dispenser in the shower that works fine for us. (I am not picky about my shampoos.)

 

I suggest that you find travel sizes of toiletries to bring with you. In a week, you really use a lot less than you think you do.

 

I suggest posting these questions over on the RCI forum. You will get quicker replies.

 

 

Have a great cruise!

[VioletHill]

Thanks. I did see pictures, tho, of a variety of things that were provided in a JS. Just wondering if they had a lesser version (perhaps shampoo, conditioner, lotion only) in lower catagories. The pic showed multiple things in the shelf and all the the logo on it. I am fine with mini sizes, but the more I can leave behind, the better as the int'l weight limits for flights are crazy and I don't fancy toting one more thing than I need to.

 

I did post to the RCI AOS page.

[beachchick]

I'm almost 100% sure that on RCI you cannot get the full dining room menu delivered for room service unless you are in a full suite. It's been a few years since we've cruised with them, but we were not able to have full main dining room meals delivered to our balcony cabins (same category as yours) on any RCI cruise.

 

There is no "menu" for Windjammer because it's a large variety of items that change regularly. The menus for Johnny Rockets and Portofino may be in your cabin, but you cannot get food from those restaurants delivered, so perhaps not. You can find the menus by doing a search here and also going to RCI's website. Here's a quick link to RCI's FAQ of the current Portofino menu:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/Portofino_Menu.pdf

 

Both JR and Portofino have a surcharge (just an FYI in case you weren't aware).

 

For information about the Solarium (separate adult only pool area), I suggest you go to the RCI forum here and the RCI website. There are tons of threads/posts here and nearly all of the ship information you will need on the RCI website.

 

beachchick

[griffy116]

You don't get the travel sized toiletries in a balcony cabin. We prefer our own shampoo & conditioner and carry travel size. You can use the dispenser with the combo shampoo/conditioner if you aren't picky. The room service menu is the typical list of items available each day and does not include the MDR menu. You would have to go check the posting outside the MDR each day. The Windjammer offers some of the same selections each day with different dishes added each day. There is not a menu available. The ship doesn't have access to cable TV so the selection is limited. You'll see current news programming but you'll typically see the old reruns of sitcoms and ship programming. You cruise sounds as if it will be port intensive so I honestly can't see much time spent enjoying TV and you'll have to leave the cabin and check on the foods available if you don't plan to take your meals at one of the venues available.

[VioletHill]

I'm almost 100% sure that on RCI you cannot get the full dining room menu delivered for room service unless you are in a full suite. It's been a few years since we've cruised with them, but we were not able to have full main dining room meals delivered to our balcony cabins (same category as yours) on any RCI cruise.

 

There is no "menu" for Windjammer because it's a large variety of items that change regularly. The menus for Johnny Rockets and Portofino may be in your cabin, but you cannot get food from those restaurants delivered, so perhaps not. You can find the menus by doing a search here and also going to RCI's website. Here's a quick link to RCI's FAQ of the current Portofino menu:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/Portofino_Menu.pdf

 

Both JR and Portofino have a surcharge (just an FYI in case you weren't aware).

 

For information about the Solarium (separate adult only pool area), I suggest you go to the RCI forum here and the RCI website. There are tons of threads/posts here and nearly all of the ship information you will need on the RCI website.

 

beachchick

 

You don't get the travel sized toiletries in a balcony cabin. We prefer our own shampoo & conditioner and carry travel size. You can use the dispenser with the combo shampoo/conditioner if you aren't picky. The room service menu is the typical list of items available each day and does not include the MDR menu. You would have to go check the posting outside the MDR each day. The Windjammer offers some of the same selections each day with different dishes added each day. There is not a menu available. The ship doesn't have access to cable TV so the selection is limited. You'll see current news programming but you'll typically see the old reruns of sitcoms and ship programming. You cruise sounds as if it will be port intensive so I honestly can't see much time spent enjoying TV and you'll have to leave the cabin and check on the foods available if you don't plan to take your meals at one of the venues available.

 

 

Thanks, beachchick and griffy.

 

I didn't find much info at all on the RCCI site. Can I get take-away MDR menu items? I really do not want to eat there, but prefer my evenings in my cabin or on my balcony. I assume I can take away form JR or the cafe/Windjammer. I think I saw the surcharge for JR applied to take away. I'm not THAT picky, but want to have some nice meals - not just pizza or sandwiches. The special desserts especially!!

 

The TV situation sounds similar to the one we had. I'll load some movies before I go.

[beachchick]

Yes, you can do takeaway at Windjammer and the Promenade Cafe. You can do take-out at JR and will pay the $4.95 surcharge. For take-out there, you may select one burger or sandwich, one fries and rings, and one dessert. (If you eat in at JR, you can have as much food as you want for the surcharge.) You will pay extra for milkshakes, sodas, alcohol, etc. just like at other venues.

 

No, the MDR is not set up to do take-out. It's a dine-in dining room. The only thing you could try would be to select My Time Dining, get a table, sit down and order your full meal, ask to have the entire order brought to the table at once, and then take it to your cabin. They might wrap it for you to take with you, but I don't know. I know that they do wrap dessert to go for passengers who are too full at the end of the meal to eat it then. You might have to make a couple of trips if there are several plates and bowls. I suspect that the cruise line considers it too much work to have a fully staffed dining room and have enough staff to handle take-out orders at the same time. That seems a reasonable approach, but it's just my guess.

 

beachchick

[kitty9]

Tv is very different for Med cruises. You'll get the international versions of CNN, EuroSport, you may get Fox International and a business channel.