Vikings are Back

Just back from my hairdresser's and she said some of her friends cruised
from seattle to hawaii (she did not remember which ship) and the
passengers were upset because they were running out of food,and cutting
back so much on the portions that even tho they are small eaters,most
times they left the dining areas hungry,and everytime they hit a port a
huge group of people just went stright to a restaurant


cruise lover

Hi Susette .......

Noticed the same thing on the Dawn a few weeks back. Details about the Dining
venues were absent from the Patter. A lot of detail about whatever crap was on
sale in the gift shops but nothing on where or when to eat.

Cal Ford
Lido Deck Cruises



In article .com, Susette
says...

I never seen any mention in the patter of the Ice Cream and why they do
not post what time the Dining room is open for breakfast and Lunch
baffled me!


Sue and Kevin Mullen wrote:
Charles wrote:

In article .com,
" wrote:


The ice cream in the buffet is not hidden. It's noted every day in the
patter


They did not note it in the patter. It might be on that small card
where they list the dining options. I think you could say it is
"hidden" because at the entrances to the side of the Horizon Buffet
where they serve the ice cream the signs say closed, use other side.

I have two of the Patters from our august cruise and I just looked
them over very carefully. There is no mention of the free ice cream in
the Horizon Buffet. There is also no listing of which food venues are
open when. This info must be in the book in your cabin, but I prefer
having this info in the daily paper.

sue

Surfer E2468 wrote:
Just back from my hairdresser's and she said some of her friends cruised
from seattle to hawaii (she did not remember which ship) and the
passengers were upset because they were running out of food,and cutting
back so much on the portions that even tho they are small eaters,most
times they left the dining areas hungry,and everytime they hit a port a
huge group of people just went stright to a restaurant


cruise lover


a second hand report with no facts. sounds like this is quite a stretch.

Bill

--
Visit my Caribbean Princess website:
www.cruisingthecaribbeanprincess.com

The experience for me did not take the fun out of being a viking! I
wore my viking hat and we wore our Bunny hats TOm did not show up at
our table that night for dinner he went to eat with the girls and her
family in anytime dining- Charles came to our regular table he did not
take the fun out of being a viking at all! the whole table wore the
bunny ears- many of us wore Disney ears - and viking hats
I had alot of fun and the weather was great- Grenada rained towards the
end but that is the nature of the island that is why its so green!
Charles wrote:
In article , Tom K
wrote:

The experience took the fun out of being a Viking.

Oy.

--
Charles

Susette wrote:
I never seen any mention in the patter of the Ice Cream and why they do
not post what time the Dining room is open for breakfast and Lunch
baffled me!


Sue and Kevin Mullen wrote:
Charles wrote:

In article .com,
" wrote:


The ice cream in the buffet is not hidden. It's noted every day in the
patter

They did not note it in the patter. It might be on that small card
where they list the dining options. I think you could say it is
"hidden" because at the entrances to the side of the Horizon Buffet
where they serve the ice cream the signs say closed, use other side.
I have two of the Patters from our august cruise and I just looked
them over very carefully. There is no mention of the free ice cream in
the Horizon Buffet. There is also no listing of which food venues are
open when. This info must be in the book in your cabin, but I prefer
having this info in the daily paper.

sue

It's not in the Patter. It's usually in your room. It's looks something
like this one from the caribbean Princess.
http://www.cruisingthecaribbeanprincess.com/QDG.pdf

Bill

--
Visit my Caribbean Princess website:
www.cruisingthecaribbeanprincess.com

I did not get the tips removed for the 75 cents per day because
dealing with the Pursers desk was another issue in itself. They just
were not happy!
HE needs the 75 cents more then I DO!
I will be sending a letter.........
Nonnymus wrote:
Susette, did you tip the surly ones?

Nonny

Susette wrote:
HELLO EVERYONE! Yes the Vikings are back and I been busy getting in
late due to a delay on the plane then went christmas shopping the next
day and was wiped out!
Back at work adn busy but Kerry sent me a note and said I better get my
butt over here so here I am!

I for the most part agree with Tom.
But here is my personal review...

Crown Princess 25Nov06 7 nights

My Boyfriend and I started out on Thanksgiving to San JUan, we stayed
2 nights at Courtyard by marriott... Which I have stayed in numerous
times and it was good as always. the group was at Embassy suites and
for the most part it was fine, one issue was when someone upstairs
took a shower water came out of their light in the bathroom, but the
next day they moved their room said they been having issues with
bathtubs and are replacing them. THey loved the Embassy pool. The food
there on Thanksgiving was not that good, but Ferrari Gourmet a little
place a mile away has wonderful food we ate there the next night and it
was good as always, I do not care much for chain restaurants and like
food of the native place.
I had a car and we went by the Port on day of embarkation around 11 am
and it was BEDLAM. WHy this ship has debarkation issues is beyond my
imagination. it took us til after noon to get off the ship we were
docked at 4 AM so have NO IDEA why they are so slow. And if you did not
have their Transfers you were on the bottom of the list. IF you had a
early flight they also had tohave your air tickets or they put up a
fight to get off! So that was not a good thing WHY can isney get it
right? ship clears you get off at your leisure!

OK back to the Ship

Buffet- was odd.... not bad just odd things. ALTHOUGH the last night
they ahd hugarian beef ghoulash and Spaetzle which I love. THey had a
seafood cold buffet with lobster claws which was nice. and we washed
our hands so much there was no norwalk going to get on them! haha
Some days the buffet was good others not- Mexican was bad...
then there was the dining room. Our waiter was fine she didher job as
did her assistant. Were they Overly friendly Not at all. She was
romanian or something as was alot of the crew, for some reason this
crew were just a unhappy bunch. Where is the Morning greetings like
Hello how are you, and Have a nice day? they rather knock into you and
keep moving... In the dining room the menu was VERY confusing LaRge
plate side Small plate side, I like it when it says APPETIZERS, SALADS,
ENTREE and you pick this one you had to really read or you miss
something. Tha pastas on this ship were wonderful just wonderful, the
Ice Cream is the BEST, very delish! there was good days and bad days
but this is true about all cruise lines, but I thought of Princess
being a step up a little and they were not, My boyfriend said its where
they buy their meats! I said when in NYC the food was fine but in San
Juan the food was not, and this was not just our group this was the
sentiment of MANY on the ship, MANY had said whats up with this crew? I
thought maybe I was being harsh but no....there was a attitude ship
wide. WHen the head waiter came to me and asked how I liked it and I
saId i did not it was not good at al he said it was my opinion WELL WHY
ASK ME if you did not want my OPINION! he also yelled at Kerry when she
asked the waitress for mashed potatoes each night they came one night
not the rest the waitress did bring them and the head waiterYelled at
Kerry for asking the Waitress for mashed potatoes! THIS IS UNREAL! his
name was Antonio from Italy just not the nicest guy around. So for me
the food ranks LOW.... Where is the guy who brings after dinner
shooters ? and there was hardly ANYONE going around asking if you
wanted a drink and to get juice or coffee in the morning forget waiting
for someone to come around and offer another cup- they had a cart butit
barely moved. I waited 35 min for ICE for ice tea...
WE went to sabatini's The Gratest Guy FUNNY named Fabio just funny as
all get out. he was the funniest of aLl the crew. great waiters there
but food was so so Just was not very Italian.. my lobster there was
great though and they had these ravioli that were wonderful!
but you only got a taste..
Crown Grill- Tom may have got a steak he did not like but the rest of
the group loved their meal, that was excellent and I should have paid
each night and gone there. My Ribeye was wonderful and the sides were
good. BUT the food we got there is what we USE to have 7 years ago...
VERY good, no complaints..
They had a good Sampler of the Desserts and they were good... And the
BEST Pizza on the sea!

Shows- Holy Moly no one better ever complain about Celebrity having bad
shows til they see these EEEK I saw better high school shows! there is
WAY to many comedians ALTHOUGH many liked them SArge being the best.
But those production shows oh gee..
The one show PEER FACTOR was horrid it was nothing but a commercial for
Princess cruises~

Pursers desk- Sofia was so arrogant I had a onboard credit and she said
i did not and said she deals with 3000 people a week and she never
heard of this amount of credit. Well I went to the room called our
group co ordinator and wthin 30 minutes I had it applied 3 days later
sofia called and said she got me the obc YEAH right!

BUT ya know I can have fun in a mud puddle! THe group this year was
just great one person won $6000 and others also had good winnings too!

I love seeing Tom Kanitra, Charles,John and Toms friend Bill, and of
course Kerry and Letty and their family.... We had great people in the
group that are alot of fun especially toma nd Charles they make me
laugh!

The Islands- WOW this is crusie 36 and I had not seen 4 of these
islands before!
Seems alot of folk Like Bonaire- I loved St Kitts and would like to go
back there and to nevis,
Bonaire has teh flamingoes and I love Flamingoes so it was WONDERFUL to
see these beautifu; Birds in their nesting habitats. JUST beautiful!
and I thinkTom like the BARS there! the Lush that he is! hahaha!
Charles did not sleep as much as usual BUT Kerry did get some pics of
him!
The weather was great! and I bought alot of Spices in Grenada- and wow
all the monkeys were adorable!

IT was a Great Cruise because of the Group the Ship sure;y was not my
favoirte as the crew can make or break it...
This is the 2nd time on this ship and the first was by far better

Looking foreward to go back to Royal on the Liberty of the Seas!


--
---Nonnymus---
In the periodic table, as in politics,
the unstable elements tend to hang out on
the far left, with some to the right as well.

the Cruise lines bingo - they can enter the center number into their
computer machines and it shows if there is a bingo that is valid.
Daubers were a mess

Jean O'Boyle wrote:
"Cal Ford" wrote in message
...
Never seen dabbers on a ship. Either they had to use them because the
Bingo
Supply House ran out of paper games, or more likely ......

They make more money by selling daubers.

Cal Ford

Cal & Tom,
That is also something new since we were on the Crown...While waiting for a
show to begin, they were still playing Bingo and I heard the announcement
not to tear out the numbers called...just push them flat against the back of
the card...Could be because some were tearing off the numbers making it
difficult to verify a valid Bingo or as you said....a way to nickel and
dime! ;-)

--Jean

What I believe TOm is trying to say is that if you hold a block of 50
cabins you state you want traditional dining your group should all
have traditonal it should not be you hold a group of 50 cabins and AS
they book into it you get what they got... that is how Princess does
it. YES we could have gone to anytime with a set time BUT again this
would have meant poor Kerry ( who is designated to dining services)
would have been calling people and changing them not worth it for 9
people- THE problem is that in the TRADITONAl dining room they did not
keep the group together!
wrote:
I understand that and I'm sorry your cruise was disappointing.
However, I still don't think someone who was booked and confirmed for
Traditional dining should have been moved to accomodate your group, or
anyone else's for that matter. Even if the logistics of moving
everyone into Personal Choice at a set time and table might have been
difficult, it seems that would have made a difference to your group.

Lola in Hamilton

Susette wrote:
Lola

WIth Princess and groups you can not hold 50 cabins and gaurantee Late
Dinner for the group of 50 cabins. NOOO its as you BOOK into the group
you are asked what dining and you get booked so if they fill up ( only
1 dining room) then forget it! it would make more sense to allow the
GROUP to hold the desired dining and then release it so that the
others on the waitlist can then have what is unused. BUt it dont work
like normal dining
wrote:
So you think that people should have been moved to suit your group? If
you had been booked well in advance and had your dining time confirmed
how would you feel if you were forced to move to Personal Choice
because a large group had booked after you? I think that it's
unreasonable to ask someone with a confirmed time to move simply to
accomodate a group that wanted to be together.

Lola in Hamilton

Tom K wrote:
"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article . com,
" wrote:

Wow, it's hard to believe that so much has changed in three short
months since the SGC. We had wonderful food and great service and
didn't find any surly crew. I'm curious as to why a large group would
have chosed Personal Choice dining, I think you might have been better
to chose a traditional seating. It's too bad you didn't have Sergio in
the DaVinci dining room, he would have taken better care of you than
your Head Waiter.

Most of the group did have Traditional dining including Tom and myself.
Some of the group did not. The reason is that some booked later.

Yes they booked later... but that was mid summer. Just not as early as we
did last XMAS.

To not be able to accoomodate them with is is simply not acceptible IMO.
Not when they have 6 months notice.

--Tom

Since
there is only one traditional dining room and two for Anytime dining
the later bookers ended up on Anytime. Since more passengers request
traditional than anytime the late bookers could not be moved as the
traditional was full from those who had booked it early. The issue with
Anytime as I see it is that they should probably do either all
Traditional or all Anytime but since Traditional is more popular they
keep it, but Anytime requires more dining room space to work.

--
Charles

bill c, the ice cream on that little card is the "pay for" ice cream, not
the free ice cream on the closed side of horizon court at 3:30.

"Bill C" wrote in message
news:E0ldh.5397$QC.3784@trnddc02...
Susette wrote:
I never seen any mention in the patter of the Ice Cream and why they do
not post what time the Dining room is open for breakfast and Lunch
baffled me!


Sue and Kevin Mullen wrote:
Charles wrote:

In article .com,
" wrote:


The ice cream in the buffet is not hidden. It's noted every day in
the
patter

They did not note it in the patter. It might be on that small card
where they list the dining options. I think you could say it is
"hidden" because at the entrances to the side of the Horizon Buffet
where they serve the ice cream the signs say closed, use other side.
I have two of the Patters from our august cruise and I just looked
them over very carefully. There is no mention of the free ice cream in
the Horizon Buffet. There is also no listing of which food venues are
open when. This info must be in the book in your cabin, but I prefer
having this info in the daily paper.

sue

It's not in the Patter. It's usually in your room. It's looks something
like this one from the caribbean Princess.
http://www.cruisingthecaribbeanprincess.com/QDG.pdf

Bill

--
Visit my Caribbean Princess website:
www.cruisingthecaribbeanprincess.com

Lola
ITs a known fact that Cruise lines prefer to have groups over singles
book... the money is in the groups.....hence changing Carnival
Paradise from a non smoking ship..... They could not book groups on
that ship and groups is where they want you to book. Its not about
preferential treatment it is about Accomadating a group others do it.
Princess was taken as a change and for its Ports of Call.
wrote:
I don't know, I don't work for Princess :-)
I guess you think that groups should get preferential treatment over
single bookings.

Lola in Hamilton

Tom K wrote:
Why can't Princess allow Sue to hold traditional dining room spaces with the
holding of cabins for our group that weren't yet taken?

--Tom


wrote in message
oups.com...
I understand that and I'm sorry your cruise was disappointing.
However, I still don't think someone who was booked and confirmed for
Traditional dining should have been moved to accomodate your group, or
anyone else's for that matter. Even if the logistics of moving
everyone into Personal Choice at a set time and table might have been
difficult, it seems that would have made a difference to your group.

Lola in Hamilton

Susette wrote:
Lola

WIth Princess and groups you can not hold 50 cabins and gaurantee Late
Dinner for the group of 50 cabins. NOOO its as you BOOK into the group
you are asked what dining and you get booked so if they fill up ( only
1 dining room) then forget it! it would make more sense to allow the
GROUP to hold the desired dining and then release it so that the
others on the waitlist can then have what is unused. BUt it dont work
like normal dining
wrote:
So you think that people should have been moved to suit your group? If
you had been booked well in advance and had your dining time confirmed
how would you feel if you were forced to move to Personal Choice
because a large group had booked after you? I think that it's
unreasonable to ask someone with a confirmed time to move simply to
accomodate a group that wanted to be together.

Lola in Hamilton

Tom K wrote:
"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article . com,
" wrote:

Wow, it's hard to believe that so much has changed in three short
months since the SGC. We had wonderful food and great service and
didn't find any surly crew. I'm curious as to why a large group
would
have chosed Personal Choice dining, I think you might have been
better
to chose a traditional seating. It's too bad you didn't have
Sergio in
the DaVinci dining room, he would have taken better care of you
than
your Head Waiter.

Most of the group did have Traditional dining including Tom and
myself.
Some of the group did not. The reason is that some booked later.

Yes they booked later... but that was mid summer. Just not as early
as we
did last XMAS.

To not be able to accoomodate them with is is simply not acceptible
IMO.
Not when they have 6 months notice.

--Tom

Since
there is only one traditional dining room and two for Anytime
dining
the later bookers ended up on Anytime. Since more passengers
request
traditional than anytime the late bookers could not be moved as the
traditional was full from those who had booked it early. The issue
with
Anytime as I see it is that they should probably do either all
Traditional or all Anytime but since Traditional is more popular
they
keep it, but Anytime requires more dining room space to work.

--
Charles