Ok---I have posted on the main board the few issues we had with the teen program and the menus.
We are a family of 5 in a Cat 1. We had the Roy suite. This was our fourth cruise and we finally felt like it was a very relaxing time. The days didn't seem to fly by and it all seemed more relaxed.
We have always had a Cat 1 on our previous cruises. The changes to the suite are only a few. The loungers on the verandah are gone and aren't allowed to come back. I was disappointed. I spent a lot of time in the past sleeping on the verandah or reading a book. Time to myself is rare at home and is a luxury to me. I was really nervous about not having them. But, I found myself participating a little more. So, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.
The menus are no longer in the suites. You can order from them but you have to request to see them first. What a pain. There is a new bose system. If you have an ipod, bring your charger but don't worry about an attachment. Unless someone takes off with it, there is one in the room. Other than that, the suites seem pretty much unchanged.
The concierge meeting to book everything went well. They seemed to take care of much more stuff than in the past. They booked braiding, tequila tasting and martini tasting for us. There was other stuff, but we didn't partake in it. I had to laugh at the concierge reception. The food was great and the drinks was basically an open bar. Loved it!!! It is in the back of topsiders now--outside. You could tell that there were a few people who just saw the food and decided to dig in. My dh thinks I am wrong, but I don't. I love just watching people and trying to read them. There were a few couples who I didn't think were suite residents. Why you ask? Because they loaded up on plates and walked out of the area. Most of us would grab a few samplings on a plate knowing we could just go back for more. But these few people grabbed a plate and pretty much fit as much shrimp on it as humanly possible. Ok--still not convinced--read on. But, when they were offerred to have a drink made they kindly refused. Someone not in the concierge suites wouldn't know that the alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks are free. Who refuses free refreshment. Not me. I didn't say anything. Just got a chuckle out of it.
Lounger saving is alive and well. I went to get coffee only to crack up at a lady sitting by the mickey pool looking very unhappy. She was in the middle of 4 loungers with clothes spread out on all of them. It was a cloudy day and only about 7 am. LOL!! There was also another 6 loungers behind her with a shoe on each one. OMG people---sometimes I think some people need to get a grip and a life. Last thing I want to do is sit on loungers at 7 am. Whatever. We struggled mid-afternoon to even find one lounger let alone two together. But, we would eventually find someone leaving and taking all their possessions with them. LOL!
Oh yeah--seat saving in the theatre is also alive and well. The first show had at minimum 5 people holding onto no less than 3 full rows. 4,5 and 6th row center. Of course I got yelled at by someone---actually cussed out would be more like it. I had put all of my children and one of their friends in their seats and was about to sit down when I see out of the corner of my eye a piece of clothing appear on the seat. I kindly handed it back to the gentlement who asked me "No f way". I told him yes way and sat down. He had a few more choice words for me and stomped off. He had my daughter freaked out. She kept watching him and reporting to me how mad he still was.
I put a thread on the main board about an incident with my daughter in the stack.
My other two wouldn't come out of the clubs. I did pull them out--but they weren't happy about it.
We did the tequila tasting and the martini tasting. I love margaritas but am not a straight tequila fan. I am not a martini fan either. DH loves all of them. But, it was extremely interesting to try them all and I am glad I did. If anyone ever mentions a Debbitini---that is me. LOL! There is a red martini that is apple flavored and a blue one that is more bitter. If you pour a little of the blue into the red, you will get a tanzinite color that the whole room loved the best. The table next to me named it after me. LOL!! I'm famous.
Our servers were great. Roberto and May. May did much more for the kids and us, but Roberto was excellent as far as a server goes. But, the kid interaction just wasn't there. No napkin tricks. May did show the kids one trick and made sure my son got involved into the congo lines. She gave excellent wine recommendations. We ended up giving her as much as Roberto.
The kids' pools were swamped from day one. Crazy.
Disney Dreams has been updated. I think I like the older one better. We did the opening show as well as twice charmed. All were as usual---great!
Bingo is crazy. They have electronic cards now. $70 (I think) for one electronic card but it has something like 24 cards or something crazy like that. I was only there the last night and you pretty much had to pre-purchase one to get one. The only winners were from those machines. I also think the new rules are crazy. You have to call a bingo before the next ball is drawn. If you don't, you forfeit the bingo. They said some people actually lost their prizes because they waited too long. Can you imagine. Our jackpot was over $10,000.
I did a pedicure at the spa. I loved it. I tried to purchase a re-fill of the foot ginger scrub. I explained I had the jar at home from the last cruise and didn't want another jar---just the scrub to re-fill it. The person said she couldn't find it but would deliver it later. Of course, I tipped on that fact. I was so relaxed and excited that I didn't really look at the receipt. She billed me for a different scrub. I personally think it was a scam to get more tip and it worked. I didn't get any product for two days. Then I get it only to figure out it is a body scrub that is mint. I take it back. She calls me later to tell me that what I want doesn't exist. She sort of said it at the pedicure, but when I told her bummer and that I only wanted that, she all of a sudden said she would look for some and billed me anyway. It is one of those things that when you look back on you know you got played. Lesson learned.
Don't get me wrong. We totally enjoyed our time as usual. The food was great with only a few exceptions. Palo was excellent. I tried to hit things that I don't normally read in a trip report. I think I even enjoyed a few deserts from the kid's menu.
We did the regatta in St. Martin and had a blast as usual. We lost but darn if we didn't care. LOL!
Bascially we just relaxed, ate, drank and kept track of 3 kids--sometimes all at once. It was so nice, my dh has suggested we book a 5th even after saying for the past year that this one was going to be the last.
DG
We are a family of 5 in a Cat 1. We had the Roy suite. This was our fourth cruise and we finally felt like it was a very relaxing time. The days didn't seem to fly by and it all seemed more relaxed.
We have always had a Cat 1 on our previous cruises. The changes to the suite are only a few. The loungers on the verandah are gone and aren't allowed to come back. I was disappointed. I spent a lot of time in the past sleeping on the verandah or reading a book. Time to myself is rare at home and is a luxury to me. I was really nervous about not having them. But, I found myself participating a little more. So, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.
The menus are no longer in the suites. You can order from them but you have to request to see them first. What a pain. There is a new bose system. If you have an ipod, bring your charger but don't worry about an attachment. Unless someone takes off with it, there is one in the room. Other than that, the suites seem pretty much unchanged.
The concierge meeting to book everything went well. They seemed to take care of much more stuff than in the past. They booked braiding, tequila tasting and martini tasting for us. There was other stuff, but we didn't partake in it. I had to laugh at the concierge reception. The food was great and the drinks was basically an open bar. Loved it!!! It is in the back of topsiders now--outside. You could tell that there were a few people who just saw the food and decided to dig in. My dh thinks I am wrong, but I don't. I love just watching people and trying to read them. There were a few couples who I didn't think were suite residents. Why you ask? Because they loaded up on plates and walked out of the area. Most of us would grab a few samplings on a plate knowing we could just go back for more. But these few people grabbed a plate and pretty much fit as much shrimp on it as humanly possible. Ok--still not convinced--read on. But, when they were offerred to have a drink made they kindly refused. Someone not in the concierge suites wouldn't know that the alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks are free. Who refuses free refreshment. Not me. I didn't say anything. Just got a chuckle out of it.
Lounger saving is alive and well. I went to get coffee only to crack up at a lady sitting by the mickey pool looking very unhappy. She was in the middle of 4 loungers with clothes spread out on all of them. It was a cloudy day and only about 7 am. LOL!! There was also another 6 loungers behind her with a shoe on each one. OMG people---sometimes I think some people need to get a grip and a life. Last thing I want to do is sit on loungers at 7 am. Whatever. We struggled mid-afternoon to even find one lounger let alone two together. But, we would eventually find someone leaving and taking all their possessions with them. LOL!
Oh yeah--seat saving in the theatre is also alive and well. The first show had at minimum 5 people holding onto no less than 3 full rows. 4,5 and 6th row center. Of course I got yelled at by someone---actually cussed out would be more like it. I had put all of my children and one of their friends in their seats and was about to sit down when I see out of the corner of my eye a piece of clothing appear on the seat. I kindly handed it back to the gentlement who asked me "No f way". I told him yes way and sat down. He had a few more choice words for me and stomped off. He had my daughter freaked out. She kept watching him and reporting to me how mad he still was.
I put a thread on the main board about an incident with my daughter in the stack.
My other two wouldn't come out of the clubs. I did pull them out--but they weren't happy about it.
We did the tequila tasting and the martini tasting. I love margaritas but am not a straight tequila fan. I am not a martini fan either. DH loves all of them. But, it was extremely interesting to try them all and I am glad I did. If anyone ever mentions a Debbitini---that is me. LOL! There is a red martini that is apple flavored and a blue one that is more bitter. If you pour a little of the blue into the red, you will get a tanzinite color that the whole room loved the best. The table next to me named it after me. LOL!! I'm famous.
Our servers were great. Roberto and May. May did much more for the kids and us, but Roberto was excellent as far as a server goes. But, the kid interaction just wasn't there. No napkin tricks. May did show the kids one trick and made sure my son got involved into the congo lines. She gave excellent wine recommendations. We ended up giving her as much as Roberto.
The kids' pools were swamped from day one. Crazy.
Disney Dreams has been updated. I think I like the older one better. We did the opening show as well as twice charmed. All were as usual---great!
Bingo is crazy. They have electronic cards now. $70 (I think) for one electronic card but it has something like 24 cards or something crazy like that. I was only there the last night and you pretty much had to pre-purchase one to get one. The only winners were from those machines. I also think the new rules are crazy. You have to call a bingo before the next ball is drawn. If you don't, you forfeit the bingo. They said some people actually lost their prizes because they waited too long. Can you imagine. Our jackpot was over $10,000.
I did a pedicure at the spa. I loved it. I tried to purchase a re-fill of the foot ginger scrub. I explained I had the jar at home from the last cruise and didn't want another jar---just the scrub to re-fill it. The person said she couldn't find it but would deliver it later. Of course, I tipped on that fact. I was so relaxed and excited that I didn't really look at the receipt. She billed me for a different scrub. I personally think it was a scam to get more tip and it worked. I didn't get any product for two days. Then I get it only to figure out it is a body scrub that is mint. I take it back. She calls me later to tell me that what I want doesn't exist. She sort of said it at the pedicure, but when I told her bummer and that I only wanted that, she all of a sudden said she would look for some and billed me anyway. It is one of those things that when you look back on you know you got played. Lesson learned.
Don't get me wrong. We totally enjoyed our time as usual. The food was great with only a few exceptions. Palo was excellent. I tried to hit things that I don't normally read in a trip report. I think I even enjoyed a few deserts from the kid's menu.
We did the regatta in St. Martin and had a blast as usual. We lost but darn if we didn't care. LOL!
Bascially we just relaxed, ate, drank and kept track of 3 kids--sometimes all at once. It was so nice, my dh has suggested we book a 5th even after saying for the past year that this one was going to be the last.
DG
(sorry, couldn't help myself). Thanks for posting about your trip.
