Leaderboard

Loading the drinks on the sea pass cards was one of the better post Covid changes RC has made only bested by the new lifejacket safety briefing protocol.

I've been in the airline industry now for 26 years (just celebrated my 26th year on September 15th started straight out of high school), I've gone through furloughs after 9/11, bankruptcy, and mergers, I've seen people loose their jobs, departments shutter, entire stations closed, because the airline industry was in survival mode. In 2020 and in 2021 the nations airlines received a total of 3 government bailouts to the tune of tens of billions of dollars. The cruise line industry unfortunately was left out in the cold. The nations airlines were allowed to operate without any government oversight during covid, while cruise lines were forced to shut down. Some of the money the nations airlines received from the government does NOT have to be paid back at all, some of the money does have to be paid back but at unbelievable low interest rates. Cruise lines like Royal Caribbean were forced to borrow billions of dollars. I'm sure every single penny has to be paid back with interest. Who knows what the interest rates are but I'm willing to bet Royal Caribbean's interest rates on their covid related debt is much higher than the interest rate the nations airlines are paying on their covid related government backed debt. No one wants to see anyone loose their job, but when a company has gone through what Royal Caribbean has been through without any financial assistance from the government sometimes cost cutting measure have to be put in place. Cruising is back and Royal has taken delivery of Odyssey, Wonder, and next year Icon will join the fleet. That is all exciting news for their customers because we all appreciate the fact we can cruise again. However, Royal Caribbean executives still have to deal with paying down all the covid related debt they were forced to take on just to survive. I think the last thing any of use want to see is Royal Caribbean forced into bankruptcy, or Royal Caribbean forced into a merger with another cruise line. To keep that from happening the executives at times must make hard, difficult decisions that unfortunately will impact the lives of some of their employees.

OMG Becky Of the Seas?

Worst ship ever is definitely the model of the HMS Ark Royal i made when i was 8 years old

My worst ship is the one I don't have scheduled yet. I like them all!

There is no worst ship when you look at it in a vacuum. And for those who do have a worst, or at least "bottom of the list," it'll all be subjective. Everyone has their favorite ships, and by the nature of that, their least favorite. But if someone comes off a ship with their cruise ruined simply because of the ship, they're doing it wrong.

KSF isn't always the best deal- they often raise the cruise fare so you're paying higher rates for guests 1&2

I like big ships and I cannot lie !

I would do the 8AM so you can relax after the excursion, walk around town, get lunch, etc. If you do the 12PM one but want to walk around town in the morning, you'll spend the whole morning checking your watch to make sure you don't miss the train.

I go every morning for multiple cappuccinos (and occasionally grab some pastries) and stop by most evenings just to check out the appetizers. Nice place to relax on ships that still have it in the Viking Crown like Freedom class. Not so much when it's in "the basement" like on Oasis class.

If Quantum class ships are the worst of the bunch, you can't go wrong with any ship in the fleet... which is probably the case. I was very impressed with Odyssey and had a great vacation.

Here are a couple of items I think help: Do what you want. Plan to do everything but don't try to do it. Take time to relax. Don't stay behind your camera taking pictures and video of everything. The internet is full of pictures of your ship. Enjoy the ship with your eyes. The walls are magnetic. I like to take magnetic clips to keep my paperwork for the cruise: Daily planner, reservations, shore excursion tickets... Find time to just set at a bar or on the pool deck and just enjoy the day. You do not need the internet unless you have someone not on the cruise you need to stay in contact with. You can find a Daily Planner for your ship and often cruise to see show times to see what dinner time is best for you. Here is the link Royal Caribbean Cruise Compass | Royal Caribbean Blog

This is for non-suite cabins: I am a guy's guy with old man hair, and I take my own shampoo and conditioner on all RCL Ships. With a week of their combo products my hair is all over the place.

No breakfast as a whole is not free, only continental. Hot/American breakfast will incur the fee. Basically, if you are ordering hot food, it will be $7.95. There is a menu, you can see on the app and the selection is very limited. If you are staying in a grand suite or higher, room service is free and during dinner times you can order off the MDR menu.

Any RC ship that you are currently on is always 1000% better than not being on any RC ship at all.

I can't even with the full size iron! Who drags that around in their luggage?? I don't iron at home, let alone on vacation

We bring 2 of these each cruise. One goes in my carry on and the other in one of the kids. We've never been stopped or had it confiscated.

New review of The Key from the other week: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/10/06/i-tried-the-key-again-see-if-its-worth-it

I sometimes use it for a quiet space on sea days, when I don't want to be out in the sun. I also use the diamond concierge instead of guest services.

We prefer the Allure because it in not updated with the view blocking slide and the useless robot bar (instead of the champagne bar). She is our favorite ship.

Very sorry to hear of your friend's condition. Unfortunately, I think anyone at Royal would be very hesitant to make any statement due to medical privacy and legal liability issues. Doctor's requests might be able to get medical records transferred from the ship but beyond that, I wouldn't expect much. Again, sorry to hear.

Okay so I have a problem with the complaints for Quantum being "Reviewers repeatedly express that the ship is intended for a Chinese audience, "with little or no consideration for the nearly 40 percent non-Chinese."" 1 - 40 percent is still a minority and minority does mean you may not have things for you all the time. 2 - expecting a ship for the Chinese market to cater to Western or non-Chinese tastes is...rude to me. In the same way the ships sailing out of Galveston lean FAR more into Texas/country foods, music and entertainment, I wouldn't be surprised to see ships sailing out of China to skew toward Chinese tastes. In my opinion making that a complaint of the ship/cruise shows more fault with the cruiser than the cruise. My personal take on the worst ship - Enchantment. Small, boring and dated. Pretty atrium but everything else was compartmentalized and felt stuffy and if things weren't in a box in a room, they were in the middle of the ship in the way. (Looking at you Schooner Bar)

We bring our own too (non-suite). We also bring one of those pump containers of hand soap for the bathroom sink.

Navigator on November 11, 2022 First time post-covid! SO READY!

Not all cruises qualify for kids sail free

Lunch in Coastal Kitchen: We had a special lunch made from India.

Separate "higher end"toiletries that may or may not have you smelling like a salad.

Ask a cardiologist.

I tried searching the posts for cruising duck posts and found very little mention, so I am starting a thread. We cruise on the Ovation on June 10th. Just bought a pack of ducks and tags off of Amazon. We think this is a cute activity and tradition to keep going especially now that cruising is nearing full force! Help me get Royal Caribbean Cruising Ducks going! BTW-any comments, posts, suggestions, etc. are welcome since this is our first time hiding ducks (though we have found a few in the past).

My experience exactly. thanks

We have checked them out on my card and back in on my wife's.

We have sailed on Radiance twice. Once was a trans pacific. She is probably our second favorite ship. My hubby loves to play darts while sailing and the Radiance still has her dart board and English pub. She has a movie theater that is good for long sailings. She is a smaller and older ship but is well maintained. She still has her staircase in the Centrum unlike Brilliance. If you sail on her and want a balcony the best balcony cabins are the aft cabins. We will be back on her in 2 weeks and have another cruise on her next August. Hope you enjoy the Radiance as much as we do.

I have always been seated when I cannot make my reserved time.

Besides passports... Set sail pass (printed or on phone). RC recommends bringing vax card if applicable although it's not required unless you're visiting certain countries. Luggage tags (you should get them 30 days out).

Thank you! He is fighting hard but it was pretty bad. Please pray for him.

December 8th on Independence

dm'd rci on twitter and it was just down at the time...back up....whew. thanks mateo

The per-person cost for a room for 2 people is usually lower than the per-person cost for a room for 3/4 people. So you can't really compare the per-person price for a double with the price for a triple/quad. I usually book one double and one triple, so I run into this all the time.

I L-O-V-E-D the peppermint shampoo, and thought the body wash was just fine. I hate cilantro and my hair is done with a #2 clipper on top and fades to shorter than that, so I have no feedback on the conditioner.

The minute we stepped foot on Coco cay there was this awesome vibe, no wait actually before that when we docked. We watched us dock from the running/walking track and it was just this really cool vibe. I cannot tell you why or how but it was there. It was a vibe like "this is gonna be a great day" and it was. When you walk down the long dock and see the sign "perfect day at Coco cay" it's just awesome and welcoming of that makes sense. It was truly some of the most fun we have ever had. We had a 6 month old with us too which could be challenging but nope, he was great, he has fun, he was in the HUGE spray park with us. Great, great time. I hope I didn't over sell it, I'm just relaying our experience. We want to go back on Anthem in the dead of winter. Sail from the cold of NJ to Coco cay. We got burnt in August kinda bad.

Costco does not participate in RoyalUp, sorry, don't shoot the messenger.

@Neesa So sorry for my late reply Thank you for all the tips. My BF grew up cruising so he's a very much used to what to expect (but hasn't been in about 5 years) I am an overthinker/ over packer/ overly anxious about everything so I like to ask for additional advice from other well experienced travelers for their tips. Yes I will need to bring my shampoo & conditioner, idk how men use all in one stuff lol But overall I am looking forward to this new experience & i am hoping to love it, fingers crossed

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the wave pool, IMO.

Um, I disagree....a lot spoiled! LOL!!

I really didn't know so many people were disgusted with others wearing their C&A pins. I just may have to find mine and wear it on my next cruise.

Or is it more snooty to wear the pins or list every cruise you've ever been on in your signature?

So is it more snooty to wear them, or to look down on somebody who does?

About cruise number 4 I noticed these gold bar pins some were wearing. I thought there was a convention aboard the ship and when I got on an elevator with a couple wearing 'the' pins I asked if they were part of a convention group...he stood up straighter and declared, no, we are pinnacle. Our status is diamond, a few cruises away from plus...I will never wear a pin nor do I mention my status when talking to the crew. There was a time when I looked forward to the discounts on balcony and suites as a part of our level but that really doesn't apply anymore. Now it's about some of the little perks, like not having to buy my wife the specialty drink package, and getting aboard the ship easier. FWIW, I doubt we will ever hit pinnacle and once we have plus I expect we will begin to mix up our cruises between Royal and Celebrity. We cruise because we really enjoy it and already have 3 booked in 23 and looking at cruises for 24.

I tend to get stressed out about this kinda of thing too, but I think your best bet is to just book the dining package as a child for your daughter and not worry about it. They will likely just give her the adult menu anyway. If not, have her order from the adult menu. Basically, just play dumb. In the unlikely event that they push her towards the children's menu, just mention that has been no issue with your daughter ordering from the adult menu in the main dining room, so you don't understand why this is a problem now. To be honest, I don't think the wait staff is going to care. They just want you to be happy and for you to give them a "10" on the survey. Making your daughter sad isn't going to keep you happy and certainly won't make you want to rate them a "10". If you feel a little guilty about it, do what an American would do—add a little extra tip at the end to partly make up for the "deal" you just got. If I'm totally wrong and you do need to talk to the customer service folks onboard to "upgrade", I think you have a very good argument to just pay the difference between the price you paid for your daughter, and the price you paid. Bring a copy of the email receipt. But I doubt things will get that far.