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Good discussion but the underlying issue is that some cruisers are more considerate of others. Other guests are more self-indulgent because they are on vacation. As in life on land, balance allows all of us to enjoy a vacation experience. Whatever you choose, be considerate when you can.

What an awful article. Written by someone who clearly has no experience with the cruise industry. WSJ explained that these overbookings happen when customers put more than two passengers (the expected number of passengers) per room Uh what? That's not at all true.

I’m currently on Liberty and the food is definitely better than done if the other sailings I’ve done on other ships. Even the windjammer seemed to have fresh food at night though I feel the selections are “eh”.

Why can’t we take posts at face value and not do a personal “Columbo” forensic check on their posting history? Not sure it’s relevant myself.

Celebrity enforced the dress code on my European sailing in July. Hubby was pulled to the side and asked to change to pants. While he was gone I asked what else is not accepted and was told footwear with a “between the toes”. I imagine they meant flip flops beach footwear. I’ve not see Royal turn anyone away except one gal in a bikini top.

Every degenerate RC cruiser on these boards needs to have the easy, care-free experience of flying to a Gold Star port; not renting a car, having lots to see and explore within walking distance, bountiful bar and restaurants all close by, some type of shopping for last minute items, a reasonable breakfast place so you don't have to eat the free DIY waffles, classier hotel accommodations the you normally get yourself (for the same reason you upgraded your stateroom), just one cab/Uber/Lift\, and <drumroll> walking yourself and your luggage to the port terminal in the morning! <cymbal crash> Vancouver, Tampa Bay, Honolulu, Venice, and the ultimate fly to port, the amazing Double Gold Star port of **New Orleans**

See my post above. That is only referring to the drinking age. They say the same for all bars, including playmakers. Yet at the same time, they have kids pictured with their families in the same section on RC site. I promise you that behaved kids are allowed on the Rising Tide. Look at the picture below and tell me that young person in playmakers is over 21, which would have been required by the "Age Restriction" listed on the text to the right if it was more than just the drinking age.

To me it's one of the absolute easiest ones. Rent a car, drop it off at Enterprise near the port in the morning, take a shuttle from there to the port. Piece of cake.

When evaluating a place to stay before a cruise, price is about the 4th thing I look at. I can easily substantiate a somewhat higher price if it makes other higher ranking criteria better, easier, or perhaps free. Take it from a person who has flown to every cruise he has been on, Orlando/Port Canaveral is not an easy one. On the surface it sounds like a good idea but in reality I have found it far from ideal. It's not a Gold Star port.

As mentioned above, no refilling stations but you can fill them with cups of water from the buffet or wherever if you like having a water bottle with you. My wife has one of those metal bottles that keeps water cold & always brings it. When available, she usually fills it with flavored water some ships have. Water is just about all she drinks.

We've just seen excursion discounts of 35%, just rebooked a couple of trips in Iceland and saved over £150

I read on RC site that the Rising Tide Bar is for 21+ years. So, that means kids are not really allowed to ride on it.

Read the thread and it motivated my to replenish my humidor. We're in St. Maarten this summer and will have to pick up some DAS

I gotta say, after reading so many posts by so many people basically hating every cruise experience.. . Why do you cruise if you know it's gonna be so awful? I know every person has their own expectations and experiences. But it seems a lot of folks cruise to be disappointed. Makes me glad I grew up poor, so I can appreciate this floating heaven on earth experience. I too sometimes have less than a perfect experience, and like others, I do come here to vent. After I re-read my posts a few times, and realize I'm sounding like the other people, I try to tone it down, and re-count my blessings.

They recently cleaned the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and this was found under the dirt and grime. Who's a good boy!?

Port Canaveral is our favorite. And I've found the whole area is geared to cruisers. I've stayed at multiple places, and one way or the other, transportation to the airport was super easy. Not super fancy but our favorite stay is La Quinta in Coco Beach. Pool with bar, an easy walk for dinner, and a wonderful included continental breakfast. And a bus to the pier waiting outside the door after breakfast.

Cortrans is excellent for larger groups. For your immediate family, I would think that Uber/Lyft is less hassle.

Getting in at that time, I would 100% stay at the Hyatt Regency right at the airport, eat at McCoy's (inside the Hyatt), go to bed and get up early the next day and head to Port Canaveral.

Getting in that late, I'd just stay near the airport.

There are some valuable lessons for you in that galley, my fingers are crossed.

What about all the cute little containers of various colors? I find these very charming. I also find the the noise when set on a chassis to be very soothing.

The base price of the Unlimited Drink Package continues to increase... In January of 2023, it was $735. In March of 2023, it jumped to $770. It just jumped to $805. Yikes! Back in February of 2023 (above), I predicted $800 by March 2024. Now I'm thinking $900 or $1000 by March of 2024. I'll continue to keep everyone posted! Thanks!

We are Pinnacle and were loyal to royal until a year ago. The service, food and overall experience for the money has reached bottom for us. They've driven any value out with their pricing and reduction of services. We, like many pinnacle members have jumped ship to other brands and have found better experiences for less money. Everyone should keep track of all the money spent on things like WiFi, specialty dinning, drinks packages, spa visits etc. once tallied up many would be surprised at just how expensive RCL has become. Princess' Crown Grill price for one visit is $39.99 - RCL's Chops is $89.99 Princess' Absolut & Soda is $7.50 - RCL's is $13.99 These are just a few examples of where RCL is gouging their customers to pay for their new ships - which BTW no longer cater to people without children. They've gone head on with Disney which left us looking elsewhere. We are glad as we've found wonderful cruises on MSC Yacht Club, Princess' Suites. Stop being loyal - you're being gouged. Who cares if you get 4-6 free drinks a day when you've overpaid by $100's if not $1000's of dollars. We wished we had never drank the KoolAid that is Crown & Anchor. On average it takes $150,000 USD to reach Pinnacle - I cringe at having spent that on a 3 star cruise line.

Go to Virgin Cruise Line or any ultra luxury cruise if you want all adult areas. RCCL primary target market is family, so many places will be open to accomodate family.

Here is the carry on beverage policy https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/food-drink-onboard-policy mad for embarkation (check in) they do ask people to stick to their time. If the ship gets passengers on quickly then they can get you on earlier. The problem is when everyone Dr uses to show up early, ignoring their check in time, causing crowding at drop off and check in

Due to the lack luster itineraries and new ships down under we have booked to go on Harmony next September instead. Excited to try an Oasis class ship.

My oldest son got invited to do that by the head waiter on one of our cruises (either Freedom or Oasis), there was no charge. I swear they also gave him cookbook as well, just can’t find it

We booked this cruise in September of 2022 as the fact of inflation from the wonderful policies of the current administration made doing the XMas cruise last Dec 22 on Anthem un doable. So as a graduation present for our son and a family vacay we booked this, my wife and I honeymooned in NS in Oct 96 on Cape Breton. Will be nice to go back and see any changes. We are going to do the Hop o. Hop Off.

Quantum has been going an hour back end of day 2 (after first sea day) and going an hour forward at the end of day 5 after leaving Juneau (before the day 6 sea day - although one week it was noted at the end of day 6 for some reason, but definitely before they get to Victoria). I believe Ovation is on pretty much the same schedule, just in Seattle different day than Quantum.

I have it on neither mobile or desktop... signed in and tried it not signed in. Weird.

We have had Ovation since at least 2017 and it will still be here in 2025. There is only so many times you can watch the same shows before boredom sets in.

All the complimentary food venues may supersede my lack of interest in some of the other new aspects.

I tried "Show me cruises where I don't need a second mortgage to book one" and no results came up

New menus went into effect around the first of the year. Stock price is up 58.61% since then.

Woud be lovely if it were to happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

You get the 2nd cruise parking free. This is a serious answer. It's an inadvertent perk of doing a B2B there. Spend the savings on a specialty dinner!

I have two kids and always cruise with my family. I'm as pro-kid and pro-family as you'll see on this message board. That said, while I think it's fine for kids to be in a bar area (it's no different than a restaurant), I don't think there's need for kids to sit at an actual bar top, particularly at night if there are adults who would otherwise be sitting there. There are very few bars on Royal ships where the only area to sit is the bar itself. Just sit anywhere else. I feel like plenty of bars on land allow kids in the bar itself but not to sit at the bar top. It just seems like a reasonable compromise, particularly on a family friendly cruise ship.

Sorry, I was playing with my new Royal Caribbean battleship board game and I got carried away. Found Navigator!

I agree about the culture thing, I don't say anything or make a big deal as it happens a lot on ship but as I previously said it's a peeve of mine and not the standard. I haven't been to Texas, but it was a thing here in the Midwest......there are new laws that allow over 18 to drink with parental supervision. I don't have children but from my perspective and upbringing I can see no reason why a child should be at any bar top. To each their own. To me, it the same as people who put their children on slot machines because it is pretty.

Exactly! The ship is not a regular bar... especially a family ship like RC. I think it's cool for a kid to be able to go up and order a shirley temple or a mocktail of some sort. That's why I was kind of surprised at the original topic of this post, which was a guy calling people out for bringing kids on rising tide. It never even crossed my mind that a kid shouldn't be allowed on there!

I'm not familiar with many/any laws that explicitly prohibit minors from sitting at bars - it looks like some states may require they be accompanied by an adult. My experience is that venues may establish their own rules, most commonly not allowing minors to enter after a certain time at night or at all. But yea, I think its super cool when a kid is independent/comfortable enough to order their own drink. My kids aren't to that age yet but I'm looking forward to teaching them about etiquette, patience, etc.

You’re not in the states. It’s a cruise ship. My 15 year old has become very adroit at ordering drinks especially virgin strawberry daiquiris at the cruise bars using his diamond vouchers without an adult. Even knows how to add a tip and sign his name. If the bars were not designed for children, there would be big signs saying 21+ only. It is perfectly “normal” for children to be in bars here in New Hampshire as many also serve food. The message I send to my kids is to be polite and well behaved no matter where they are.

During a recent tour in the area they mentioned they also will stop or reduce generating hydroelectric power and switch to generated power. Hopefully the rainy season will kick in soon. To be clear this doesn't impact panamax sized vessels that use the original locks like Royal ships. The draft restrictions impact larger ships using the new locks.

An "all inclusive" fare option (like Celebrity if that is even truly all inclusive) would be nice. I'm loathe to tinker with pricing not knowing the revenue model and requirements for positive margins per sailing out of fear I'll sink the entire kingdom. Reducing executive compensation until things turn around fiscally would be supported by this "king". I still can't believe the compensation the CEO of a cruise line whose initials are NCLH is and has pulled down during the height of service suspension through the present when the balance sheet is still in tatters. Guess he owns or neutered the board of directors. There's a reason I don't have Michael Bayley or Jason Liberty's job........... PS: Those gentlemen and every other cruise line executives likely have the "UMP Plan". Unlimited Maalox Plan.

1. Release the shows schedule early tethered to if I purchase the UDP I can look at it and make my dining reservations BEFORE I board. Boarding day should be reserved for making adjustments, it would just relieve some frustration on day one. I think they would sell more UDP if reservations can be secured before hand with the UDP. 2. For goodness sake standardize the suites product, it is different across the fleet and I think if the product was the same across the ships it would generate a better feeling of value, and possibly more bookings = more revenue. At minimum a Sky class experience for the Grands & higher, Sea for the Juniors. (Star on the smaller vessels seems not needed, ie. too small) 3. Along the same lines the Suites Lounge has become wildly popular and address in some way the capacity problems. If you stay in a suite you are afforded this amenity & if not then please enjoy another venue or make the lounges bigger with an additional concierge because one can't handle it. 4. This may be off putting but reaching 700 + nights sailings and achieving Pinnacle means a huge investment was made with the company, Pinnacles should be afforded "free room service" always no matter what class of cabin they are in as well as 9 drinks per day! Depending on the amount on board say 20 have a special luncheon service just for them.** 5. Open the theaters early before the shows and just allow people to enter at their leisure. 6. I've repeatedly stated allow cabins to be booked with or without Genie service (the Star ones) Have the service as an add on at booking for certain cabin types. ** I am not Pinnacle, but want to be one in the future! Only about 33 seven night sailings to go!! @FSUFAN thanks so much, this was fun!

I know. I so much want your Wonder cruise to be great and I really think it can be. I have seen your excitement wane since you created your highly anticipatory username until today as real and rumored cuts have been announced. Try to leave it all with your dog when you drop them off and embark on your cruise for what it is and either enjoy it or hate it for what it is. The time for imagining how it's going to be is over. Step into your flip flops and let the experience be what it is. I know we're on the opposite side of a lot of discussion lately, but I really and truly want your cruise to be great.

I started tracking Quantum's 7 day menus once they arrived in Canada/Alaska last week as I have 2 weeks booked later this summer and also want to figure out where I want to make specialty reservations. Last week it was: 1-Welcome Aboard, 2-France, 3-Mexico, 4-Caribbean, 5-Italy, 6-Royal, 7-Bon Voyage This week it is 1-Welcome Aboard, 2-France, 3-Asia, 4-Italy, 5-USA, 6-Royal, 7-Bon Voyage so days 3, 4, and 5 differ from the previous week and 2 of them are completely different menus. Am going to continue tracking for curiosity's sake...

I'll be onboard with my family July 6

For Santorini, if you want to just do your own thing, you can. I visited there on Odyssey of the Seas last May and did an excursion which you can read about here: However, someone else on my sailing posted on my blog on another site, explaining their DIY day there. This is what they had to say: "Santorini...beautiful day...around 70, sunny with a cool breeze. * 7:15 am down to the No.1 tender. I heard 75 onboard...took about 10 minutes to reach the Old Port. * Took 8 minutes up the cable car to Fira. 6Euros/person one-way. You'll have to buy tickets again going down. * Option to walk up or ride the donkey (sorry, I didn't get the price for the donkey ride.) Walkers will go up approximately 500 big steps, winding up the hill and navigate around donkey dung. * We walked straight to the bus station. A leisurely10 minute walk; follow the yellow line on the sidewalk...or ask. * We took the 8:30 am bus to Oia (eeh-yah)...sight of the world famous and highly photographed "Blue Dones". 1.60Euros/person one-way. People huddled around waiting...then a very courteous gentleman started announcing "bus to Oia!"...a line formed and the bus soon arrived. Note: The man turned out to be the conductor. He firmly stopped those trying to cut the line. The bus was full with a few allowed to stand. The conductor collected the money and loudly announced each stop. (Best to have small bills or the exact change) * I believe there were 5 stops, but the bus driver only stopped twice...most of the passengers werr going to Oia. * Fira to Oia was less than 30 minutes...but the spectacular scenery along the way will want you wishing the ride was longer. * Oia...simply breathtaking. A short 5 minute walk will take you the Blue Domes...(yup, I took the time and kissed my beautiful wife.) * We shared that iconic spot with a few others...all of us mesmerized...then the crowds came. * We took the 10am bus (left at 10:15) back to Fira. This time the bus had plenty of seats...and no stops. Took only about 20 minutes to get back to Fira. * Walked around Fira and took in more wonderful views...be careful, lots of steps. Personally, the views were magnified and enhanced by the incredible aroma coming from all the restaurants. * Back down the cable car...on to the tender...and back on the Odyssey...1pm. What a beautiful day." Hope this helps.