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@RCL_Cruiser Oh no! As a seasoned cruiser my last sailing had me thinking, thank goodness this wasn't my first sailing I would never sail again. Not knowing the specifics of your sailing.... my sailing was super weird, it's important to differentiate the irritants, was it the cruise line OR the passengers that had no clue how to behave on a ship? My sailing was sold out with over 4500 first time cruisers. I'm not saying not to contact corporate I'm saying maybe you could give sailing another try taking into consideration what you learned and your specific cruising style. Being it was your first time I realize maybe you didn't think things could be mitigated, but if the crew can help they will. By all means I have no idea what you endured but I understand with many cruises under my belt that if you pay for a product, you deserve the product. Our sailing was weird for lack of a better term and honestly it was a combination of our fellow passengers as well as the ships inability to mitigate some things. I promise you the time of year and size of ship I'm sure directly impacted your experience. I do not make excuses for Royal, sometimes they get it wrong (to many passengers, not enough ships offerings) but please reconsider a sailing opposite what you just experienced, maybe then you will fall in love with the seas like many of us have. I wish you a positive experience moving forward! Best of luck with the follow up!

Whatever your concern is, you probably should have addressed it onboard before you left the ship.

My wife and I boarded Mariner Friday for our very first cruise and it has been wonderful so far. I followed all of Matt and fellow bloggers advice so far. Got the earliest checkin time. We flew in two days early. We took a Lyft to the port and arrived 40 mins prior to our embarkation time. There was a short line but not bad. Sailed through security to some chairs we sat in until time to board We entered the ship right at our muster station so that was super quick! Went to the stand by the orange dune buggy and made all of our dinner reservations. Got 6p for dinner at specialty restaurants every night!! only negative is our shore excursion tomorrow got canceled. Not a huge deal though. This is awesome!! My wife and I are thinking this is the life. Thank you all for your advice!!! Thanks Matt especially for all of your time and efforts. It really helped us out!

In all honesty I think Voyager or Freedom class should be the first stop for a newbie. If you start big the only way to go is down. If you start smaller or more midsize you have something to look forward to when you become more experienced. Lots of people who start at Oasis or Quantum class don't seem to like the smaller vessels and find much disappointment.

Hey all, Long time reader and cruiser with Royal Caribbean and reader of this blog and love every minute onboard their ships. I was getting tired of trying to compare different options available on each ship and between suites and The Key. I've been working on this for a couple of weeks which started out for just myself, but turned into something more when some friends and fellow cruisers started to want more info and it's just grown and grown. I hope the website https://rc.cruises will be helpful for everyone who cruises with Royal and needs to compare different ships, suites, The Key, etc. You can change the different suites when you want to compare The Key vs Grand Suite, or The Key vs SEA Royal Suites without seeing unnecessary information to get a true comparison (I use this more than once a week myself! ). There is also direct links to blog posts on Royal Caribbean Blog for drink packages, CocoCay, The Key, etc. (Matt said yes to using the logo which I'm very grateful to identify links to here). Love to know what everyone thinks and any feedback, and I hope you find it as helpful for your cruise planning

Perhaps this contact list information will be helpful. If you provide more details, many of us on this forum may be able to provide more guidance.

Which is kind of silly since it's the same end result and their photo is already on file.

I'm cruising for my 50th in October. I may have to decorate too! Happy Birthday!

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2023/04/20/contact-royal-caribbean-customer-service

I am a Coke snob and only drink canned Coke. If you have the DBP you can get canned soda without a problem. Sometimes you can get a canned soda even if you only have the refreshment package but canned soda is not officially included in the refreshment package. Rarely, but occasionally, a bar or restaurant will not have a can handy but most do. If you have the DBP just insist on a can and they will get it. I really hate fountain soda and more often than not, I have found the ships’ soda fountain machines to produce “flat” soda, which is repulsive.

A regular old school letter? I think you probably want this. Royal Caribbean Group1050 Caribbean WayMiami, FL 33132-2096 You'll probably get more eyes and impact using email or the social media channels. Good luck.

I didn't find the pier to be too bad for Uber/Lyft, it's a short shuttle ride or walk. LAX by far is the worst ride share experience. Don't follow the signs for shared rides, that not ride-sharing. Take the 35 minute shuttle bus that stops every 20 feet at every terminal to the ride-sharing pick up area. Do not go to the share ride area. What a cluster.

The cost was raised to $10

In Seattle, the easiest way to get around is the Seattle Light Rail system (https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/stations/link-light-rail-stations) where you can get from the airport towards Pike's Place Market area (Leave from the SEA-TAC station and travel to the Westlake station - nearest station - just a few blocks walk to Pike's Place; about 38-40 minutes ride from the airport) for a cost of about $3 per person. Trains leave every few minutes. For other activities; you can take the Seattle Monorail ($3.50 per person each way) (https://www.seattlemonorail.com/) that starts from the Westlake center (adjacent to the light rail station) and travel to the "Seattle Center" area where the Seattle Space Needle is at (https://www.spaceneedle.com/). The Chihuly Garden and Glass (https://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/) is adjacent to the base of the Space Needle and is a neat place to go through. There are some combo-tickets available for various activities in the area (http://seeitall.com/?site=sn). Luggage is going to be the biggest issue to deal with. When I travel and am overnighting in Seattle, I typically stay at a Hilton hotel (https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/seaahhh-hilton-seattle-airport-and-conference-center/) literally right across the street from the airport (I walk from the airport towards the light rail station; go "through" the station and walk over the pedestrian bridge; take the elevator down to street level, and walk one block to the hotel). See map on this link: https://www.soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/stops-stations/seatac-airport-station. You can have the hotel hold your bags after checkout if you stay there. I don't have any experience with any other baggage holding services, so won't be any help there... Just a few ideas and suggestions to think about!

I have no input on the topic, but the name "Spicy Cherry" is just fantastic. I just picture this nice Bing cherry cross bred with a habanero.

Generally speaking, a typical large OV balcony is just deeper (often located near the "bump outs" on many ships), not wider than a traditional OV balcony, so I don't see an advantage from a viewing perspective while outside on the balcony. Yes, if you're trying to view from inside your cabin, a standard OV balcony is probably slightly better due to shorter depth of the balcony.

Thanks! I'll work on collecting which ship has each. Thank you, will be fixed shortly. Interesting... I've been on Allure and completely missed this in putting all the data together. Fixed shortly too. After looking over it day in day out it becomes a blur. I definitely appreciate it. Thanks!

Looks great! Feedback: 1. You should probably split up Giovanni's Table and Giovanni's Kitchen into two separate venues as they're pretty different (despite the name). 2. You typoed "Costal" in the Coastal Kitchen heading. 3. Allure has "Wipe Out Cafe featuring El Loco Fresh" as a complimentary dining venue. 4. The 3rd column in the suite class section should be "Star", you listed it as "Sea." NOTE: I think you know, but just to be clear, I'm just playing editor to help, not picking on tiny inaccuracies. I think this could be a big help to many cruisers, especially newer ones.

We both ordered the short ribs and they were excellent. Our waiter brought us the branzino to try and it was good, but not great. Our waiter also brought out all 3 desserts and I liked all of them. The world is one of my favorite desserts. It's a must for any chocolate lover. The other 2 were good as well and dessert may be a compelling reason to come back Wonderland in the future.

I’m currently on Symphony of the Seas. The food sucks. 1. The nachos cheese is fake. 2. crab cake doesn’t have real crab 3. same food at wind jammer every day 4. dining room food was also bad most days quality has gone done. I’m done with RC.

Here's my position with Juneau apparently asking tourists not to use the bus to get to Mendenhall with the majority of people not following this stuff on Reddit. I would try to find another way to the glacier with the bus as a last resort. Knowing the Juneau is asking tourists to stay off the bus, them asking can lead to policy or route changes to discourage riders out to the visitor's center. With how high a priority visiting the glacier is for many, waiting till port to find alternative transportation to Mendenhall if the bus won't work will be too late. Keep the bus in mind, but don't stake a port day on it.

Well done. Something RC itself should offer. One suggestion for improvement would be the ability to filter the columns. If you only want to sail ships that have X, Y and Z that'd make it easy.

As long as all of you have either a valid US birth certificate or passport, or a valid green card (US residence) and valid passport, there shouldn’t be any issues.

Enchantment of the Seas is the ugly cousin of Royal Caribbean. It's the one that does not fit in with the others; belonging in The Land of Misfit Toys more so than in an ocean. Although you've been on two RC cruises Katrina, you are in for an eyeopening experience just as much as your first time guest. When I sail with first timers I always select a big boat with all the bells and whistles. Allow Royal Caribbean to show what they do best. My recommendation would be Anthem, Odyssey, Oasis, or Symphony out of New Jersey. Even though they cost a little more, you don't know what you've been missing. You are exactly right about wanting a 7 nighter or better, there are some shortcomings to sailings that are less than a week long. Bermuda has ceased requiring the $40 Bermuda Travel Authorization thank goodness. Some would categorize it as a visa. I think it was extortion. Let's all be thankful other popular cruising destinations didn't hear what Bermuda was up to and get the idea that they too could collect an additional $40 from every cruise passenger that is headed their direction and there was nothing the passengers could do about it.

I don't know the cost of a taxi, but I would highly recommend that you try to hike out to the falls. We did the whale watch and did a short hike to the lake near Mendenhall glacier, but I was wishing we had done one that hiked out to those falls. It looked really worth it.

There’s definitely sugar-free desserts and you can make healthier meals at the Windjammer Buffet. However…I succumbed to the sugary and carb-y temptations all over the place! I tried to eat a low carb meal but it was always followed up with a plate of fries! As far as drinks are concerned, my go-to was Truly Stawberry Lemonade and Jack and Diet Coke.

Your facts aren't facts at all, though. The original design of facial scanners was to collect (COLLECT) biometric data from foreign nationals, not compare, not snap a shot then immediately delete. Do you think the entire programming was changed because you check a box that says you're an American Citizen and thus that data will not be collected from you? Also, as to your claim that the pictures are immediately deleted, this is false, even by TSAs own verbiage. The pictures are deleted, but kept on the RAM until actually deleted, which normally happens every 24 hours OR after the unit has been powered down for 30 minutes, BUT pictures may be kept if they can be useful to make the whole recognition software more reliable. So, believe what you want to believe, I'm going to let my family believe what they want to believe. If there's one thing I learned in the past three years it's that there's a whole lot I don't know, and I'm not going to dismiss it when other people have opinions that I might think are wild. And I'm still going to be walking through the facial scanning section of customs, but I'm certainly NOT going to be judging anyone for a fool if they decide against it.

Hi All! Our first transatlantic cruise. Husband and I will be flying from Dallas to Barcelona 2 days early to enjoy some sights before cruise. Looking forward to this venture and counting the days

I'd love to hear how disembarking with the BC goes. This will be our 1st time in Tampa w/ some of our travel party not having passports. We're a party of 8 but the 3 minors don't have a passport.

This is a great resource! It is already bookmarked! Feedback: I just got off Wonder last week, and as for a few minor corrections to your table of information, Wonder does indeed have Starlink for Voom internet, it has a Bionic Bar (5th floor), and Wonderland (12th floor).

That's so nuts. You literally don't have to even come to a full stop. Facial recognition is so convenient. I just don't get people who think the government is paying any extra attention to them. If the government really wants to know your business, trust me they will. The rest of us they don't have time for.

I believe flowers would fall into the category of with fruits and things that are usually prohibited in international travel because they may have bugs not native to the area. I imagine whatever Royal used to sell before had to go through a series of certifications.

Remember, LESS than 1/2 of the US adult population has a passport.

Very impressive and well done!

Ours are almost to the top of the door. It is the "older" little ones that liberated the figures from the door.

You can't. The activities like trivia won't be in the app and accurate until very close to your sail date and sometimes even update on embarkation day. You can always try to switch your show reservations once onboard or just use the standby line if you don't like your original reservation day/time. Don't stress about stuff like trivia, there are different types of trivia run several times everyday from morning until early evening. You can only do your best to fit in everything you want to do and see but inevitably something may conflict. It won't ruin your cruise though, trust me.

Even with the travel router you need to launch a web page to log in.

We have been blessed with outstanding weather on this trip. I was expecting lots of cold and rain. We have had a little cold, but only a light must in Juneau. Today was 72 degrees and sunny. I am actually sitting on my balcony watching the sun set in Victoria wearing just a t shirt and shorts. It's a perfect end to a great cruise.

Agree with @wordell1’s assessment of the food. Remember, if you have the UDP, you can go to Wonderland JUST for dessert. The desserts are worth it. The rest is all fluff.

After a busy day yesterday we entered the Endicott Arms glacier area at 5am this morning. I positioned us at the bridge wings outside the Solarium. It was COLD and windy out there but worth it to get good shots. We were able to duck into the Solarium to warm up occasionally. I told my wife that next time we do this, we would do it from the Solarium hot tubs.

We had a long day with the 2 excursions. We started the day with a RC excursion. White pass railway and Skagway highlights. I actually picked this only because the normal railway excursions were sold out. This one started on a bus which brought us through town and to the cemetery with a history of the town along the way. At the cemetery was a path up to a waterfall that was worth doing, although it was a very steep walk. We got a good history of the town and of the Gold Rush. The bus then took us along the river all the way to the Canadian side of the railway. We then boarded the train to ride back to Skagway.

Late sunset tonight. View from. Our balcony. There is also a full moon. It's definitely the main point of the cruise, but we have had great views since leaving port.

The Seattle Pier 91 terminal is a hot mess of confusion. We arrived around 10:15 to see both Ovation and Celebrity Solstice in port. It looked like both had just started letting the bulk of passengers off. The drop-off area is a narrow driveway between the 2 ships. were thousands of people trying to make their way out to the taxi/ride share pickup area. Which is out of view to the right of the attached picture. Our rideshare was trying to drop us off in front of the terminal (to the left of the picture). It was very confusing as to where to drop bags, and there were so many departing passengers that it was almost impossible to find. The area is where the blue tent is at the bottom of the picture. We were able to figure it out and board and it was easy once we made it into the terminal. I heard from a crewmember that they have had some issues with getting luggage off to the staging area. we will definitely be getting off early using self carry to avoid the mess.

Vacation travel day is here! We fly out tonight from Austin to Seattle direct on Alaska Airlines. I paid a little extra for premium which is a little extra legroom, priority boarding, and free drinks. The tickets were still very reasonable (Booked 6 months ago). They have meals for purchase in advance that I also thought were reasonable. This is my first time on Alaska. I have heard good things. We arrive in Seattle at 9:15pm pacific and will taxi a taxi or Lyft to the hotel. Hopefully the flights are on time. We were able to get our packing to 2 checked bags and 1 carry-on - not too bad considering the warmer weather clothing required.

First time cruisers, will be myself, my wife and 4 year old daughter. Having a blast looking at everything to prepare and this blog has been a great resource! Looking forward to the experience!

This will also be our first cruise on a Quantum class ship. We are booked in a balcony cabin on deck 13. Does anyone else think its weird that Ovation has a deck 13 but the Oasis class ships don't? I'm not a "bad luck" person so I don't care but why leave them off one class and then have them on another? We are doing MTD on this cruise although we are going to try Wonderland because my wife wants to. I have low expectations based on what I have read but will give it a fair chance.

I spent today packing and making sure I have lots of layers and rain gear for Alaska. It looks like temps between 40 and 60 degrees and wet on the long-range forecast. We don't get a lot of those kind of days here in Texas so it will be an adjustment for us. We are trying to pack light so that we can minimize the checked bags, but we will definitely need at least one for the bulkier clothing. Unfortunately, a lot of my cruise casual clothing has a distinctly Carribean feel to them so I will need to do a little shopping before the trip.

I'm sure this was a one off, or rather 9 off, but: 1. Nacho cheese fake? Please do tell! Let me say this....I don't know what you think "nacho cheese" is, but it can be anything from just melted shredded cheese to cheese goop. Honestly, I want the cheese goop. Also, I have been to many, many cities in Mexico, many places use the cheese goop that I am referring to. 2. I'm fairly confident in saying that either you are mistaken, or the crab moratorium has reached RCCL crab cakes. I don't know what you think "real crab" is, but most non-seafood specialty restaurants use claw meat and/or knuckle meat. Those places that specialize in seafood will more often than not use lump crab. I have NEVER eaten imitation crab meat crab cakes...anywhere. If the crab moratorium is affecting the cruise industry, what makes you think that it isn't affecting other cruise lines. 3. I seriously, highly, and confidently doubt that Windjammer is serving the SAME food everyday. Even during breakfast, there are daily changes although the main staples like scrambled eggs, omelets, breakfast meats, etc will remain the same. 4. MDR food is what you make of it. AS a former chef, I honestly think that the food is decent considering the sheer number of people they have to feed daily. I know that complainers will complain and nothing that I say or write will change that. But honestly, making blanket statements or statements that are highly dubious doesn't help your cause. LOL fake nacho cheese! BAHAHAHAHA

To be fair, it can only be called Nacho cheese if it is produced in the Nacho region of France, otherwise it's pasteurized partially gelenatinated non-dairy food product.