bretts173

There will be shows but there is no need to book ahead, and will only advertised in the app closer to sail date.

For you Princess sounds fine and I'm sure in time for me I will get there at some stage. I like somewhat modern music(not DJ style) but bands that will play something other than the Beatles and that era. None of that on Princess. To me it's just the general vibe but again it needs to be at the right time of year on the right ship. The smaller ships head more to a princess feel while the bigger shops in peak times may gona bit too far the other way and often ends in a clash of personalities between the older cruisers and the party crowd. I like NZ out of school holidays on the big ships.

What do you look for in a cruise? I have done one Princess because it was in our off season. (Australia) and said I may try another in 20 years. The atmosphere is different. Not in a good way.

No win situation, they hold out and the situation doesn't get better then people will be complaining why did they take so long. Also a pretty tough sell at the moment.

The general population of Royal Caribbean Blog is more mature experienced cruisers. The general population of a Royal Caribbean cruise is not. What we want on here and what they want is different. It is adding nothing of value to me but it's not hurting me having it there either. The positive for me is that some of the other areas become a little quieter.

Exactly, while I don't think the time was right (just put the cost of the cruise up a few dollars) it's the financial situation the world is in at the moment. It costs me that extra couple of bucks to drive to the store to pay an extra $50 for my groceries. While ever tips are expected as a % it only makes sense flat rates rise.

There is a difference between operating profit and debt.

Yeah like you would work 63 hours a week minimum

Already in my calendar. The idea that people will be charged for sitting in a deck chair in the solarium or on pool deck other than a reserved private areas is preposterous.

To be fair cost of living has risen dramatically everywhere in the world over the past 12 months. The workers need to live too.

Easy throw away line, I'll stump up 1K to say your wrong

Haven't seen it on 4 trips since 2018. Admittedly have only done the Mediterranean. Actually it was on the transatlantic but that started from the states so expected.

How is paying going to help. Still going to stop people who want to and should be able to use them doing so. Let's go on a cruise dear but we can't sit on a chair because they are only for the elite

I don't get it, the menus are not that different to what there were previously. And the number of complaints about the size of the meal astounds me. Get another one or try something else. And there is never a lobster night when cruising in Europe. Night one symphony cruise 2020. Not much difference to current menus.

Opinions are that and the problem with the very first sentence in this thread was that the poster made a big booming statement saying all the food on his last cruise was horrible. Obviously this isn't or can't be true. And when people who are satisfied when they read this and have never thought do a review or comment because that's what the silent majority normally do they then dispute the claim. As you say a voice against the majority, the majority obviously are positive people.

This exactly.

Maybe some people look for the positives in things first rather than just trying to find a negative on every issue.

I know probably said before but thanks for the single greatest thread on these boards. I look forward to every update. No moaning about first world problems like on many other threads. The only problem is my home bar is running out of room, but my friends are loving spending time in the man cave on the weekends.

So my wife works in analytics for a car rental company, mainly dealing with customer reviews and the like and has always said that if there are 100 reviews 80% as a minimum will be negative. Because it only takes 1 small thing to set certain people off and they will complain while the majority who are satisfied don't feel the need to complain and don't do a review. I decided to do a test on a current cruise group I'm in (ovation Transpacific - was going to be aboard but work got in the way so have decided to go the other way in April - still have 2 others to look forward to in the meantime - Ovation to NZ and Brilliance to South Pacific) I just put a simple question saying not on this cruise but was curious on the food situation on board as have heard mixed reviews Replies so far. Extremely Positive - 19 Positive - 34 Satisfied - 27 Slightly negative - 2 (1 was small portions, 1 was too much seafood in wonderland) Negative - 0 Havent looked at it in more detail with regards to age, nationality or cruise experience which I believe will all play a part.

They do not allow pre booking of deluxe package on 2-3 day cruises out of Australia. However can be purchased on board.

Yep, grandstanding of the highest order, look at me I am better than the food they serve here.

Yep I like my meat thick and slightly cooked, my wife thin and cooked into oblivion. I don't get it but ain't going to ruin my life.

This is an entertaining conversation but going nowhere. Not liking something is fine but bluntly ignoring the facts presented to you because you don't like them is another thing. If a ship is legally allowed (for safety reasons) to have 5000 pax and they sold them all a cruise for $1000 then the revenue is 5mil. Now if there were 200 babies that they decided to give free cruise to revenue falls by $200k plus all the ancillary purchases full size people make. Now what do you think would happen, yes they would raise the cost to those without babies to maintain their revenue. So now is that fair on those without the kids having to pay extra. So while the end result is a business decision it is a result of the safety rules.

This same phenomenon has been happening for 100 years, as you get older and have had things multiple times it doesn't taste as good as it used to. So many times I've tried something for the first time and thought wow gotta come back to this place and always end up slightly disappointed. The brain is a massive receptor for taste. My parents would always say food doesn't taste as good as it used to when i thought it was fine.

Absolutely, departure point does make a big difference especially in meat quality, mainland Europe the worst. However seafood usually good. The beef dishes when cruising out of Australia are always better. In saying that if you are thinking negatively about something before you eat you will pick holes in anything, the food I have had on all cruises before and after the pause has been pretty much the same. It only takes a couple of people on forums or social media to post about their negative experiences to make it viral. Even those that haven't cruised in the last year or two are talking about how the food is worse.