ChrisK2793

9 hours ago, jeffmw said:

Icon is a theme park on the ocean. If having a quiet, serene area for just adults is a major factor in selecting your cruise, you're best off going on a different boat. 

It's the old Ricky Gervais joke of going into a coffee shop and spotting a flyer for guitar lessons and getting pissed off and screaming "I don't want guitar lessons!!" Icon simply isn't for you. If you're on that ship and you're upset about kids making noise, that's not Royals fault. They've been telling you over and over that's what Icon is. Icon isn't for people who want a relaxing, adult vacation. There are entire cruise lines for that. 

Did you not read all of my posts?  I said it’s dumb to have the little kids area so far away from everything else ………. I said they if they were going to have a pool,area 6 floors away from everything else, it should have been the adult area …….. it’s dumb to make families of mixed age kids have to split up because of how the pools and water slides are up top and the little kids area is 6 floors away. I didn’t say adults needed a quiet area …… somebody else said that and I said 6 floors away for adults would be quieter than being next to the water slides where it is now.  I could care a less if the adults area is quiet or not …….. but it would have made more sense for the little kids area to be next to the water slides and the adults area to be the one that’s so far away instead of making families of kids with varied ages have to split up.

3 hours ago, jeffmw said:

That's a fair point. Obviously there's less regular need to move between the adults-only area and the waterpark than the waterpark and the splash park. 

But it seems to be a lot more complicated than that. For example, what then do you do with all the Boardwalk balcony rooms? That's a couple hundred rooms that would look out over the adults area. I don't think the adults looking to get away from children would enjoy having dozens of kids in rooms above them staring down and making noise, and you definitely can't make all those rooms adults only. So, my guess is putting the adults area there was an impossibility that would've demanded a redesign of the whole ship. 

They spend years designing these things, so there's rhyme and reason to everything and logistical things we don't know about. 

‘some kids on balconies (which I’ve rarely seen or heard when in that area on ships) would be better than the constant noise of kids screaming on the waterslides right next to the current adult area in the hideaway

6 minutes ago, jeffmw said:

I did think about this when I first saw the design. The objective was to split up the usual high-traffic areas to prevent anywhere from being too crowded -- which it does a great job of -- but for anyone with kids of split age groups, this does present an issue. 

But... these ships are increasingly built to be like theme parks with distinctly different areas. And if you've ever been to Disney or any other type of theme park or water park with kids of different ages (where one wants to ride coasters while the other wants to meet Cinderella, or one wants to be in the kiddie pool while the other wants to go on slides), you know you either need to split up or compromise. 

To me, it's not that different from any other Royal boat where there are things to do all over the ship. I often find myself going with one kid to karaoke while my wife takes the other to play sports. Then there are times when we say to one of them, "too bad, we're going to stay together and spend time as a family now." It's just a reality of being on a massive ship with a million things to do. 

I've gone on cruises with just my family of 4, to groups as big as 5 families, all with kids of various ages. It's hard and perhaps even unrealistic to keep everyone together on a cruise when there's so much to do. 

 

‘Six floors down would have been a great spot to have the Adults Only Area and had the little kids area right behind the waterslides where the Hideaway adults area is now. That would have made much more sense.

57 minutes ago, Generalchadwick said:

Let me preface this by saying I have not been on Icon this is just observations. I'll be on Star September 2025.

First off generally the class looks family friendly what Im talking about is the independence side of it. What I mean by not independent family friendly is for example on sea days on let's say Oasis Class ship, DW and I can post up in chairs at the beach pool and we feel confident to let our DDs (6 and 11) go play in the kids pool area right next door and do the slides while we can relax. Where as the splash area for my 6 yo is all the way down in the boardwalk isolated from other water stuff my 11 yo would want to do and doesn't have the same relaxing atmosphere as the beach pool does.

 

This isn't at all a deal breaker for me just an observation.  And I get that there are people that want those items separated to this degree.

 

I will try to remember to come back and comment on this after we sail.

We were a group of 15 on Icon in February…….. 8 adults and 7 kids. All the kids except 1 were 11 to 14. The other 1 was 4, it was a HUGE INCONVENIENCE that for the 4 year old to use the kid’s pool area, 1 or both of her parents had to be 6 floors below the rest of the group and their older kid.

I totally agree …….. putting the little kids pool area down there was the most stupid idea ever.

On 1/28/2024 at 10:42 AM, MattG said:

Going to re-up this a few months after it's original posting with some numbers (This is for 21 September 2024, 2 adults & 2 kids):

Category	Name	Price	Avail %	Size (incl balcony)
Suite - Sea	Junior Suite	$11,370.16	12%	402sqft
Suite - Sky	Surfside Family Suite	$12,000.16	45%	322sqft
Balcony	Family Infinte Balcony	$14,801.16	44%	335sqft

There are still lots of Family Infinite Balconies available (44% unsold), and the price is higher than Sky-class Surfside Family Suites (roughly same availability) AND Sea-class Junior Suites (12% availability). It's also hard to argue "The Family Infinite Balcony room has more space!" because it's roughly the same size as the Surfside Family Suite. 

So I'm paying $2800 more for bunks and no suite amenities (and the ability to hold up to six people), when the Surfside Family Suite has the same availability? 

Full Disclosure: I'm biased because I have a Family Infinite Balcony booked on Icon for the fall. We actually have 5 in our party (2 adults and 3 kids) so neither the Junior Suite (max 4) or Surfside Family Balcony (max 4) are options for us. If I could get a rollaway bed, I'd switch in a heartbeat.

I know you can’t fit in it with 5 people, but the Surfside Family Suite is HORRIBLE, even for 4 people..  Our friends had that room on our cruise in February.  They booked it long ago and only paid $7k for 4 people and they HATED that room and said they’d never do it again.  It was small for two adults and two 12 year old boys, they felt like a regular balcony room would have been better.  The bed the boys had to sleep on was so short that both of their feet hung off the end about 6 inches when laying flat and they are only 5’ 4”.  The overall area of the room seemed smaller than most balcony rooms.  It only had 1 small closet and the closet wasn’t even deep enough for the supplied hangers to fit properly.  The hangers had to turn sideways to fit in the depth of the closet which made the space available to hang clothes even less.

11 hours ago, Jacqueline Facey said:

 

Unpopular Opinion (but the truth):

The new MDR menus lines up with the Windjammer menu and tastes exactly the same as in the Windjammer ………. Whatever the Windjammer is serving that night, the MDR is serving the exact same thing ……….. the only difference between the 2 is that the Windjammer has a bigger selection of food choices than the MDR menu and gets your out faster LOL

The only decent dinner food anymore is at Specialty Dining or in the Coastal Kitchen (if you’re in a suite)

On 2/24/2024 at 3:37 AM, andrewwilliamnewman said:

Hello all.

This is my first post, long time reader, never posted before but appreciate the information you all provide.

I was hopeful anyone could help with a way to resolve my issue, as RC agents are telling me that they can't do anything...

Family of 3, 2 connecting rooms, booked as 1 adult, 1 child in room 1, then 1 adult in room 2.

I got 7 points, my wife got 7 points, my 2 year old son got the double points, 14, for single occupancy.

I keep telling them you cant book a child in a room alone, the system wont allow this, and he was not staying in the room himself, however the phone agents and email agents say that he was booked in the room alone, and as such he, and only he gets the double points.

Agents email response: "For Anthem of the Seas 27Mar2022 you did not sail as a single passenger as you sailed with your wife in the same room, 9227. Please find the cruise documents attached for your reference. Therefore, the points allocated for this cruise are correct."

I wouldn't care too much if i was Diamond already for example, however i'm currently Gold, sitting on 28, and should have 35 to be Platinum (and get discounts on balcony/suites for new bookings) but cannot get this because my son has been given MY double points.

Any suggestions what to do? and how to fight this?

Thanks in advance.

Are you, your wife, and child not connected as a family?  If you are, all 3 of you should have received the number of points received for the cruise that the one in the single room received ……. 14 ………. When you’re connected as a family you’d also all have the total nymber of points as the person in your family with the most points.

For instance, 2 years ago my spouse and son were in a balcony room, I was alone in the room next door.  Because we’re all connected as a family, we ALL went up 14 points after the cruise. Also, I’ve been on 5 cruises that my family hasn’t been on, but we all currently have 233 points.

On 2/17/2024 at 2:36 PM, Neesa said:

Lots of dining open for our Utopia sailing but I can't find a tentative menu or a way to book this immersive experience. Any idea? Cost? 

Royal Railway is not on my cruise planner, does anyone have it yet? 

@Matt

@Sharla @AshleyDillo 

 

We have both Labor Day weekend and Columbus Day weekend booked and both of those only show the same picture you posted.

3 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Join the club! I have very little interest in Icon class myself and I love Wonder (though I'd happily sail any Oasis class ship).

Hope you still had a good time on Icon even if you don't plan to sail it again.

We had a great time, it’s a beautiful ship ….. but there are just so many things about the Icon class that are a downgrade in your experience as compared to Oasis Class. We didn’t even mention to the kids that we didn’t care for the ship, and they all said totally on their own that they’d rather stick with oasis class from now on.

6 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

I guess you won't consider it officially "confirmed" until it is released but it has been expected to do short sailings for many months now. It should still be doing 7N's from May-August 2025 before Star launches if that helps any.

I wish they weren’t replacing Wonder in PCN with Star for the 7 night trips.  We were on the 2/10-17 sailing of Icon and much prefer Oasis class ships.  Our group of 15 (8 adults and 7 kids from 12 to 17) were unanimous in that we would rather not sail on an Icon class ship again.

On 2/14/2024 at 2:13 PM, DDaley said:

Has anyone had any success ordering lunch items at dinner from any of the specialty restaurants? 

Specifically, getting a burger at Chops or the chicken sandwich from Jamie’s for dinner? I am a cheap date and love my sandwiches! 

Why would you want to pay dinner prices for food off the lunch menu?  if they do make it for you, you’ll still have to pay the dinner flat fee pricing.  Just go there for lunch lol 

WONDER ……… both the child pool and the waters slides are now in the same area and that makes it much easier if you have kids of different ages

2 hours ago, Hoppy2BHere said:

Received ours yesterday evening. (Monday)

We just now received our email this morning  …….. actually it did come last night …… I just didn’t notice it until now lol 

Anyone who’s been on the first 2 Icon sailings …….. When did the suite concierge reach out to you?  We’re now only 5 days away from our sailing on 2/10 and still nothing.

TIA

23 hours ago, RCIfan1912 said:

A junior suite wouldn't be bad either for us. I mean the extra points and extra room is nice. I know that is not a suite in any other way. Kinda treated as 2nd class "suite guests". Now how are the junior suites on Odyssey? Worth it? I'm guessing not so much on Liberty or Adventure? 

Just an FYI ….. You do NOT get double points when you win a bid to upgrade from a regular cabin to a suite.

18 hours ago, KevinJ said:

Everyone has their own tastes, I’m also on Allure now’s. The MDR has been fine, tonight my Sole was so hot I had to wait for it to cool. We had a terrific lunch in Giovanni’s yesterday. Then, at the same meal tonight my wife didn’t care for her chicken parmigiana, but my son loved his. So everyone will experience different things, I just hope you’re able to enjoy your cruise. BTW the wheather in Nassau today s…coed

The cruise itself is GREAT ……. it’s just the food that’s been very subpar.  You got lucky with hot fish LOL ……. We haven’t gotten any entrees after a long wait with a temp above lukewarm

On 10/25/2023 at 11:10 PM, Robandmar said:

I’ve read all the nasty sniping since I posted our dining experiences. Let me put a bit to rest. 
1. We are normal people that have enjoyed cruising since around 2005. 
2. We are not food snobs 

3. We consumed what we were served without complaint. Unlike several tables around us that were loudly complaining/unloading on the poor server. 2 even had the head waiter come to their table to air their complaints. 
4. Our windjammer experience was similar to numerous folks around us. 

We took this experience as an exception rather than the rule. We are already booked on our next cruise in March. We are NOT one and done and all this sniping is a waste of brain power

‘Being new here, you’ll quickly learn that there’s a group of people who will viscously attack you if you say anything other than everything on Royal is God’s literal gift to the universe ………. I’ve been on many Royal cruises and I agree ……the food quality has steadily declined since Covid ………. The higher the cruise prices go, the worse the food gets.  I’m on Allure right now and the food in the MDR has been no better than the food in Windjammer, and that’s not saying much. 

in fact, with the new menus, the “free” food on the menu in the MDR each night, is the exact same food you’ll find in the Windjammer that night.  We usually do unlimited specialty dining (which has also gone down  a lot in quality since Covid) ….. but we booked this cruise last minute and figured we’d try the MDR this time since it’s only 4 nights …… big mistake …….. yes, the specialty dining food quality has gone down since Covid, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the “free” food in the MDR.

AND GO …….. Let the attacks on me for saying all that begin in …….3…….2……..1      LOL

Yes

Crown loft ……. It’s bigger and only 1 floor directly above the grand suites, coastal kitchen, and suite sun deck.  The crown loft floor is also more private than the grand suite floor.

1 hour ago, RCIfan1912 said:

Ok, let's all go on these cruises and decide to remove the gratuities and see how long the industry would survive? How long will these people choose to do this job and wait on us while we take a freaking vacation. 

Then the cruise lines can pay them more, and just charge a little more for the cruise.  On my own, I individually tip a lot more than the pittance they supposedly get from the auto-gratuities. Assuming, RCL even gives 100% of the auto-gratuities to the crew and doesn’t keep a chunk for themselves.

The only thing booking onboard does for you is it gets you a cheaper deposit.  Waiting until April to book though, will probably make your overall cruise cost much more expensive ……… you are correct, all the “sales” and “discounts” are illusions ……. The best way to save money on cruises is to book them as early as possible.

12 minutes ago, WackyCactus said:

This has probably been asked several times.

If you upgrade to a suite using Royal Up.  Do you get the extra crown and anchor points for booking a suite?

I'm a solo traveler and already will get double the points, so would I get triple points?

Thanks for your help!

NO …… You only get the points for the ORIGINAL room you were booked in when you do a Royal Up 

I can’t believe the people complaining ……. What did you expect it to be??????  A large ship with nothing to do on it??????  Maybe a huge “Empress of the Seas” clone???

On 9/27/2022 at 10:46 PM, Lois Sohn said:

We are Diamond plus with Royal. With 241 points.  It came to our attention this evening, anyone with 140 points is entitled to a Crystal Block of a cruise ship. And for every 70 additional points another Crystal Block. 
We have never been advised of this. 
How can we contact The Loyalty Ambassador??  Regarding this issue. 

‘Good luck getting them ……. We earned our 140 on Mariner last year, they said they had to mail it to us because they were “out of stock” …… it’s 10 months later and C&A still claims they don’t have any  …… we’re 2 points away from earning our next one on Wonder in February and I’m willing to bet $10k that we will never see that one either!!