sammy79

I too agree that security should have been alerted.
Unfortunately, behavior has changed in what it acceptable. I mentioned that children do not bother me at all but the behavior of them and their parents do. So, I avoid saying anything to parents in this sense, but I have no issue with telling security. I try to avoid telling the average crew member because I don't want them to have anything taken out on them by entitled folks. 
But aside I take huge issue with people (children and adults) who insult others when they are just doing their job. I hope karma/universe gets their butt. 

It's best to either report this to security or just walk away. As much as I'd like to say something to them and/or the parents, I don't want to deal with any repercussions. Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't.

While I agree with you, I also know what a disaster confronting other people’s kids can be, especially when parents get involved.   Since I know my tolerance level and how I tend to react, I keep my thoughts and words to myself. I suspect that security onboard won’t play around, and I have no desire to end up in the brig…..not to mention I would like to keep cruising with Royal. 🙂

Yeah, but that won’t solve the problem of the parents who created the issue. They can be just as bad, if not worse. 

Hey all!
We just returned from a 7-night Eastern Caribbean + Perfect Day sailing on Wonder of the Seas.
This was Fall Break for our kiddos, and we sailed with extended family, too. For reference, we booked connecting interior staterooms to double our space.
Top 3
This ship is beautiful. Great flow. Clever pool deck with fun out-of-pocket bars. Everything just felt “right” about this ship’s design. Standing alone - this is the best Windjammer design in the fleet. We never had to wait for a table. Captain Trym & Cruise Director Ricky were both fantastic and enhanced the cruise experience. Bottom 3
We just couldn’t find the desire to book another cruise while on-board. The pricing is just in a tough spot, as Royal continues to climb out the pandemic, financially.  The Smoking area on pool deck is large and the smell travels into the Windjammer.  This is by far the worst mini-golf course of the fleet. It’s beautiful, but not functional. Some of the gimmicks were not working. Notes
Confirmed: No height requirements for Splashaway Bay. Potty trained and comfortability. First time I’ve seen the ability to view and purchase cruise photos in the app. This was the first cruise I’ve been on where the bars ran out of ingredients. We’ve always been overly encouraged to fill out the survey, but on this cruise, they started the pitch on night 2, and it only intensified with each passing day.  
Hit me with any questions!

i would imagine the pool itself is public space and… i don’t know how comfortable i’d feel with spending money for what is essentially an island that anyone could swim up to and haul aboard 😂
but that’s just me 😅
while its true you’re always on display to some extent on the pool deck, this takes it to an entirely different level 😂

I could not care less about people wearing pajamas around the ship.

That sounds like an excursion company that doesn’t want any future business with Royal Caribbean.  I’m sure the excursion desk got an earful from those the shuttle left behind.

That is insane. I've been on a lot of Royal excursions. Unfortunately, guests are always late to get back to the meeting point/bus (and it's often the same guests over and over). We often have to wait 5-10 minutes for everyone to decide to make their way back or someone will know where they are (liquor tastings!) and run to get them. An experienced guide knows these things and builds in time for it. And also - pissing people off is not good for tips!

Ha try living in Florida! The tourists never go away! I love it though because we pay no state income tax because of it. Got to take the good with the bad! 

Disembarkation
Woke up about 6:30 yesterday and saw people were already disembarking in Seattle! We finished our packing and grabbed one last breakfast in the Windjammiér (aka The Jammy). As usual, it was a madhouse with suitcases everywhere and people eating their weight in their last free eggs and bacon. Even saw a family bagging up 10+ croissants and cold cuts for their voyage which I thought was a pretty smart idea! We always bring tumblers for bringing our cocktails to port but making your own sammie is a new one (probably wouldn’t fly in the Caribbean where they have you declare your fruits/vegetables). 
We booked Seattle Express for the return trip to the airport (suggested here on the boards!) and I would definitely recommend them. Lyft/Uber was running around $60-$80 and we paid $25 each for the shuttle. Aside from price, ride-share users have to cart their luggage pretty far outside the terminal area before they can pick you up, our bus was right at the end of the baggage collection area. 
We left our cabin at 8:15 and were on the shuttle by 8:45. TSA at SeaTac is insane, make sure you show up as early as you can, the security line took us from 9:20-10:40 or so!  Probably the worst TSA I have ever encountered and SFO and HNL have done me dirty plenty of times. 


Goodbye Quantum!! Will be back with some final thoughts on this class and itinerary. 

Our excursion in Victoria didn’t get back till 9:45pm on Sunday night! We got into port around 4:30 and were bussed to AdrenaLine Zipline Adventure Tours in Sooke at 5:30. Because the tour was going to end in the dark, our helmets were outfitted with headlamps that we turned on near the end. 
It was so fun! It’s an 8-zipline canopy tour and they offered a “Big Zip” excursion through the cruise line as well. The difference being that Big Zip was just one run at 2400ft long that they got to try twice. We went to the top of the mountain and came down the 8 different lines and suspension bridge, the longest line being 1000ft. 
Pulling into Victoria, we saw at least 10 seaplanes taking off and landing! 





Views were lovely while they lasted!


Guide performs “the wet noodle"



Ended in the dark! You can see the tiny red light where this line started in the distance. 


It was a 45 minute journey outside of Victoria. Overall we really enjoyed this tour! Great guides always making the difference. 
When we got back to the ship, they had kept the WJ open late so we were able to grab something other than Sorrento’s, which was so nice. All week the WJ had been closing at 8:30! It was Mexican night and I can never resist a make your own nachos offering. 
We did some late night packing as we pulled away from Victoria and called it a night. 

We're going to need to see photos to verify that this even happened.   TIC

So no live blog from Icon 2025? 😢

Definitely get that and they do need to maximize their profits for investors, etc. ... I think the frustrating part is these increased costs don't necessarily come with an improved experience and maybe a reduced experience
 
Seeing the same thing with Walt Disney World - increase costs but then shorter park hours, reduced staffing, now charging for the skip the line tool that used to be included, etc.
 
Now here, increased costs, reduced options at main dining room, specialty restaurant costs way up, the new adults only area on PDCC is an upcharge, etc. 
 
That combination can really negatively impact guest feelings 

We used to sail Disney and moved to RCL partly due to the pricing (plus the kids are getting older) - but the 2025/26 pricing of Icon is right there with the Treasure (both very high compared to current ships/pricing) - but definitely makes one think if a key differentiator isn't there going forward like it used to be 
 
Having done both I see positive/negatives to the offerings of both when comparing them - but if better pricing is gone, makes me think a little

I know a lot of people on this board say that they would never pay Disney prices, but having looked at both the new Royal ships and the new Disney ships and prices are not far off. And Disney includes a lot more onboard than Royal does. Adult beach is included at Castaway Cay.

That's what I thought !  Didn't they say that this new beach was going to be complimentary ?  Of course, this doesn't surprise me at all, but I guess I am a bit disappointed since they originally said it would be included in your cruise fare.

Because it was originally touted as included.

I am not ok with them charging for it. I wouldn't pay it. 

Good morning from Deck 17 and Honduras!  Last night was dinner at Giovanni’s.  I think there’s a contest on board to see which specialty restaurant can take the longest to do something!  We were seated at 5:25. We departed at 7:35. I have food pictures somewhere and I’ll share. Food was good. Followed that with Headliner show MO5AIC. They were amazing as usual. As you know from my earlier post I went back for the second performance. By that time the girls were all in the room. I walked through the casino and put a few dollars in a video poker machine. Hit 4 Aces for $800, cashed out and hit the room.  

I concur with this feeling.  The 4 night SC that we did on Oasis last year was fine b/c we had been SC on Oasis already.  We knew what we wanted to see and what we could skip.  For those who are trying SC for the first time, I think these shorty cruises are going to be a whirlwind.  For SURE I would never do it on a ship that I had never sailed before.

I guess it comes down to personality and preference. I had a similar conversation over the last year with a concierge and they were somewhat envious of the high level of clearance and access that a Genie has, compared to a concierge. Another Genie I spoke with loves the job and would never want to go back to concierge. But I can also see this the other way too. Especially with social media these days, it's making a Genie's job very difficult at times.
I did a 4 day on Allure in 2021. It went by fast but I did not feel like I couldn't do everything. But I also think that is because it wasn't our first time on Allure that sailing. We booked a 4 day on Utopia in 2025. For that one, I am slightly worried about how we will fit everything in.
I also agree though that these 3/4 day sailings will keep a Genie pretty busy. On the flip side, some might prefer this as it could translate to more tips at the end of 7 days. I know from talking to some dining crew members on Wonder, they want to go to Utopia for this very reason.
Those genies on Allure have been Allure genies for quite some time. It will be interesting over the next few months to see who comes and goes.

I said I would have more on the comedy show.  The comedians were funny, which I guess is the objective. Mostly material about the Windjammer, toilets and port stops. The first guy began to do a bit about the monkeys on Roatan when a slightly inebriated gal behind us blurted out what her opinion of the monkeys was. It gave the comedian a good five minutes of spontaneous material that was hilarious!  He actually thanked her for setting him up so well!  The guys were Dan Gabriel and Rick D’Ella.  But that wasn’t the best, or maybe the worst of it.  I may or may not have heard somewhere that there is one Star couple this week who may be a little…difficult. They were seated in the front row as we came in to take our seats, also in the front row.  They watched, intently, as we walked by. I said to Mr. Happy “Good evening.”  In a message I may have sent to a Genie I said “My man.  I used to be a cop. These two on the end are criminally unhappy!  Probably haven’t smiled since the 70’s!”  After one of the Genies may have responded I replied “I said hello to the guy in the green shirt when we entered.  He just stared at me like I pissed in his shoes.”  I watched them during the show and I’m not sure they ever cracked a smile. Very sad

Disembarkation was SUCH a mess!! We went in to the Raptor Center and really enjoyed it. Getting transportation though from downtown was a real challenge however. Took 30+ mins to finally hail a cab after just missing the local bus. Evidently there is also only 1 Uber/Lyft driver and she’s a nurse and didn’t get off work til after 10:00. We caught her on our return to downtown from the Raptor Center after she dropped off another fare. REALLY enjoyed seeing the church downtown as well.