Butch R

We are using Pegasus Transfers to get our stuff from Heathrow to North London. https://pegasusminicablondon.com/airport-chauffeur-services/

Our first cruise ever was on Adventure of The Seas, so it has sentimental value! I loved this ship and even after sailing new, bigger ships I still think the Voyager class of ships holds up really well. Big enough to have plenty to do, but small enough get around easily. No Sorrento's, but pizza is served aplenty at the Cafe Promenade. Crew was wonderful. Overall, we found it to be a wonderful ship.

Can't wait! First time on Mariner of the Seas, but not the first time on Voyager class! Love these ships.

Ok. The debarkation debacle: My wife and I have two grown sons with autism. My youngest is more affected by being surrounded closely in heavy crowds. When he was small, being in a bunched up crowd might cause a full blown melt-down. As an adult, it seriously stresses him and will affect him for the rest of the day with lots of anxiety. Carnival really touts their commitment to helping those with autism, PTSD and other sensory related issues. Good on them! I am all for that. The day before debarking, we get the memo in our room going over the instructions for the next morning. On that memo they talked about their Express Debarking Program for folks with those sorts of needs, and that we need to see a crewmember in our staging area for debarking to get the ball rolling. Since we had a 8.5 hour drive ahead of us, we decided to try for the early Express Debarking. We went to a crew member and asked to be allowed to use the Express Debarkation service. We were directed to the theater and placed with people who needed wheelchair assistance, which I found very odd. But the young man assured me, this group would go first. They did not. We were on the right side of the theater with the wheelchair and assistance needed folks. In the center of the theater were cruisers with early flights. While the left side of the theater had folks with Platinum and Diamond status and some other folks I could not tell you who they were. The Platinum members got to leave first along with all the folks on the left side. Then people with early flights, and then finally the wheelchair users. And to top it all off, before the theater was empty, an announcement was made to others on board that they could now debark. This caused a big crowd we were caught in that was exactly what we tried to avoid. I could tell, in the confusion of debarking a lot of guests, that some crew had no idea what other crew were doing. Believe me, I do understand debarking a bunch of hard-headed guests can be like herding cats. Which is why, I think more care needs to be given to folks like my sons who have sensory issues. Had we known how this debarking would have been handled, we would have gone to MDR for a nice breakfast, hung out for a bit, and then strolled off the ship after the crowds had dispersed.

Hey Karl, You know, we probably paid about $100 more for our RC cruise for the both of us. Money well spent in my opinion. I have no idea about their thinking on the buffet. I know I have heard that supply line changes have affected food quality in the whole industry, but I can't be for sure. I remember breakfast on The Breeze in the buffet line and I got what I can best describe as hockey puck biscuits and summer camp scrambled eggs (grainy, overcooked and watery). This sent me to MDR for most other breakfast outings.

We had a GTY on our April cruise and ended up in a great location.

Ok, so let me expound a bit on what I said in my last post. I have taken two cruises in my entire life. Cruise number one was on Adventure of The Seas in April, 2022. Cruise number two was with Carnival on The Breeze in September, 2022. Why Carnival? I listened to a friend. A friend in retrospect who obviously knows no better! LOL Both Adventure of The Seas and The Breeze are of a similar size and had very similar itineraries. So, I feel this is a very good apples-to-apples comparison. The Ships: Winner - Adventure of The Seas. My wife and I both found the interior of Adventure of The Seas to be far more beautiful and appealing than The Breeze. Also, we found getting around on AoTS to be easier and more intuitive. The Breeze felt blocky by comparison without any natural flow. Also, the promenade on AoTS is just much more appealing than the atrium on The Breeze. AoTS is like a nicely appointed high end hotel and The Breeze is like a Super 8 hotel. Food: I am breaking down the food in to categories: Buffet: Adventure of The Seas by a long mile. In almost every category, the Windjammer kicks tail over the Lido Marketplace buffet on The Breeze. I am not saying the food is perfect in the Windjammer, there are hits and misses for sure, but the food was just overall very bad on The Breeze buffet. Sodas: Royal for the win. Why? They have Coke products. Carnival has Pepsi. I am a Coke man. Pizza: Ok, The Breeze wins one. The Pizza Pirate on The Breeze was superior in my opinion than the pizza we ate at Cafe Promenade on AoTS. Overall Included Dining Options: The Breeze again. The included options on The Breeze include Guy’s Burger Joint, Guy’s Pig & Anchor BBQ, Pizza Pirate, and Blue Iguana Cantina. In fact, the burgers from Guys, the pizza from Pizza Pirate and the tacos from Blue Iguana were very good. MDR: Adventure of The Seas. The dining rooms in AoTS are far more elegant and beautiful and feel more open. The food was a notch above as well when compared to The Breeze. Cabins: Tie. I found both cabins on the ships to be comparable. The Breeze may have had more usable storage as well, but lacked in decor. I slept great on both beds. (I like a very firm mattress). Staff: Adventure of The Seas. And really, this was close. We got great, friendly service on both ships, but the staff on The Breeze really bungled debarking for us. And that is another long story for later. Entertainment: Adventure of The Seas. The shows, the entertainers, the options, and the venues we found to be just a bit better on our RC ship. Not to say The Breeze didn’t have good entertainment, just not as good as on AoTS.

Just returned from a cruise from Galveston on another cruise line that rhymes with "Barnival". Royal is better in every way. That is all.

A whole crew of my family and my sister's family will be making this trip! Who else is going?

Yes, we tipped our porter and room steward. (Janario! Master of the towel animals!) And our waiters as well.

Must have been recorded outside! I would hope so! I sleep with it at a low volume! LOL

Guys, I am gonna be honest and say that I slept so well on our first cruise. The sounds from our balcony cabin just put me out. Now, I am going to sleep like a baby tonight: https://slumberwell.podbean.com/e/cruise-ship-sailing-water-and-wind-from-a-balcony-cabin/