AandD

We have been on both the Symphony and the Wonder in the last year and half. I love being able to walk into the Windjammer when they open and get a beer to go with my breakfast. 

I saw some people using WOW bands on Wonder. Not sure about getting on and off the ship. 

Just got off Wonder. No problems with sea pass in lanyards.

We have only been on Royal for a number of cruises. No big issues. But one thing that really bothers us is the loud music in the main dining room. That do it one night when the waiters and everybody dances. But they seem to do it 2 or 3 other nights. Not sure if it is to clear everybody out of the dining room or what. But it works to clear us out and end any conversations. So, is the same on a Celebrity cruise? 

On 10/5/2023 at 3:24 PM, Travel Hombre said:

It was. Even though they were nosebleed seats and were expensive (about $100 USD I think), the view was great. Was a near sold out game. I don’t follow soccer much but it made for a great trip and that my birthday fell on one of the Italian stops and made pizza in Italy with my mom on an excursion. That was probably my favorite cruise to date.

We were on a cruise last year during the world cup early rounds. We didn't follow soccer much either, but Royal was showing the games all over the ship and everybody was having a good time. My plan for 2026 is to work the world cup games in Kansas City then catch a cruise to watch some more games. 

10/22 Wonder

On 9/12/2023 at 7:46 PM, DDaley said:

It turned into a partly cloudy day a little later, not too bad at all! We were able to get in some time in the Solarium this afternoon and the pool was even bearable. 

We went to the Top Tier event this morning, it was especially cool because it was in the 270 and they showed us an awesome robot tv screen demo at the end that really showcases their spinning and fluid motion.

After that we headed to our 11:30am iFly reservation. It was so much fun! It was a lot more effort than I assumed but such an exhilarating feeling! We liked our teacher Harry a lot. We ended up buying a 3 pack of images for $49.99 which we can pick up tomorrow. It took till my second try to focus and think oh so thiiis is the feeling of free fall.. there is so much going on with the instructor signaling you and also trying to remember to hold your body a certain way.

We hit up bingo this afternoon. One woman won games 1 and 3! 

We were greeted by our first towel friend after the single morning cleaning. Our attendant Sandi is so friendly and has brought us ice consistently! 

Izumi tonight and then the Sequins and Feathers production show. 

Getting cold out here! Snagged this extra blanket from a cabinet above the bed. 

Picture of clouds over Flowrider is great. 

We have also used Royals shuttle to airport. Very convenient. 

43 minutes ago, happy cruisers 2 said:

For us, some cruises are more about the ship experience than the ports.  We sometimes enjoy staying on the ship when the crowd departs for hours at a time.  We have done our share of beach days, snorkeling, small boat excursions, etc. and no longer crave that like we once did.  If a port is heavy on those sort of experiences we might just walk around the port area for a short while and then enjoy the rest of the day on board.  A good book, or quiet time on the balcony or elsewhere is nice.  Whatever you might enjoy is perfect, but as Montemy2319 says, there will be some things on board that aren't available.

Exactly what we did in our most recent cruise. First time we didnt do an excursion. It was nice and quiet on board. I think there were 6 people at trivia. 

We just returned from a cruise out of Galveston cruise port. Most organized embarkation/debarkation process we have experienced. Very organized. Transfer using Royal to Hobby was about $ 35 each. 

55 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

I tried to book through Harr travel for our last cruise but it was very, very strange. I love the videos on YouTube as well so that's pretty much why. I contacted them and then got an email from a harr travel partner several times and then I finally replied, I wanted to book through Harr travel why am I being referred to about another travel agency? I guess Harr travel doesn't want my business? Never got a response. 

I booked these last 3 through Matt Hoffman from Cruise planners and I have to say, awesome! Just awesome! This guy will respond extremely quickly or his assistant and he will jump on whatever request you have. I can't say enough about him. He and his wife also have a YouTube channel. 

I agree with you about Cruise planners. We use a different agent which we are very happy with. There are times we won't call or email, like early morning, because he will answer. 

On 7/4/2023 at 1:22 PM, AandD said:

Not until I get to use the $11.01 of the $100 dollars Royal said they would give me for buying 2 of the Premier Pass.

I finally used the $11.01 of the $100 dollars Royal said they would give me on 2 Easy Roatan Monkey, Sloth and Iguana Interactions in Roatan.  Now I will let it go.

I hand the attendant $20 the first day. Then a total of $10 or so per day for the rest of the week. Bar tender $1 a drink. 

2 minutes ago, teddy said:

We like to walk the various cabin decks looking at the art displays, and I’ll erase any vulgar graffiti I see on peoples boards. 

I never thought of that teddy. I always like looking at the doors as we come and go, but to go out of our way on other decks. Nice. I can't even draw a stick figure so whatever people do I can appreciate. 

On 7/2/2023 at 3:32 PM, Cakemeister said:

Can this thread please die?

 

Not until I get to use the $11.01 of the $100 dollars Royal said they would give me for buying 2 of the Premier Pass.

Yes, but airfare is getting obnoxious. I was happy to only pay $450 each one way from San Juan to Kansas City on a weekend next February. 

Has anyone stayed at the Hotel at the San Juan airport recently? We did pre covid.  It was nice for a late flight in and even had a decent restaurant. The current price is great compared to Old San Juan. We will be down there early next year. 

I will be on this cruise with my wife. Not celebrating anything, just getting away.

On 1/23/2023 at 4:52 AM, Jerry Altmann said:

Presently sailing on Enchantment and just happened to look at Message Board and learned Catholic Mass was to be celebrated in the conference room. About 120 passengers showed up in an unprepared overcrowded room . We had to set up the chairs and accommodated everyone. It was a beautiful service conducted by two Archdiocese of Baltimore priests who we have socialized with since. We then had a second Sunday mass in the Spotlight Lounge that was attended by about two hundred passengers. The ship would not put a posting in the Cruise Compass saying it was against company policy so the message board and word of mouth was all that was used to announce the event. Curiously, the ship did post in the cruise compass an announcement for Jewish Sabbath Observance-self guided. It also posted for LGBT get togethers daily.  We are Pinnacles and this is the first time in about 30 cruises that we have had Catholic Mass on board. Apparently, Royal Caribbean does not foster having priests on board to say Mass and we saw this first hand. What a mistake!

We have had Priest onboard that did a Mass about half of our 20 cruises. Only once was it announced in the Compass. Sometimes they had a bulletin board announcement.  Sometimes it was word of mouth. Always low key. But from 10 to 150 showed up. I don't know if "Royal Does not foster having Priests", but we made a point to thank Royal for giving us a little space for an hour or so on Sunday mornings. 

20 hours ago, CanHardlyWait said:

OK, so if you were following. The dog is home and is now eating again. This did kill St Thomas. I was taking videos of us docking when the call came about him being taken to the vet. Spent Megan's Bay day in cabin on phone. Then that night as things settled down we went to chops and were planning St Maarten for next day. Cold, chills, and fever set in. Never mind, pushing forward. Well next morning came and went. Didn't feel well enough to get up till 1pm. So while we did PDCC and loved it. Spent entire day. The other ports and beaches are on the list for Icon next May. (Again, still have to pay it off!)

So I won't do a day by day. But hit some points.

Windjammer:

Based on all reviews I was expecting the worst here. This was not the case at all. In my official review with Royal Caribbean almost everything received a 5 out of 10. From me that's high praise. Windjammer got a 7 or 8. I really thought it was very good. A few exceptions. Raw chicken once. Zero excuse for food poisoning. Meatballs that you could chip a tooth on. Really don't know how you can turn ground beef into a weapon, but they did. And a carving station that 2 out of 7 days had nothing to carve. Potatoes, veg, brown gravy, and no meat. I asked, they weren't waiting for more to be brought out. They just had none those days. Looked ridiculous. But gravey on burger with potatoes and veg is OK with me. 

MDR:

The food on the plates is so small it's crazy. 2 bites and your done. Nobody asked if we wanted more and we weren't going to ask. It was good, it was warm, it just was barely there. It was doll house food. My only ongoing complaint was fatty beef. The head waiter spent so much time with his "head up there", it was all I could do to keep from asking him to check for cancer while he was there. I'm not big on that sort of thing. Say hello and walk away. If you ask me how it's going 6 times in one hour, you have asked too much. By weeks end he got the message. His invite to galley tour for free was a nice touch. Again, fighting "colds" was problem. I was half dressed and told to give up. Coughing etc. Not sure if they would have let me in. Not sure it would have been right thing to do with germs anyway. I grew up in a restaurant kitchen and went to culinary school at 20 so nothing would have been new to me. But it was a freebie and I think the head waiter and I finally got each other so was sad I wasn't up for it.

Shows:

Despite starting to get sick mid week. We went to every show. Multiple per night. Also swam in solarium everyday and got sun. Just was hard to get day started. The shows were really very good. Voices is the only show we missed. I was actually surprised how much I like the tap show. It was funny. DH is obsessed with The Effectors. He has watched on YouTube twice since we got home. I could watch the gymnast in the tap show all day. LOL. But shows were fantastic. Water show was the best hands down. I'm never getting the black soot out of my clothes, but was a fantastic show.  Anyone else notice how multiple shows use the music of Edith Piaf??? Non je ne regrette rien was used in multiple shows.

Solarium:

Solarium was nice. A little to hot. The pool is ridiculously small. And don't anyone bring up the Chinese. They don't swim? Everyone thought it was a hot tub and asked before getting in. Never found it impossible to get a chair. They will remove stuff laid out early in the morning, so don't even try it. Also, it's just not necessary.

Speciality Restaurants:

This was my biggest surprise and disappointment. Yes, the beef in chops was good. Other then that, nothing special about specialty. Mason Jar was OK. The brisket was nothing but fat. 3 bites and all I could find was fat. Nothing special. And Giovannis Italian was the worst. We both had high hopes and we shocked. The apps were OK and that's being kind. The pasta was, had to have been,tasted like, it was from a can. It was that bad. I'm 100% convinced it was can spaghetti. I don't think you can fake that. Pasta in Windjammer was 100x better. This was big surprise and major disappointment. The Windjammer beat out speciality dining hands down. The beef in chops being the exception. But I would not eat at Giovannis again for free. I joked after each course about what crime against humanity was coming out next. LOL. Now I spent the first 40 yrs of my life in NYC, Brooklyn, Hoboken, Jersey City, etc. So my Italian food expectations are high. But even still crap is crap. LOL.

Despite getting sick half way (still am) we had a really good time. Shows were great. Ship was good. Could have been cleaner. Public restrooms went hours without being touched. MDR food was crazy small but OK. Windjammer was huge surprise. Speciality dining a massive letdown and something I wouldn't do again. Maybe chops just for the beef. El Loco fresh OK. Pizza kinda bad. But enough food that specialty dining is so unnecessary. Do it for the experience, not the food. Nothing "special" about it. Did the zip line before I started getting sick. It was a blast. Wanted to do the slide, but never had the chance. Avoided the boardwalk area after 2 sets of clothes had black spots all over them. Have to pack some $5 t-shirts to go back there. Have about $100 worth of clothes that may be garbage now. Gonna Oxi and pray.

But a good time was had. Lessons learned for next year. Internet for wifi calling a must. Speciality dining, I'll save my money. Cheap crap t-shirts buy many. Crew is VERY happy with cash tips. Had all kinds $1,$5,$10,$20. Yet kept giving out $20. LOL. They seemed most pleased. Gave cabin attendant $20 per day. We said morning service but he worked around whenever we left room. 

I'm sure there's more, but that's what I got so far. It was a good time despite dog being sick, then us getting sick. Shows we're great, food is livable. But a good enough time to keep paying off Icon for next May. 

 "Crew is VERY happy with cash tips. Had all kinds $1,$5,$10,$20."  I started carrying a bunch of $1, $5 and $10 for tips. Works great starting at embarkation all the way thru the cruise.  We dont tip quite as much to our attendant, but I give him or her a tip the first day, halfway through and at the end. We are not high maintenance, but I think we get a little better service tipping the attendant before the end of the cruise.

We flew into Houston Hobby. Took an Uber to a hotel in Galveston. Booked a shuttle bus thru Royal to Hobby on the way back. No problems.

We just walked right on to the Northstar for a complementary session just after boarding in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago.

10 hours ago, ScooterScott22 said:

Wondering if it is really not available, or just some sort of IT or timing issue.  There are a couple of thoughts about why they simply might not offer it but, that would be a little surprising.  Maybe they would have to make deep discounts for that since the variety is less on Quantum and it is a longer sailing.  Maybe some of the changes they have planned as the ship moves to the 2024 layout for the Asia sailings has something to do with it.  Could be supply chain issues for that itinerary has an impact on numbers they think they can accommodate and they are controlling bookings.   

We are doing the Honolulu to Vancouver in a few weeks and even though they are different itineraries the UDP was available.  We are doing the 10 days and really couldn't bring ourselves to do the UDP.  The variety and the value for the cost doesn't seem to make sense.  The pay/specialty don't really see be the strongest lineup for the Quantum class for a longer cruise.  

We love the specialty dining and having the UDP, but it doesn't seem to make sense for our sailing.  We did Star class on Ovation for 12 nights a few years ago and things started to get a little repetitive even with doing a few dinners in CK.   

We will be on that Honolulu to Vancouver cruise. Decided to do the UDP .  But we go it cheap last year. So if we get burnt out or feel like its repetitive, I wont feel like I am not getting my moneys worth if we dont do the UDP for very possible meal.  

On 3/26/2023 at 8:29 PM, TjBryant said:

Husband &I first time to Hawaii and only our 2nd cruise.  So many questions!  Will we sit with others for my time dining?  When can we book show times? 
hope to meet new folks!  #Indiana

Did you get all your questions answered?

3 hours ago, Va4fam said:

I understand @Starrynight0154......we have a sailing this weekend but no more Royal trips planned after that.    Seeing my Royal login show 0 cruises planned would be depressing.   Hope to visit NextCruise and find something for 2024 like the Vision 12 nighter from Baltimore or trying Wonder for the first time. 

Anyone have a great itinerary that we should consider?

Jewel of the Seas out of San Juan February of 2024. The cruise is going down to Trinidad and Tobago. Also some other nice stops on the way.  I think we will be in Trinidad for Carnival.  We love staying in San Juan and cruising from Puerta Rico