Starrynight0154

24 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Interesting to hear that the 10 drink package was available onboard.  It has been rare, lately.  You do realize that it is not always available ?  In fact, it's fairly rare.  

I hope it’s available more often. If not, I’ll buy drinks a la carte. 

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

Good answer! 27 days and counting for me...

Without totally hijacking this thread, anything else stand out in the WJ for lunch or dinner (doesn't have to be dessert)? I was on Wonder last June but didn't get to check the WJ nearly as often as I normally do. TIA.

Honestly I feel like the meat dishes are average, you can get them anywhere on land. WJ has vegetable tempura which is veggies fried and battered, it’s really good with the Indian sauces nearby. Fried plantains, and polenta. Stuffed peppers. Personally I like trying things I don’t do at home. Instead of putting ketchup on my fries I’ll put malt vinegar on them. Indian food is good so I eat that because I rarely have it on land. 

Adult only heated pool is the main advantage @Hideaway. It’s large, and in February it felt good to be in warm water. The area around the DJ is loud, the decibel level quickly drops further you move away, in fact it’s quiet at the other end of Hideaway Beach. Food was disappointing considering this is an up charge experience. Not bad food, but just average. It was Sorrento’s style pizza, mozzarella sticks, salad, fruit, sandwiches, mini empanadas. Overall I enjoyed time here, mainly for the heated pool. 

Friendly crew onboard, best stateroom attendant we’ve had. Not sure how they tolerate the behavior of some passengers. Witnessed an interaction at guest services where a woman was leaning over the counter, screaming loudly for a manager “right now”. Everyone on the promenade stopped and turned around to see what was happening. Security came and surrounded her. 

Got our first onboard massage, it was a couples hot stone massage, and it was the best massage ever! I was prepared for the sales pitch at the end, and simply said no thank you. 

Food was good overall, Indian food was amazing as usual. Baked Alaska was the best desert. Italian night was my favorite. Solarium Bistro had fantastic Mediterranean food at dinner. I tried some vegetarian food during the cruise and didn’t understand why tofu onboard is served raw and uncooked. A few of the dishes have different names but are almost the same, a variation of eggplant and couscous. I assume they do this to cut costs. 

Best new drink is the peanut butter tropic at the schooner bar. The 10 drink deal was offered, and my wife and I decided we’ll do that from now on, instead of the drink package. Drink package isn’t worth it anymore at $1,388. 

1st time using the chat feature in the app. It worked 95% of the time. We got all notifications when chat was working. Had a lot of fun and laughs on Wonder. Enjoyed 80’s party on the promenade, the crowd appeared more into it too than 70’s disco inferno. The positives definitely outweighed the minor negative aspects of the cruise. 

7 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

What ship and when were they from? They look good and don't think I've seen them before.

Wonder, just got off the ship yesterday. 

Baked Alaska and chocolate cherry tart in the MDR. Pistachio eclairs in the WJ. 

I’m on Wonder tomorrow, it’s been a few months since my last cruise. Check in is complete. I don’t see the safety videos on the app like last time when I did it the night before embarking. Do they appear on day 1 now, or when you’re onboard?

Glad to see there’s timeframes where it’s uncrowded. All the YouTube videos I’ve seen Voyager is packed. I like going against the flow of what most people are doing. Late dinners, staying on the ship occasionally in port, etc. are some of the most enjoyable experiences.

10 hours ago, DonR said:

Just a note about the recent storm flooding. There are reports from Starboard balconies on decks 7 and 8 of musty smells. In my deck 8 interior I have had no problems. The crew has been responding to any complaints as best they can which seems to be pretty good.

Have you heard if they’re installing new carpet in the flooded rooms? I imagine that’s where the musty smell is coming from. 

Your pictures of the solarium and promenade look uncrowded. Blueberry nojito looks great, I like mojitos so I think I’ll try the mocktail version. How is the windjammer and pizza so far? 

I’ll be on Voyager for my first time next year. Loving the pictures!

1 hour ago, Va4fam said:

$19.99 seems like a great price.  Besides the cool party vibe, what else do you get when you book Hideaway?

Heated pool, and it’s adult only. 

A few minutes into the video they go to Hideaway Beach. I’ll be there in two weeks, one main reason I booked it is for the heated pool. 

Curious what the plan is for the flooded areas. Assuming they will install new carpet at least. I’m on Voyager next year. 

If we got an upgraded experience overall with food and service I’d consider booking at higher prices. I’m not willing to pay significantly more for less product. Royal employees are being asked to do more with less, customers are being asked to pay more. Jason Liberty is the classic greedy out of touch CEO that reaps all the benefits and isn’t held accountable. 

RC beat 2023 q4 analysts earnings expectations. What made this quarter different was lower operating costs(food, fuel, etc). Before they beat estimates primarily because of revenue. CEO Jason Liberty is predicting another stellar year for 2024 and company profits. They could lower prices due to lower operating costs, but doesn’t sound like they will obviously with record high demand. 

Curious how many people are booking Enchantment for $4,050(if you include gratuities). Insane price for an older ship. There’s a lot of other vacation options at that price, cruises and land based. I like Royal but if another cruise line is $1,500 less for a similar experience I don’t understand how Royal can remain competitive, especially when the economy declines eventually. They’re going to lose customers at some point with these higher prices.

I’m sailing a Voyager class ship because Port Canaveral is more convenient and we love Coco Cay.

Freedom class is an upgrade with Sorrento’s and better hot tubs, personally I’m not traveling further for that. 

Canceled the aqua show. It’s all sold out, we might do standby or not see any shows. Saw the shows last time we were on Wonder, I’m thinking it might be a better idea to not have too many plans. Honestly I’d rather use my drink package and listen to live music than see a repeat show again. 

I forgot the Super Bowl will be playing when I booked the aqua show on Wonder, 8:30pm. From my understanding they typically use the aqua theater to display the game on Oasis ships. Do you think Royal made a mistake with the timing of this, or will they have the aqua show during the game? 

Imagine a first time cruiser log into their cruise planner and see this “up charge”

Deleted my TikTok and don’t regret it. Too many attention seekers. The influencer probably had his world cruise fully paid for by a sponsor. If I lived expense free for a few months I wouldn’t be complaining about minor issues. 

They wanted the ocean visible from the promenade. The pearl is a support structure, because the large window doesn't bear weight as well compared to the usual metal exterior.

You pick it up at any bar, whatever time you want to. From my personal experience the bars near pools, or in the solarium always have a large selection. 

2 hours ago, newcruiser215 said:

 

Here's some footage of Hideaway. There's a lot happening. LOL. 

Looks like a staff event before the official opening