ATXCruiser

There's really no difference with Royal in this regard. Also, consider checking out the kids menu as you might find something of interest there. There's an always available section, too, much like Carnival. Unfortunately, Royal does not have the chocolate melting cake.

 

So you're familiar with the melting cake? It is sooo yummy! Everyone loves it, but my favorite melting (or molten?) cake is the one at Chilli's (although that one can be shared by 4 people).

Hi everyone,

 

I have a question about the dining in general. I have not cruised Royal before (only Carnival). When dining in the dining room on Carnival, you are allowed to order as much as you want. For example, if you want two entrees or desserts you can have it. Is it the same way with Royal? It's kind of nice to sample multiple desserts and the portions are small... not that I'm a piglet or anything.

I too have found that their website is not very user-friendly. To me it just doesn't "flow" easily if that makes sense.

Don't over pack and make sure you bring some elastic shorts!

I enjoy dressing up for dinner, seeing the shows, and exploring places I've never been. I love the beach too. I don't care about spa activities though. I know that's unusual for a woman to say, but I feel like that would be boring. <Gasp!>

From what I have read when we were reserving our parking back in may for next month you want seem to go wrong with any of the lots. Some like lighthouse have raised lots (if you're worried about a major storm flooding the island while you're gone). Others like I believe park n cruise and one other have some 'indoor' parking. The main point that ive read is to reserve early if you have a specific private lot you really take a shining to as the smaller ones tend to fill up fast. I can see this likely getting worse with Carnival putting another ship yearound starting this year I believe and the larger capacity Liberty of the Seas coming to Galveston next year.

We are getting Carnival Freedom and Royal Liberty of the Seas - both nice, big ships. I'm not sure if the Magic is going away, but we've been wanting to try Royal anyway and that's why I'm here.

I know this thread is old and you've already taken your cruise. I just wanted to comment that I'm surprised so many travel so far to cruise (NY to Galveston, wow! ) I wish I could help with the question. We are in Austin so we are only about 4 hours from Galveston which makes cruising pretty convenient! We use Lighthouse Parking if that helps. Also, there's a website that might be helpful: www.galvestoncruises.com.  I know there are several hotels that will let you park while you cruise, but I can't offer an opinion since I haven't used them. I've only cruised with Carnival so far and I'd guess 95% of the people are Texans, so that's why I'm so surprised to see some of you coming from so far away.

Essentially it's an adult scavenger hunt. Search youtube if you want to really know what goes o

 

Uh, I might be too shy for that game!  :rolleyes:

What is Quest?

Thanks!

I was reading the thread about the casino and learned that you can use cash in the casino. Where else on Royal ships can you use cash? I've only cruised with Carnival so far and they are totally cashless, including their gift shops. With them you get a "sign and sail" card that is linked to a credit card and you buy everything with that.

On Navigator they play nothing but country music for the same reason.

 

And not everyone in Texas listens to country. I like some of it (not the really new stuff that's not so country), but I wouldn't want to hear it all the time. Carnival Magic played a variety of music, including country, but it seemed like most of their shows were 70's also.

We were on Navigator last week.  Here is a rundown:

• Welcome Aboard with NOS Orchestra and a comedian: pretty good.  NOS Orchestra is amazing in their musical ability.  Comedian was good but at least PG-13. He had an "adult" show later in the week at a later time.
• Production Showtime with NOS Orchestra and Royal Caribbean Singers/Dancers:  Very good with contemporary Broadway theme.
• Late Night Comedy: didn't go to this, but he was pretty funny on the first night.
• Ice Dancin' Spectacular: yes, this was spectacular and I'm not a big skating fan.  High energy, great music and lighting effects, very professional.  About 12-13 skaters on the ice.
• Almost Elton John: a highlight for me.  This guy is funny, a very good singer/pianist, and is backed by the amazing NOS Orchestra.
• Love & Marriage Game Show: missed this but caught it replaying on the TV.  Very funny and worth attending.
• Production Showtime with Royal Caribbean Singers/Dancers.  Numerous ballroom dancing displays and recorded music.  We stopped in for a few minutes, but not our favorite style.
• Big Band Fun: the NOS Orchestra played big band music in the Royal Promenade and blew the top off of it!  Can you tell we loved these guys?
• Soul Funktion: Soul/Funk music performed by three guest singers backed by the NOS Orchestra.  The guest singers were good, not great.  They had a drummer that played with NOS Orchestra and he was pretty amazing.  Some contrived humor that didn't work for me, but worth seeing.
• Action Comedy of Rick Novell: This started slow for about 3 minutes because I didn't know what to expect… from then on I was rolling on the floor laughing.  Very talented comedian, juggler, unicycle rider.  Really used the crowd well.  Lots of fun.
• There were also a number of evenings when they had entertainment in the Royal Promenade.  That really drew a crowd and was a lot of fun to sit in one of the bars and enjoy the atmosphere.
• Of course there were other bands playing the various bars on the ship.  Country/rock, caribbean, piano man, etc.

Bottom line: most of the entertainment was very good.  It depends on what styles you like, but there is something for everybody and you should enjoy most of it quite a bit.

 

I hope this helps.  Enjoy your cruise on Navigator!

 

Thanks for all the info.  Are you in Texas? My travel agent just informed me that after November 2015 we'll be getting Liberty of the Seas in Galveston. I guess that may change all my planning lol.

Thanks! I watched someone's 25-minute long YouTube vacation video of the highlights of NOS. It was actually a pretty informative video, but all he said about the shows were to be sure and catch the ice skating show because it was great. Well, I'm not too sure how I feel about an ice skating show and he didn't cover any other shows, so that's why I'm asking.

 

Sandya, sorry your shows weren't good. I hope that was just a fluke!

Hi everyone, I was wondering what the shows are like on Royal.  Are they like professional Vegas shows? Having cruised only with Carnival, that's all I know, but they are pretty good. There's comedians, both PG and rated R, some magic shows, including Destination Unknown, if anyone is familiar with that, really awesome. Of course they have lots of singing and dancing shows, including their Legends show (which is basically a souped up karaoke).

 

I'm sold on Navigator and convinced my husband to give it a try (yay!) Now we're just curious about the shows because we enjoy going to them.

 

 

I would bring small bills for shopping in port cities, especially where one might haggle. You can't haggle for a lower price if they see a $100 bill in your hands.

This doesn't surprise me. I've never sailed with Royal before (but hope to soon), only with Carnival. They make you check them out even for use on the ship. I don't know about Royal, but CCL charges $25 for missing towels. I guess too many were being stolen/lost/misplaced...

I'd personally feel like I was in a closet in an interior room. If I couldn't get a balcony, I'd get an ocean view. However, my kids are usually in interior rooms and they like it. I think they sleep really well with no natural light in the room. Actually, I think they completely lose all sense of time. With an ocean view, you'd at least get some sun light, but it's what's important to you that matters.

I think what is interesting is how similar some of our reasons are and then how different

It still amazes me that 80% of Americans have not cruised and price or location to get

to these cruises in one factor - still my favorite way to Vacation - love being on water

That is interesting. I am surprised that percentage is so high. What I have come across are people who "know" they won't like cruising (my brother being one of them) when they have  never been. I know  cruising is not for everyone and that's ok, but I don't get how people can knock it having never done it.

I don't consider 12 and 6 to be teens (6 is still a sweet baby to me :unsure: )... but between us we have 4 kids - 11, 16, 17, & 18. The older 3 get their own room and are free to go about the ship. We usually see them around throughout the day anyway and we have dinner and see a show together. As for my 11 year old, I was hesitant on our first cruise when he was 9, so he did the kid's club when we wanted adult time, but now at 11 he didn't want to do the kid's club (on Carnival) and we didn't force him. I wasn't too worried about him walking around by himself, but he stuck to us most of the time. My short answer... I think it's easy to find your kids throughout the day - and other travel companions for that matter. When my husband went missing I could usually find him in the casino.

After several Disney trips behind our belts, my husband said he was tired and wanted to do something relaxing for vacation and that's how we started. If you've ever been to WDW and cruised, then you know they are total opposites!

Thank you. I can't wait to try Navigator of the Seas! We just got back from our cruise so it will be a while - boo hoo.

 

Michelle, it's funny you mention that about the announcements. It seems like when James (the director) speaks, the whole ship has to stop and listen! Other activities were interrupted when he made his announcements. We were listening to karaoke and the singers were even interrupted, which I thought was a little unnecessary, maybe even rude.

Hi everyone, I have only cruised on Carnival Cruise Lines - twice on one of their newer ships, Magic. I know that Carnival has a bad reputation, often being compared as the "Walmart" cruise line, but the truth is we enjoyed both our cruises. I can only speak for the Magic ship, but it was really nice. Was it perfect? Of course not, but no big complaints.

 

Now we are wanting to branch out and try other cruise lines. I am from Texas so we leave from Galveston (where Carnival is year round), but Royal is also there and I have heard lots of good things about Royal! One of my good friends only cruises with them and refuses to even try Carnival.

 

What I'm interested in is hearing from those that have cruised from both cruise lines and learning about some differences between them. What can I expect from Royal that is different than Carnival? I'll be honest and say the food on Carnival can be mediocre... is Royal any better? What else?

 

I'm not interested in bashing either cruise line, just want to hear what's different. :)

Yeah! Thank you! I bet it's going to be very nice!

Hi everyone, I am not new to cruising, but new here and to RCCL. I am researching RCCL and Navigator of the Seas is the ship I'd most likely book on. I read that it was recently refurbished and they added those rooms with the fake views. Does anyone know if all rooms were refurbished? I'm particularly interested in the balcony rooms. I've looked at the photos on their website but the decor still looks old fashioned, even with the box TV. I'm hoping they just haven't updated their website photos yet. Thanks.