Things you miss from Royal...

[Luly]

I miss the fruity soup appetizers that tasted like a smoothie. I also miss getting the dessert menu AFTER dinner was over. I like ordering later based on how full I am. I miss the teen club cruise compass. It seems like there used to end more late night entertainment. I used to be up until midnight seeing a comedian or late night activity and now I’m content to be asleep by 9:30 knowing I’m not missing anything. The only thing I stayed up late for (besides waiting for my child to come back from teen club) throughout my entire 10 night cruise a few weeks ago was the Quest. 

[Babsy47]

Bread salt assortment at 150

 

[PRMLVM]

discounted drink tickets!  Seems like a halfway point that guarantees RC prepaid money, without "making" people drink a set minimum per day to validate the entire drink package.

[CanHardlyWait]

Quality. That seems to be disappearing.

[ranchlady403]

I really miss being able to order a 4 oz Filet Mignon....  It was the perfect size.

It was on the children's menu but you could order it in the main dining room.

[ranchlady403]

Re: Shot glasses...    We have a collection of all the different colors.  Willing to part with them as we are downsizing.

Send me a P Message if you would like to purchase them for your collection.  I'll post a photo if anyone is interested.

 

[WannaCruise]

On 2/23/2022 at 6:37 AM, MTNeedsAVacay said:

I miss the DreamWorks characters/parades. They went away after I was too old to care that much, but now that I have kids of my own, I would have really loved that extra excitement for the kids!

They were on our first cruise with our kids on Allure. It was so fun to see them around and of course photo ops. They even had an Aqua and ice show with them. 

[Psycho and Barb]

We miss the ice sculptures...Use to love watching them and trying to figure what they were carving.

[Cakemeister]

Grand Marnier souffles.  

If printed cruise compass goes away, I'll miss them. 

 

[FSUFAN]

Not quite newbie (1 prior sailing).

But if there was free sushi at one point, I sure would like to have it available.  

And the 10-drink punch card.  With Mrs Fan, there is no way not to lose money on a drink package for us both.  Even if she would be allowed to downgrade to the refreshment package, she is a hot tea and water drinker.  And for the tea, she brings her own English Breakfast Tea bags called Awake by Tazo.  I'd love to be able to buy a couple of drink cards on board and use for myself.

[OCSC Mike]

31 minutes ago, FSUFAN said:

But if there was free sushi at one point, I sure would like to have it available.

There definitely was and I definitely would as well.

[Mboulden1]

On 2/18/2022 at 5:50 PM, CGTLH said:

Here is the collection so far. Isn't the best picture.

So I was wrong. The older ships had a unique design. Newer ones, outside the inaugural chips, are just "ship name".

I know this is super random, but would you be willing to sell me your red $5 Independence chip?! 

[tjcruisers]

Drink waiter in the MDR bringing around shooters at the end of dinner

[MaryCS62]

11 hours ago, tjcruisers said:

Drink waiter in the MDR bringing around shooters at the end of dinner

Yes!!! we have a collection of the glasses from our cruise 10 years ago!

[Chewie]

The all-inclusive nature of a cruise.  When we began cruising, pretty much everything on board was included except the drink package.  Now, we pay separately for wifi, sauna/steamroom, many dining options, escape room, etc.  To me, it's lost much of the appeal of cruising over regular vacations.  Not to mention, the quality has deteriorated - no more midnight buffets, ice sculptures, shots at dinner, big shows each night, etc.

[Xaa]

11 minutes ago, Chewie said:

Now, we pay separately for wifi, sauna/steamroom, many dining options, escape room, etc. 

Wifi and Escape rooms weren't available at all when I started cruising.  I could imagine what Wifi would have cost if they could offer it at all.  Specialty dining at an upcharge has been a thing for at least 25 years in some form.

[smokeybandit]

13 hours ago, tjcruisers said:

Drink waiter in the MDR bringing around shooters at the end of dinner

Over Christmas the head waiter came around with bottles of champagne. Not sure if that was just a Christmas thing or something else.

[Chewie]

35 minutes ago, Xaa said:

Wifi and Escape rooms weren't available at all when I started cruising.  I could imagine what Wifi would have cost if they could offer it at all.  Specialty dining at an upcharge has been a thing for at least 25 years in some form.

Those 2 weren't available when I started cruising either, but my point is that the amenities that were available were included.  Personally, I think wifi should be included.  The prices they charge for it are exorbitant.  

[Xaa]

3 minutes ago, Chewie said:

Those 2 weren't available when I started cruising either, but my point is that the amenities that were available were included.  Personally, I think wifi should be included.  The prices they charge for it are exorbitant.  

I sure would like it included of course, but I don't want to discourage adding new things because everything needs to be included.  The things that were included way back are still included for the most part and there are now more options from which to choose.

Just Get UDP, WiFi and DBP and that is the "All Included" fare.  Then I can still exercise the option to not get things and save a few bucks.

[MarcD]

On 2/18/2022 at 11:38 AM, SpeedNoodles said:

Midnight and/or midnight chocolate buffet (with ice sculptures).  Not that I care about chocolate, but the spread was visually impressive.

This!

And the discounted drink of the day.  Monday's drink was always the Blue Monday - my favorite drink ever!

Edited June 17, 2023 by MarcD
grammar

[tonyfsu21]

On 6/6/2023 at 10:12 AM, Xaa said:

Wifi and Escape rooms weren't available at all when I started cruising.  I could imagine what Wifi would have cost if they could offer it at all.  Specialty dining at an upcharge has been a thing for at least 25 years in some form.

Yep, it’s been a very long time since cruising was “all inclusive”. This would be before speciality dining was even a thing. 

[Cruise4TheSoul]

Really miss the chopped salad bar and buffet in the main dining room on sea day lunches. I think it was called the Tutti salad? It was really good. Also miss the choice of every day items on the new MDR menu. I'm pretty picky and I would choose grilled chicken breast or plain salmon most nights.