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First Time With Royal: First Impressions


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We are not strangers to cruising.  We have sailed twice with Princess, one of which was a quick 3 day to Santa Barbara and Ensenada Mexico, a 7 day Mexican Riviera, and 3 times with Carnival, a 3 day Ensenada, 7 day Western Caribbean (which was life changing and 1st time in the Caribbean), and a 7 day Mexican Riviera on the Panorama.  So, it was time for something different.  I was curious about why my mom has raved about Royal and why many are so loyal.  My girlfriend and I wanted to start out light on a 4 day Freedom of the Seas May 2nd 2022 to Coco Cay, then Nassau with a 3 day stay for our first time in Miami.  We decided to go bigger and longer for my birthday in November on Harmony for an 8 day Nov 12th to the Southern Caribbean.

Overall I can see why Royal is well liked.  I met quite a few passengers who sail only with Royal.  It was on this sailing where a passenger told me about her Diamond status and 4 free drinks a day.  That alone intrigued me!  Anyhow, the little taste we got definitely makes us want more.  Of course there were some pros and cons but we enjoyed ourselves, after all no ship I've encountered is perfect.  And speaking of perfect, Coco Cay was the main draw and it was amazing!  It was an almost perfect day at Coco Cay, since the weather could have been better.  The Daredevil's Peak waterslide was unexpectedly very intense and I almost couldn't catch my breath.  If it weren't for the climb I would have done it again.  Nassau was cool especially hanging with friendly locals at The Fish Fry.  A worker at Coco Cay educated me on how there are over 700 keys and Islands in that area.  Jeez!!  

Our spacious balcony was roomy and the bed was very comfortable.  Only specialty dining we did was Giovanni's Italian Kitchen which was so delicious!  We love buffets and Windjammer was good for the most part.  Our last cruise on Carnival Panorama the Lido Marketplace was mostly not good.  For example, I've never had bacon that was absolutely inedible!  It actually tasted a little fishy too.  I like fish, but not for my bacon to taste like it.  Main Dining Room on Freedom was also quite good and loved the filet for $16 from Chops.  We will be dining at chops when we sail on Harmony.  

If I had one or two complaints, we feel Royal tends to charge for every little extra but at least those extras are not necessary.  We also didn't care for the loud Reggaetón music playing in the Windjammer.  In my survey I noted that it was a bit too loud.  I guess those 4 day sailings are more of a party atmosphere from what I've heard.  Anyhow, we are really looking forward to our next sailing in November.  It cannot come soon enough!  I'm glad I discovered Matt's channel on YouTube and this Blog.  It helped us out a lot! 

 

 

 

 

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Funny that you mentioned the odd bacon taste. On a recent Mariner cruise, we couldn't find bacon at breakfast. Someone directed me to one of the center food areas and there was a pan of bacon. Odd that it wasn't available at each of the scrambled eggs spots. Also, the scrambled eggs looked like yellow rice in the pan. I assumed that Royal had switched to powdered eggs or beat so much water into them that they were unrecognizable as eggs. Some young kids in line after me said "Ew, those are eggs?" 

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@Traveling Mike  When we sailed on Carnival Panorama in Nov 2021 there was a bacon shortage which probably explains why the Lido buffet bacon was so disgusting.  I also found some of the crew on Freedom to be unfriendly and that could be from them being overworked.  Our ship was sailing at full capaticy and we felt it on the one sea day where the pool was super crowded.  I just hope things get more ironed out before our Harmony sailing.

@GatorCruiser  Yes I agree!  And now they are talking about bringing back masks here in Los Angeles, which I am NOT happy about!  Rumor is some cruise lines will be doing the same.     

 

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17 hours ago, Aron_Ross said:

 We also didn't care for the loud Reggaetón music playing in the Windjammer.  In my survey I noted that it was a bit too loud.  I guess those 4 day sailings are more of a party atmosphere from what I've heard. 

 

 

 

 

Funny!  On our 4-day Independence sailing, we commented that the music in Windjammer was too "coffee house Indy" and that we would like more Island music (there and at Coco Cay).  Like you point out, for a quick getaway...bring on the island vibes!

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6 hours ago, Aron_Ross said:

@Traveling Mike  When we sailed on Carnival Panorama in Nov 2021 there was a bacon shortage which probably explains why the Lido buffet bacon was so disgusting.  I also found some of the crew on Freedom to be unfriendly and that could be from them being overworked.  Our ship was sailing at full capaticy and we felt it on the one sea day where the pool was super crowded.  I just hope things get more ironed out before our Harmony sailing.

@GatorCruiser  Yes I agree!  And now they are talking about bringing back masks here in Los Angeles, which I am NOT happy about!  Rumor is some cruise lines will be doing the same.     

 

Assuming we test negative , my family and I are going to be boarding navigator in 6 days. I have been following the California Covid rates and mask policies. So far so good, I’ve read they likely will reinstate indoor mask mandates there at the end of June 

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2 hours ago, GatorCruiser said:

Assuming we test negative , my family and I are going to be boarding navigator in 6 days. I have been following the California Covid rates and mask policies. So far so good, I’ve read they likely will reinstate indoor mask mandates there at the end of June 

We hope to sail on Navigator one day, but for now we have done one too many Mexico cruises on this side.  I really hope they don't reinstate masks here. 

As for your cruise, I would assume you are doing the short Ensenada sailing?  If you happen to go to the La Bufadora excursion in Ensenada and if you like seafood, at the end of the flea market area there are people selling what they call smoked clams.  It's basically clams that are grilled in their shell, topped with shrimp, shredded cheese and pico de gallo.  Both the shrimp and clams were so fresh.  It was one of the most amazing out of this world bites of food I've EVER had!!  That was seven years ago when we did a weekend Carnival sailing, and I still dream about those clams!

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