snoopy5386

19 hours ago, drrich2 said:

 

Enjoyed your review! Adventure was my wife & my first cruise, on our honeymoon back in '06, a Southern Caribbean trip. Never did your itinerary, though sailed out of Newark once (on the same class Explorer of the Seas, rough weather, my motion sickness-prone wife had a lot of trouble going down & back up the east cost to get to the Caribbean). 

 

On Royal's ships we can usually find Fruit Loops; I mention that as we've got a little kid now. It was true on Allure of the Seas just recently. 

 

 

Good catch, and there's more. If you've got a kid under 42 inches tall, even by a little (say, 41") who is potty trained, they won't let that kid in the splash area, despite being potty trained, without a swim diaper, and the ship's swim diapers may not fit a kid that big, plus you won't likely have thought to bring any that would. Been there, done that.

 

 

In another thread it's been claimed that at some point in the past a bunch of ship towels could be seen 'abandoned' at some shore excursion after the people left, IIRC. I, too, don't like life 'under the gun' - return that towel or $20 apiece! - but yes, I think it's necessary. 

 

 

Have any other ships you've cruises had good Internet? For us, it's a big deal (kid with access to You Tube via iPad mini & head phones is a game changer for eating a specialty restaurants & in the MDR, plus handy to text each other on iPhones).

No, this is the first time we've ever gotten internet on a cruise. It was great to have, but it meant I spent way too much time on my phone. Others in our party love the idea of being able to unplug on cruises. 

 

You will like it a lot. Central Park looks like a gimmick but really adds to the experience, and the Boardwalk is fun! The Aqua Theater diving shows are really nice, especially the high dives at the end. It does limit your available ports, though. 

 

 

I wish someone at Royal would give us this!

 

 

From what I've read in the 'RCL vs...' threads, Disney is a class act but you pay a big premium over RCL for that. Maybe not 'apples to apples.' Evidently for you there's extra value worth that premium - what are the key advantages for you?

What can I say? I have drunk the Disney Kool Aid. We are Disney lovers plain and simple, we own Disney Vacation Club and go frequently. Things I love about DCL - the rotating dining rooms, the production shows, the aquaduck, the ship itself is beautiful, Castaway Cay, Pirate night, the larger family staterooms, all of it. DCL cruises make my heart sing. I agree the price point is $$$$$$$$$$ and I don't know when we'll be able to do another one. We certainly can't afford a week long cruise on Disney any longer. I hope to go one more time before my kids grow up. 

 

Princess seems to have a rep. for being one of the mainstream lines like RCL, but less flashy, sporty activities (e.g.: flow rider), a bit of a classy vibe (with that name, how could they not?) and better pizza. I haven't tried them. What do you prefer about Princess over RCL? Do your 9 & 13 year old kids prefer Princess?

Princess - love the freshwater pools and Movies Under the Stars. We like the pool deck food amenities and self laundry. We like the balconies better and wish Princess cruised out of the NYC area. It seems all my kids need to be happy is a pool, mini golf, ping pong and an arcade which are all found on any line. 

 

Richard.

We are a family of four, semi-seasoned cruisers. We have cruised Carnival (1x), Princess (3x), Disney (2x) and this was our first cruise on Royal. I'd been curious to try Royal for a while now and to see how it stacked up against the other lines we've cruised on before. I'm also someone who likes to have as much information as possible before embarking on a trip and that's not always the easiest to find with cruising, so I will try to include as much as I can remember.  We are a family of four, semi-seasoned cruisers - two adults and two kids ages 13 and 9. We have cruised Carnival (1x), Princess (3x), Disney (2x) and this was our first cruise on Royal. I'd been curious to try Royal for a while now and to see how it stacked up against the other lines we've cruised on before. I'm also someone who likes to have as much information as possible before embarking on a trip and that's not always the easiest to find with cruising, so I will try to include as much as I can remember.

We were on a New England/Canada cruise out of Port Liberty, NJ with stops in Bar Harbor, ME, Saint John, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia. We cruised with a group of 6 and had 4 balcony cabins on Deck 9. 

Embarkation - This was super quick and easy. We have family in NJ, so we were able to have them drop us off at port. We waited in "traffic" at drop off for about 10 minutes and that was the longest wait we encountered. We arrived around 11 am and were on the ship in less than 20 minutes. Our traveling companions were on board by 10:30. 

Embarkation lunch in Windjammer - I had read before we traveled that getting into Windjammer for lunch was a mess and it turns out this was true. We waited in line for at least 30 minutes to get into Windjammer. Once we got in we had no trouble getting a table and eating, but the wait to get in sucked. We started our cruise during a heatwave so it was 100 degrees out while we were waiting in line and people were getting very cranky. Really wish there were more lunch options open on embarkation day. Luckily this was the only wait we had in Windjammer all week. 

Rooms were ready right at 1 pm and out of our party of six travelers, five of us had our luggage in the hall at that time. It was not right in front of our rooms, but spread out in the hall a little bit. We were able to find it all within a few minutes. 

Muster - Royal wins hands down for muster drill. We had our muster in the MDR and it was over and done with in less than 10 minutes. Fabulous. 

Dining - we ate in Chops the first night and the MDR the rest of the trip for dinner. On the first day when I went to make a reservation for dinner and again when we ate we experienced a very hard sell for the dining package. Not a fan. Dinner in Chops was great, would 100% eat there again. The server was nice enough to charge my 13 year old the $10 kids price vs the adult price even though she ordered off the adult menu. 

MDR - We had My Time Dining - we booked our cruise late and were wait listed for My Time Dining. Our wait list came through and when I went to book times online the only choices were either early (5:30/5:45) or late (7:45/8). I was assured many times by posters here on CC and RCI FB groups that we would be able to change these times to whatever we wanted once on board the ship. This was not the case. I tried to reserve a table for any night between 6:00-7:30. I was told (in a not so nice way) we could either eat at 5:30/5:45 or 7:45/8 and there were no other options. The same was said to the person in front of me asking a similar question. Yes, we could have gone without a reservation, but with a larger party we didn't want to have to wait a long time to eat so we just went with it. We split the difference and ate early half the time and late half the time. In the end it was fine, but I was royally annoyed with the snippy attitude of the person working the computer outside the dining room. We were seated in the same section each night with the same serving team. Service was efficient and the meal took about 90 minutes each night. We had only one night with an exceptionally long wait - we were seated nearly an hour before we received our first course. We all enjoyed the food in the MDR. 

Dress in the MDR - We happened to be seated right near the entrance to the MDR and so I got to see everyone coming and going. I know this is a hot topic and lots of people (myself included) want to know what "typical dress' looks like these days. For smart casual nights the majority of folks were dressed sort of relaxed business casual - think polo shirts and khaki pants or jeans. As the week wore on people seemed to dress more and more casually. Saw plenty of folks in (plain and graphic) t-shirts, jeans, and shorts including basketball type shorts. On formal night most folks were dressed in at least a dress shirt and khakis, some men had ties, some had jackets, some suits, plenty of polo shirts and no tuxes. Women wore dresses or capris/pants and a nice top. Most casual I saw on formal night was a man wearing jean shorts and a polo and yes, they let him in. 

Windjammer - I loved the hand washing station outside the windjammer - real sinks with soap and water! Brilliant. 
Breakfast - lots of choices, they had both an omelet station and a waffle station - these waffles are worth the wait and so much better than the ones on the buffet. The only cereals I saw all week were corn flakes and raisin bran. The only varieties of yogurt I saw all week were plain and strawberry banana. And speaking of bananas - not a banana to be found in Windjammer. 

Lunch - Here's where I feel RCI pales in comparison to other lines. All the other cruise lines we have sailed have had food venues out on the pool deck - a pizza place, a burger/hot dog place and sometimes a sandwich place. RCI does not have these - so these foods are included on the Windjammer lunch buffet. This leaves less room on the buffet for a variety of other foods. And it also means that hamburgers, fries etc are just sitting out on the buffet line and not being cooked to order. I was not impressed by the lunch buffet options. 

Dinner - we did not eat dinner in Windjammer

Windjammer closes from 4-6 which is exactly when you would want to grab a late afternoon snack if you have late dining - again, this is where we really missed the pool deck food venues found on other lines. These places are usually open from late morning until the wee hours, it's easy to grab a snack or lunch when you are in and out of the pool without having to dry off fully and they are a great place to grab a late afternoon or late night snack. Yes Adventure has Cafe Promenade on Deck 5, but again, I wasn't impressed with this venue at all and it was a pain to have to dry off and catch an elevator and go down 4 floors when all I wanted was a slice of pizza. We spend a lot of time on the pool deck in the pools and hot tubs, so I found the lack of outdoor pool deck food options annoying. 

Soft Serve - this was the only outside food option on the pool deck. We ate a lot of soft serve, it was of decent quality. The hours for soft serve were 11 am - 9 pm. I felt like closing this station at 9 pm was early. I was expecting it to be open either 24 hours or at least until 11 pm. 

Coke Machines - There are 4 coke machines on board - 2 on deck 5 and 2 in the Windjammer. The coke machines on deck 5 had a really hard time keeping up with the demand for ice, they were frequently out of ice. The coke machines in the Windjammer were less popular and did not have this issue. I really wish they had one coke Machine on the pool deck, but outside of WIndjammer - maybe next to the soft serve machine. There were several times I went to go get a drink only to have Windjammer be closed at that time. I was also kind of surprised that there was no mug/cup washing station anywhere to wash the cup you have to use with the coke machines. There was really no way to wash your cup except with the bar of hand soap in your cabin sink. Next time I would bring some paper towels and some dish soap for washing my cup. Just seems like having a cup washing area would help cut down on the spread of illness around the ship. 

Pools and hot tubs - The majority of our cruises have been on Princess and Disney which have freshwater pools. Royal has saltwater pools. We found the pools to be exceptionally salty, much more so than the ocean. I liked this for the buoyancy, my children did not and found the salt to burn their eyes even with goggles. We boarded during a heat wave and swam a lot that first day. After day 1 we found the main pools to be too cold for swimming most of the rest of the cruise. 

Hot tubs - The hot tubs are neither hot nor true hot tubs with jets, I would call them bubble tubs. My kids spent most of their swimming time in these and we watched two movies from them as well. They weren't salty like the pools. 

The solarium pool was heated to almost hot tub temperature and this was fantastic, especially on our cooler weather cruise. The solarium hot tubs also had true jets vs the annoying bubbles of the main pool hot tubs. As an adult I really enjoyed the solarium area.  

Checking out towels - what a pain this was. Is there really that much towel theft going on? It also made everyone more hesitant to move towels off of the always present empty "saved" chairs of which there were plenty. 

Splashaway Bay - My kids are too old for this section, but I saw lots of kids using it. There are two areas - one for non potty trained kids and one for potty trained kids. This is a small area, and the non potty trained area is REALLY small - there's room for maybe 3 or 4 kids to play here. The potty trained area has room for 10-15 kids to play comfortably. Be aware if you have one child that is potty trained and one that is not - your older child cannot go back and forth between the two areas. The non potty trained area is only for children in swim diapers. I heard several parents complaining about this

The Perfect Storm water slides - I love a good water slide and was excited to try these out. Much to my pleasant surprise they were not fast slides, nor were they the kind that would hurt your back like many body slides. Still, we only used the water slides one time. We did not use the flowrider at all. 

We did do the rock wall once and my kids enjoyed it. They also enjoyed the arcade, ping pong and mini golf. 

Ice Skating - sadly never got to try this - I was expecting it to be available on the last sea day and it was not. Not sure why. I had reservations to try it one evening but that happened to be the night our dinner ran extremely late and we missed them. 

Movies by the pool - this is one of my favorite things to do while cruising. We were able to catch two movies by the pool - they did not offer them every night, but I wish they did. The screen is on during the day, but no sound and mostly showed clips of extreme sports videos. Disney shows tv shows and movies all day and Princess sets up the loungers with covers, blankets and provides popcorn. On Adventure the view of the screen was blocked by Splashaway bay and  the loungers nearest the screen with the best view were mostly facing the wrong direction - it would be nice if the staff could at least turn the loungers around to face the screen in the evenings when they show movies. 

Entertainment - we saw the magician (excellent), the ice skating show (good, but not my cup of tea), and bits and pieces of a couple of other shows - in general production shows are not our thing (except on Disney). There seemed to be no comedian on our ship? This is something we usually enjoy so it was missed. We are not big drinkers or late night party people, so we didn't hang at the bars, but I did see lots of nightlife happening around the ship if that is your thing. 

We played trivia at least once a day and enjoyed it a lot! Usually not crowded. 

Staterooms - my family of 4 shared two balcony staterooms. These were not connected but we were able to get an extra set of keys from guest services. The room itself was a good size, in great shape and plenty of storage. 

I liked the shower doors vs a curtain and thought the shower was a good size. The toiletries provided on Royal, frankly, are terrible. All that is provided is a dispenser of body wash/shampoo in the shower and a rather scratchy bar of soap. Bring your own! 

We are tendering into Bar Harbor in a few days, we have a 9:30 tour booked, they would like us there at 9 am. Ship is supposed to arrive at 7 am, estimated clearance is listed at 7:30 am, Tender tickets are available starting at 8 am. We do not have anything that gives us priority tendering. What time should we send someone down to the lounge to get in line for tender tickets?

There are RCI excursions starting as early as 8:15 am.....

We're cruising in a few weeks and figuring out our insurance situation. We did not pay for our cruise, it was gifted to us by a dear friend. If we end up needing to use the insurance for the trip cancellation or trip interruption feature, how would that work? Would our friend get reimbursed for the trip cost? If getting reimbursed for the trip cost isn't a concern of ours can we put a lower trip cost for the insurance to get the other policy benefits?

Thanks and that’s fine. We booked late and at the time neither early or MTD were options. If we end up with late dining it’s not the end of the world. 

Thanks all. Didn’t really think about MTD having a capacity and filling up. 

Thanks all - here's the rub - we didn't pay for the cruise at all, a dear friend did. So I'm not even sure how trip insurance would work in that case if say we missed the boat. Would he get reimbursed?

From a personal standpoint I'm more concerned with medical coverage first, and then trip interruption (in case we miss the ship initially or later down the line, but also realize this is a very very small chance) and baggage coverage (again small chance our bags fall into the ocean or something). Can we afford the extra $200? Sure. But how much benefit would it be to us personally in this case?

We always get trip insurance and I have had to use it once (cruised during Hurricane Matthew) so I am a believer in insurance. Just this trip seems very low risk (our drive to port is 4 hours or so) compared to others we have taken.

We are cruising in 2 weeks. We are a party of 8 spread across 4 cabins. Right now we have late dining, but want to switch to My Time Dining. I can't see a way to do this online, do we have to call? Is there any reason not to just wait until we are on board at this point? 

I'm guessing we'll want to make reservations for each night, though we do plan to dine in the specialty restaurants at least once if not twice. 

If we switch to MTD now, can we make reservations online before we cruise, or can you only make reservations once onboard?

We are going on a cruise to the Northeast and Canada in a couple of weeks and I am looking at purchasing insurance for this trip. We will drive to the port we are just a few hours away, so no airfare, no hotels, no rental cars to worry about. Pricing plans on insuremytrip and seeing that a full trip insurance policy is around $200-300 for my family. However if I search just a "medical" policy the cost drops to $30-50. All the plans include medical, dental and evacuation coverage which is what I am most concerned with and some still offer trip interruption and baggage coverage. In this situation, what's the advantage of spending $200 more dollars for the bigger policy?

And what time were you able to board?

Would love to see any copies of the Compass you may have as well!

We are sailing on Adventure on the Canada itinerary in two weeks! Couple of questions - how cold was it out on deck most of the trip? My kids are very excited to use the pools and water park area, will this be possible outside the first and last day? Are the pools heated? Should we bring light blankets with us to sit out on the balcony with in the evening?

What time did you cross under the bridge? Did you pass by the Statue of Liberty?

How did you dress for most of the cruise? Jeans and t-shirts? Long sleeves? Will a hoodie suffice or should we plan on fleece jackets? We cruised Alaska a few years ago so I'm familiar with dressing in layers. What's the dining room dress like in the evenings? Can we get away with jeans or should we pack khakis? What about kids? Do they need dresses or are leggings and t-shirts ok? 

We currently have late dining, but I'm planning to switch to my time dining on board and make a reservation for each night, is that a good plan? Thanks!

Do you have copies of the Compass by any chance?

Bar Harbor - what time was the last tender? I think we are listed as being there until 6, is the last tender at 6 or earlier?

We are sailing on Adventure on the Canada itinerary in two weeks! Couple of questions - how cold was it out on deck most of the trip? My kids are very excited to use the pools and water park area, will this be possible outside the first and last day? Are the pools heated? Should we bring light blankets with us to sit out on the balcony with in the evening?

What time did you cross under the bridge? Did you pass by the Statue of Liberty?

How did you dress for most of the cruise? Jeans and t-shirts? Long sleeves? Will a hoodie suffice or should we plan on fleece jackets? We cruised Alaska a few years ago so I'm familiar with dressing in layers. What's the dining room dress like in the evenings? Can we get away with jeans or should we pack khakis? What about kids? Do they need dresses or are leggings and t-shirts ok? 

We currently have late dining, but I'm planning to switch to my time dining on board and make a reservation for each night, is that a good plan? Thanks!

We'll have one day in Bar Harbor and are debating what to do with Acadia - bus tour? Private tour? or Nature cruise around Acadia?

Any opinions or experiences appreciated. 

Debating what to do on our day in Halifax. It seems like there is enough in the city to keep us occupied. What's there to see in Peggy's Cove? I see lots of photos of a lighthouse and rocks. Is there a beach or tide pools to explore? Is everything just going to be covered in tourists? We're doing the Bay of Fundy in St John and Acadia in Bar Harbor. Would you recommend venturing out of Halifax or just staying in the city?

 

We're headed on a cruise with stops in Saint John, New Brunswick and Halifax. St John, we're pretty set on doing a private tour. Will need to buy lunch that day. Halifax I think we plan to explore on our own. We have credit cards with no foreign transaction fee, will we have any needs for cash? We may take a taxi in Halifax, do they take credit cards? Is it worth it to get Canadian currency ahead of time, or just hit up an ATM once we are there? Or just wing it with American Dollars. 

Ollie's Trolley vs Acadia National Park tours? We are visiting Bar Harbor in July and want to take one of these tours. Is there an advantage to one vs the other? Does either vehicle offer A/C or better views? Preferable to be on a trolley vs a school bus?

Thank you. That’s exactly what I needed to know. 

We are a family of 4 booked in 2 cabins, 3 “adults” (one is 13) and 1 child. I’m booked with the child. If I buy a 4 device voom package can we share it between all 4 of us and just pay for the one adult in one cabin to have it? The rates say $21.99 per adult. 

We booked a cruise last week for this July - at the time of booking the only dining option available was late dining. We wanted my time dining and it was an option on the screen, but the system wouldn't let us click it. How do we change it? I've logged into the Royal website and I can't even see my dining time let alone find the option to change it. 

Thanks!

Considering a cruise in July with a group to Bermuda. About half the folks going are not fans of the heat or beaches. What's the weather like in July? Hot and humid? Warm and breezy? Pleasant or unpleasant? Are there plenty of non-beach places to visit? Unfortunately we have to travel in July and are wanting to do a cruise from an East Coast port this year.
Thanks!

No it will be a RCI ship. But thank you!

We are booking a Canda/New England cruise from Cape Liberty and can choose a balcony cabin on either the port or starboard side. Which side would afford better views of NYC and the Statue of Liberty?

We are booking a Canda/New England cruise with stops at Bar Harbor (tendered), St John and Halifax, leaving from Cape Liberty. We can choose a cabin on either the port or starboard side - for this itinerary does it matter? Does one side give better views? How about sailing in and out from Cape Liberty, is there a preference to see NYC from either side?

Thanks!

Thank you. I am seeing availability mostly on Deck 9 for balcony cabins, but it seems there are no promenade interior rooms on this deck, is that correct?