zackarykeef

2 hot tubs, no pool, never crowded. Definitely worth it. Vibe’s vibe (🤣) is a 180 from the spa…typically high energy, lots of alcohol, top-notch service. Depends on what you’re looking for, honestly, but…you wouldn’t catch me on that crowded deck during sea days. I’ll stick to Vibe 😎

Yeahhhhhh this is crazy. Looks like I won’t be sailing Royal for a while. It just doesn’t make sense. Even Celebrity, which is nicer…even though the base is higher, at least they include drinks with the always included. I know Royal is geared towards families with kids anyway, so maybe including drinks isn’t such a big draw? Idk…regardless, it can a most double the cruise fare depending on the deal so…I think I’ll pass 🤣

Piggybacking onto this thread… The drink package has always been my hold up with Royal. As you can see, I’ve mainly cruised with NCL, and they “include” the drink package. I recently have also started with X and MSC, who also include the drink packages. We definitely like to have our fair share of drinks on cruises, so a package is a must. Royal never runs included promos, and it seems like it’s around $1000 more on top of the fare to add it, which is crazy. This is why I haven’t sailed Royal, especially when their prices really aren’t cheaper than competing lines who do include drinks. The one ship Royal cruise I did take (Jewel OTS), we added the package, and I still remember so many specialty and signature cocktails weren’t included. This irked me. Is that still the case? I’ve been wanting to sail an Oasis-class ship for the experience, but I’m really struggling to justify it with the drink package pricing, especially since you can’t see it ahead of time and it fluctuates week to week. Any input is appreciated!

Hi all! We recently sailed on Equinox for our first time on X and loved it! We are looking for another X cruise for early next year. Definitely looking at trying out an E-class ship, but I wanted to get your thoughts on the other S-class ships. We loved the Equinox, so looking at how they compare. More specifically the Silhouette and the Reflection, as those will be the ones sailing from FLL. I know they all have the same setup, but I’m talking things like overall vibe, newer/refurbished, staff, etc. We loved the Equinox and would happily sail again, but like some of the itineraries on the others and trying new ships also! Thanks in advance for your input! Happy sailing! 😎

With almost all other lines significantly relaxing testing requirements if not required by the country and the recent CDC guidelines change, I’m sure MSC will follow suit soon starting in September. At least, I’m hoping they do before we cruise in October! Not that I mind testing…it’s just become more of a hassle now than it was before with testing sites closing and the government no longer paying. I guess we’ll see in the coming weeks!

Yeahhhh the first time we sailed MSC, our boarding time changed, and we were assigned a later boarding time (1? 130?). I don’t remember exactly, but wasn’t sure how strict they were, so we showed up around our scheduled time. We were in YC, and got on right away. However, the YC restaurant had already closed for lunch 😑 We’re in YC again on our upcoming sailing, and learned our lesson…we’ll board around 11 this time so we can enjoy lunch on day 1.

On both X and MSC, the wifi and drink packages are the basic, not the premium (unless you pay extra for the Elevate package on X). You can pay the difference on both lines to upgrade. On X, for any drink over your package limit, you get charged the difference. On MSC, drinks over the package limit are charged full price. I can’t comment on this too much, as I’ve only ever been in YC on MSC. I just got off X, and I thought the MDR food was good to very good. I thought the MSC YC restaurant was very good to excellent. I can’t comment personally on the MSC MDR food, but from what I’ve read on these boards, it’s nothing mind-blowing (hence our YC decision). Again, I can’t comment. I haven’t attended any shows in either line.

Echoing all of this. Flamingo Grill was 💯 the best on Getaway…free Cuban food for the Miami vibe, and even outdoor quick breakfast that wasn’t as crowded as the buffet. It was so nice. And yep…was just on Encore, and never saw people there. I think everyone agrees it’s silly to pay for that when it’s free at the buffet. I do think a free 24-hour (or at least into late-night) pizzeria would be a good idea. I jumped ship from Carnival years ago, but I have to say, they still win the pizza game to this day out of any line. It’s 24-hour, quick, and GOOD. I feel it would be a hit on NCL. I would say they don’t want to put something free there to keep extra money-makers, but it’s not like American Diner is making them any money 🤣 if that’s the case, and another “specialty” restaurant…I’m sure they could figure out another cuisine to advertise other than diner food.

So I’m 💯 an NCL guy also (early 30s, “party” guy, love late night dancing/food and good drinks, etc) and just got off my first X cruise (Equinox) 3 weeks ago. We had a blast! There happened to be a lot of young people on our sailing, which definitely depends on the time of year you’re going. I do agree the overall crowd and vibe was older, but we had no problem dancing in the Sky Obs Lounge until 1am each night, plenty of people and drinks. The only late-night food is at the buffet until about 1am, which is basically pizza and pasta…but it was fine. No O’Sheehans/Local, but it sufficed. It was one thing I wish was better, but I understand, as it’s not technically a late-night party line. From what you’ve said, I HIGHLY recommend you upgrade to the premium drink package. The basic covers your standard base+mixer drinks (vodka soda, gin tonic, rum coke, etc) and the standard “boat drinks” (pina colada, daiquiri, bahama mama, etc). All of the craft cocktails and specials on the menus were over the basic package price but all included in the premium. It was the best decision. Not to mention, this was all on the Equinox (an older but beautiful ship). Given you’re going on Apex, I’m sure you’ll be fine. I’m not some die-hard Xer or complete convert like many on these boards, but I will sail X again, along with NCL. I enjoy both, as well as MSC for the YC. Looking forward to trying an E-class soon!

Did you feel it was worth it? Was the sushi good? We are sailing YC in October…we have $500 OBC and are trying to decide what to use it for. Thanks! Also…does anyone have or know where I can find current specialty menus? Thanks!

What most of these people are saying is correct. I just went through this with my parents in St. Maarten, as my father had a medical emergency and needed to fly home. When you’re on a cruise, you’re an “in transit” passenger. You don’t technically “enter” each country. This means you can’t just show up to the airport and leave, as there will be no record of you ever entering the country. We had to discuss with the documentation officer on the ship, who then had to rush visas for my parents via local authorities and get their passports through immigration. When they gave my parents’ passports back, they were stamped as they had then officially entered St. Maarten. They were then able to disembark and fly out via SXM. So yes, it can be done. It’s unlikely to be arranged in advance, especially if the only reason is “just because.” Since it’s subject to the ship, local laws, timing if everything can get done, etc, it’s likely to be a last-minute decision.

This makes sense. There was no karaoke at all the entire week.

I definitely remember Arie. I think another was I Putu. The others are on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t remember! I had one of their business cards, but I can’t find it now either 😭 they are all great!

Hey guys! My fiance and I are from Miami, and will be on this sailing in a few months! We sailed on the Meraviglia once before in YC, and loved it so much that we booked YC again for this cruise. Wondering if anyone else will be on this sailing as well!

Our meeting time was 7:15am, with excursion at 7:30am. We were definitely one of the first groups, which made it nice.

Nope...just as room cards. Need your card for everything else. I did find the app nicer than other lines. I like that all menus and activities are listed, as well as your personal daily schedule. I like that you can also book/reserve things in it.

Spa: I personally can’t comment, but it was both my mother’s and aunt (in-law’s) birthday on this cruise, so we got the each a 50-minute hot stone massage on the first sea day. They both raved about it! Ship: The ship is beautiful, and I liked how it was set up overall. It is older, but maintained well. I did feel a lot of the spaces were underutilized. The Sky Observation Lounge is beautiful…don’t miss it. It tended to be quiet during the day and lively at night. I also felt Quasar was severely out of place…I’m not sure what the point of it is. I get the vibe that it was initially the nightclub, but maybe due to lack of staff, they’re not using it. (The nightclub was in the Sky Lounge). The ONLY thing Quasar was used for all week was 9pm trivia nightly. That’s it. Odd. The entire lawn club area is huge and nice, but also underutilized. It may be nicer on non-Caribbean itineraries, but it was entirely too hot to relax up there. There is no water/pool around, so I don’t know why anyone would want to spend money for the cabanas in the Caribbean. Debarkation: We were assigned numbers to put on our luggage indicating times we were to walk off. Luggage had to be placed outside your cabin the night before by 10pm, which I found was a little early (other lines were by 1-2am). We had breakfast in the buffet, and waited in Cafe al Bacio afterwards. I don’t know what was happening, but debarkation took forever. We were not called until much later than our time, and as people were getting off right by where we were, we could see there was a major holdup. Many people standing in line outside on the ship and all the way down the glass walkways…it must have been so hot for them. The staff had to take waters and chairs out there for people, but I don’t know what the hold up was. By the time we were called, it was easy. No waiting, quickly were off, got our luggage, went through facial scan immigration, and were in our Uber. A Note on COVID: Vaccinations and testing prior required. No mask requirements on board or in any ports. Some people wore them by choice, as well as all staff. Captain announced on the final day that we had JUST reached 1% of positive cases on board (about 20-30 people). No other issues that I noted. Final Thoughts: We had a blast! Despite the hiccups, it was much needed and a lot of fun. Do I think it was scores above NCL, MSC, or RCCL like everyone raves about? No. I’ve found staff on all lines extremely pleasant with good service. Drinks were definitely better. Food was similar (other than Murano–amazing), and cabins were standard. Will definitely sail with Celebrity again, and looking forward to trying E-class next (I like shiny and new!). Will likely bounce between NCl and X, with occasional MSC YC to spoil ourselves! Again, any other questions, feel free to ask! Welcome back to the seas, y'all! Happy cruising! 😎 ~Zack

Womppppp this is what I was afraid of. We drank them out of Veuve last cruise 🤣

Hey, y’all! Does anyone have photos of recent drink menus from the Seashore? Even better if from the champagne/wine bar! Last time we were on MSC, we had the premium package when it included anything you could possibly want to drink. Now that the premium package has a price limit, I’m interested to know what wines/champagnes are now included. Thanks in advance!

Just trying to figure out what the difference is between the YC Deluxe Suite and the YC Deluxe Grand Suite on the Seashore. The “size” listed varies on both, so I’m not sure. Thanks in advance!

It's 2022, and this is not the Titanic. The definitions of "ladies and gentlemen" have changed, just like the roles of women and men in society have changed. Honestly, dress codes for the most part are outdated. There can be a general code like "resort chic," etc with entry allowance left up to the host(ess), but specific item lists need to be done away with. Women are allowed to wear short skirts and dress sandals, but God forbid a man wears shorts and sandals. This stigma is so outdated. There are multiple types of shorts. Trust me, I can wear a nice button down shirt and pressed shorts with Hermes sandals and look much more sophisticated than some baggy, oversized/ill-fitted pants with too many folds at that bottom than many seem to think is acceptable. Or I guess one could just wear sweatpants, because, hey...at least they're not shorts! I get someone shouldn't be allowed in basketball or athletic shorts or pool flip flops but again...this is why it should be an overall "look" and not nit-picking piece by piece.

Ports: I’ve been to all these ports numerous times, and they’re always nice. It was nice to have a little longer cruise with 5 stops instead of the typical 3 or 4 that are the usual Eastern Caribbean itineraries. San Juan: I love the evening stop, as that is when Old SJ comes to life. It’s always nice to sail into port in the evening past El Morro and the cliffs. My parents took the San Juan Evening drive excursion, which they said was fine. They aren’t adventurous as much any more due to health, so it was a nice way for them to see the city. However, with it being July 4 when we were there, the heavy traffic impacted their excursion. The rest of us just got off and wandered around Old SJ. One in our party was born and raised in Puerto Rico, so we knew our way around pretty well. We had dinner and drinks at Barrachina (home of the OG pina colada), amazing gelato at nearby Anita, and stopped at a hole-in-the-wall bar for a few more drinks before heading back. St. Thomas: FYI Celebrity ports at Crown Bay…in case you’re booking things on your own. I feel Havensight is better, but oh well. We did the Adventure Turbo Cat Snorkel & Beach Escape. I prefer to do things on my own in St. Thomas, and have a company I typically use, but some in our group wanted to stick with Celebrity for peace of mind. The excursion was good. It definitely was not a “turbo cat” as pictured…we were expecting a catamaran, but got a boat. I didn’t feel overly crowded, and the crew was awesome. Ample time to snorkel, followed by pulling right up to a beautiful beach that was only for us. Good rum punch on the way back! We really enjoyed sailaway on the helipad (more on that later)! St. Maarten: Unfortunately, I can’t speak much about St. Maarten this time. This day was taken up by getting my parents to SXM for their flight home. It POURED rain when we disembarked, and although many were waiting for the rain to clear, we had a flight to catch. Honestly, getting down the pier was a disaster, but I will spare those details. We got my parents to the airport shortly after, and of course the sun came out later. My in-laws took the water taxi to Great Bay, which is the nice beach close by. They had about an hour to enjoy before the rain hit. We were all too exhausted to go back out after the rain cleared. Tortola: I had been several times before and have always gone to Virgin Gorda–it’s just so nice. My fiance and in-laws hadn’t been, so we did the Baths excursion (sans snorkeling) via Celebrity. It’s one thing I wouldn’t risk doing on your own, as it can get tricking with the early/short port time and scheduling the ferry. The excursion was good…they loved it, and we were there early enough that it wasn’t crowded. The line to go through the caves was a little long, but we had plenty of time to see everything. Next time, I will definitely check out Jost Van Dyke! Nassau: I tend to not get off in Nassau, but we wanted a proper beach day. We got off and grabbed a cheap cab ($10pp I think) to Cable Beach near BahaMar. It was perfect…only several other groups (all from our cruise) showed up, and the water was crystal clear and calm. We stayed several hours, and had arranged for our taxi driver to meet us at a specific time to bring us back. He was prompt, gave us a mini-tour on the way back, and that was that. I hadn’t done this before, but definitely think I will in future stops in Nassau (a port that I tend to view as an unnecessary add-on to longer itineraries), as it was a beautiful, easy-to-get-to beach with food/drinks and facilities.

Bars/Alcohol/Drink Package: We had the classic beverage package included from our booking (my parents were the only ones that had the premium included from their Elevate package), but the rest of us upgraded shortly after we got on board. The new upgrade price is $18 per person per day (this includes service charges and is without the Captain’s Club discount), which we felt was extremely worth it. Hell, a single cocktail in Miami is $18, and considering we drank numerous cocktails daily, it made sense. If you’re going to do this, do it once on board with one of the servers or bartenders…they do get a commission, and are extremely grateful when you do (unless, of course, you’re trying to get your CC discount, in which case you have to call in advance). If you are a cocktail or wine drinker, I think it’s worth it. The classic package only includes drinks up to $9, and almost all the craft cocktails (and definitely all of the martinis) are over that. Of course, your standard “boat drinks” like pina coladas, margaritas, Bahama mamas, etc, are included with the classic, but the signature drinks at the bars are not. Which brings me to the cocktails. Celebrity really wins here. They are AMAZING (when made correctly). I love craft cocktails and mixology, and they have some awesome drinks on board. The World Class bar in particular…those bartenders really care about their craft, and the drinks were phenomenal. Shout out to the famous Martini Bar as well—amazing drinks, amazing bartenders, and amazing show. We loved it. Stand-outs were the Caribbean Cobbler at the Passport Bar, the Cherry Lane at the Martini Bar, the Taurus at the Sky Lounge, and the Tropically Yours at the World Class Bar. I do have to say…I found a lot of bartenders didn’t know how to make a lot of the signature drinks. Maybe they had a large amount of new crew that sailing, but sometimes, I would order a drink 3 times, and it would taste like 3 completely different drinks. At one point, I had to help one of the bartenders at the Passport Bar how to make the drink off of their own menu, as I had ordered so many times already 🤣. Once I found a seasoned bartender at each bar (always there during peak times), I ordered from them and tipped well. In line with that, my major complaint of the entire cruise was when I had a server in the MDR argue with me over a drink. I had been drinking the Caribbean Cobbler all week long (it's just SO good) and decided to order it at dinner in the MDR as I was forgoing wine that night. It came to me a completely different color. The drink I ordered was rum-based, and the drink I got was vodka-based. The flavor matched the description of a different drink on the menu. I discussed this with the server, and she said she would bring me a new one. When she did, it was the same. I explained this to her, and she proceeded to tell me I was incorrect. The ingredients are listed right there on the menu, but she told me “well it’s different, and this is what you ordered.” 🤷‍♂️ I don’t know what that was about, so I just switched to champagne and brushed it off, but…it was the only major issue I had the entire cruise. The wine, beer, and champagne selection was nice. We never experienced supply issues for anything, despite what others had been saying. I feel this definitely varies cruise to cruise, so YMMV. The bar spaces overall are very nice. The Martini Bar is definitely the place to be, and the ice on the bar keeps the drinks cold all night! I heard they did away with this on the E-class ships, which is a shame. It was really fun! The Sunset Bar is so nice, but the smoking killed it for us. Even though it's only allowed on one side, it drifts to the other and ruins it. Because of that, we didn't spend any time there, unfortunately.

Food: We live in Miami and were previously in NYC, so we’re pretty picky when it comes to food. We are both good cooks and enjoy fine dining for sure (just so you know where my food review is coming from, since food is 100% subjective and variable person to person). Overall, the food was great! As I typically cruise on NCL, that is pretty much my cruise comparison. I don’t think it was leagues above NCL or other cruises like many people say (but I mainly eat in specialty restaurants on NCL, which are leagues above their MDRs), but it was very good. We pre-booked Murano for the first night discount (and booked on Memorial Day weekend for an extra discount), so it was a nice deal. This was by far the stand-out meal…believe what everyone says–it’s true! We were seated in the wine cellar, which was not requested or pre-planned. I don’t know how we got that lucky, but WOW. 😍 The privacy and service were top notch. They would bring enough servers to set all of our dishes down at the exact same time. It felt like a 5-star Michelin restaurant/chef’s table experience. I don’t know if it’s like that if you’re at a regular table in Murano, but it was incredible. The beef tartare amuse-bouche was a little surprise and was DELICIOUS. Everyone was happy with their food–the risotto, duck, and tableside lobster were stand-outs. The sommelier was attentive, and although we didn’t pay for bottles of wine (we all had the premium beverage package), he kept the multiple bottles in the ice buckets in the room for us. We all loved this so much we considered returning, but events on the cruise (which I’ll mention later) prevented that from happening. Sushi on 5 was good. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but the sushi was good and comparable to anything stateside. Prices were fair, and we all felt it was worth it and would return, as we all love sushi. It’s a nice break in the heaviness of all the other food we had been having all week. I did feel overall the service was stressed…this is the only place I felt the understaffing, but it wasn’t a bother and didn’t affect our meal. Tuscan Grille was fine. I don’t think it was anything to write home about. The pastas were fine. My filet mignon was cooked well but overall taste was fine. The tuna was AWFUL…definitely skip that (focus on pasta and steak, since that’s the specialty…we made fun of my fiance for ordering the random item 🤣). Service was fine. It was just…fine. Honestly, the filet at Cagney’s on NCL is amazing and loads better…it’s always a winner. I kind of wish X was able to have dedicated steak and Italian restaurants to allow them to focus on one thing instead of combining too much. We all had X Select dining, which is on the second level of Silhouette (MDR). I made reservations for around 8pm each night, mainly because we had a larger party. They were very flexible and allowed us to come earlier or later some nights depending on our day, and we always called ahead to let them know. Our first meal here was night 2, and we were seated towards the back at a round table with Mathew and Tyron as our servers. They were great, and although we had “anytime” dining, they sat us at the same table with them each night. I loved this…it was like having the set dining time with the same table and servers without stressing about getting to and eating at the same time each night. I did notice them giving out pagers to some without reservations, but everything seemed to flow smoothly. I’m not sure how long those groups had to wait to be seated. The food in the MDR was overall very good. Only a few things weren’t that great, and there were definitely some stand-outs. The blue cheese souffle was one of the best things we have ever eaten–so much so I almost ordered it as dessert. I LOVED being able to have escargot nightly, since it’s on the classics menu…that garlic butter is SO good. Many of us ordered two appetizers nightly just to keep having this. I enjoyed the different spreads/dips they had for the bread each night and how they rotated them. I also think Celebrity has a good dessert game…they were very good for the most part. I typically don’t eat desserts on cruises, because I find them boring and overly gel-like (NCL really doesn’t have many good desserts at ALL), but Celebrity did a good job. Our sommelier also was amazing and kept our glasses filled each night! The buffet was disappointing. We only went here for breakfast (see below) and lunch/snacks. Breakfast was fine…the poached eggs/benedict station was nice! I did feel it was small with not many options, mainly for lunch time. Several stations were closed and taken up just by decorations, possibly due to the decreased staffing. The pizza was pretty good (NCL has horrible buffet pizza), and I liked that it was open until 1am for late-night snacks. Mast Grill was great for burgers/hot dogs and fries by the pool, and the snacks at the Spa Cafe and Cafe al Bacio were great as well. Love that all of this is included. We did not dine at Le Petit Chef…I’ve heard mixed reviews, but the kitsch didn’t enthrall us. I obviously also cannot comment on Blu or Luminae. We ordered room service for breakfast once (on Tortola day, as our excursion meeting time was 7:15am–ouch! 😣), and it was good–my eggs were perfectly poached! Tip–the croissants are small, so order more than you think! My main complaint with food was the restaurant timings. The MDR is only open for 2 hours for breakfast (7-9) and 1.5 hours for lunch (12-1:30). That’s a pretty early breakfast and a short window for lunch, so we never made it to the MDR for those meals. We wanted Sushi on 5 for lunch one day, but again, the window was so small that by the time we were hungry, it was closed (hence why we ended up having dinner there instead). The buffet also closed for extended periods of time between meals, which I found odd. When returning to the ship from an excursion late afternoon, the only options were Mast Grill or room service (and you can only have burgers and fries so much, nor do you want to wait for room service when you are ravenous after a day in the sun). Finding food options between 3-5pm wasn’t optimal.

Cruisers: We sailed around 90% capacity (2500 passengers)...it didn’t feel crowded at all for the most part. There was the usual buffet flood on port mornings and chair hogs at 8am on sea days, but overall, we had no problem finding seats/chairs wherever we wanted to be. Definitely an older demographic overall, which was not a surprise and is pretty well-known. Kids were around but minimal and well-behaved. There was a large amount of college-age/younger adults on this sailing, likely due to the July 4 week/summer season. Everyone we spoke with was extremely pleasant. Entertainment: Honestly…I can’t comment much on this. We didn’t attend a single show…I enjoy them usually, but not everyone in our group does. We also tended to eat around 7:45/8:00pm, which is right in the middle of the two show times, so it was difficult to make it to either. A lot of this cruise was us all hanging out and catching up since we are scattered around the US, so the shows weren't top of the to-do list for us. The music scattered around the ship was mostly nice. We didn't seek them out to listen, but listened in when they were around where we chose to park it for the evening. The guitarist Briony in the ensemble lounge was awesome. The bands were good, but one was definitely better than the other (I can’t remember which, as we never went specifically to listen…they just happened to be playing in the Atrium while we were at the Martini Bar each night). One played the same set each time they were on, which was repetitive and annoying–mainly because they only played the same white people (no-offense…I’m white) “cruise music” every night. I mean, if you go on a cruise and don’t hear “Sweet Caroline” at some point, did you even go on a cruise? 🤣 I felt there was a lack of variety of music overall, mainly Caribbean or Latin music. I mean...they have a dedicated ABBA night, but they still played so much ABBA every other night. I understand they play to the demographic, but some variety would be nice. 🤷‍♂️ Activities: Again, not much to comment on–we were much more of a hang out in a lounge/bar crew than an activities crew this cruise. What we did attend was great. Good turn-outs (and apparently high level of competitiveness) for trivia. The silent discos were definitely a stand-out...we had such a blast! 😎 Casino: Only played a few slots one night, and we all came out winners (not huge, but up). The casino is small but nice, and a huge bonus that it’s non-smoking.