The Fun Researcher

Star... meh. Doesn't invoke any excitement or intrigue for me personally.

Never received an emailed version on our March '23 Anthem cruise either. I did review the paper/electronic folio before we left the ship though.

...and New Years Eve cruises are interesting too. Back on New Years Eve 2017 on the Liberty out of Galveston, embarkation day was New Years Eve. The first night MDR menu had all the top entrees... lobster, tenderloin, lamb chops, etc... it was amazing. Kind of made the follow-up "formal" nights a bit less special to be honest. 🤣 We've done a couple of Christmas cruises now and love them. We do a full Christmas celebration at home the Sunday before our cruise, with church, presents, etc... and then get what feels like a 2nd Christmas around a week later on the cruise. Just love it.

Why would Royal send a ship TO Vancouver that time of year?

…and how realistic do you think it is that a 15-year-old would be drinking in a bar on a Royal Caribbean ship? How about you try a plausible argument.

Congrats. Not sure why there is reason to doubt it. You have the new invoice with new room number. Enjoy.

I'm fine either way. I'm ok with the adjustment, even if it does negatively impact our youngest (16 yo boy) for another 1-2 years. You have to draw a line somewhere, and when I think of "adults only", 16 and 17 doesn't fit that description. I did notice my son getting a few looks on our Quantum cruise to Alaska a few months ago. Even though he was legit to be in the solarium at 16 (as well my niece on the same cruise) I think some guests were puzzled seeing them. Fortunately our kids know how to behave in spaces like that and would never be loud, cause a scene, etc... but even so 16 seems a bit young to me even if they are well behaved. Either way isn't going to bother me, unless of course the kids are being obnoxious. At that point I would probably reach out to someone on staff to talk with the kids.

Respectfully disagree. They are wading pools. We really enjoy them. They aren't hot tubs, that's for sure. I don't like the hot temperature of hot tubs but really enjoy the pools in the Solarium on Quantum class.

I do agree that Fried Chicken, Burgers, Jambalaya feel more like buffet offerings. Not sure how I feel about them on the MDR menu. I feel they do de-elevate the experience. However, I do love good fried chicken, burgers and Jambalaya 🤣. Also, I doubt the lobster mac n cheese has much lobster in it (or perhaps not even real lobster) However, there is still a NY strip steak, Glazed Salmon, and a fish curry that hold up fine against any of the other menus. For appetizers, Potato soup, Waldorf salad, Shrimp Cocktail, Caesar salad, are all solid offerings, and the desserts look normal as well. I get what you're saying about the quality of the dishes offered, and it is slipping.

Wow, sure enough. I have eight of the new menus saved on my phone, but I did not have Taste of the USA. Did not know that one even existed. Do you mind saying what sailing that was on and where? Just wondering where they would offer a taste of the USA menu. I agree, they do make a nice burger in the dining room. Not sure how I feel about offering it for dinner though. I have gotten it multiple times for lunch in the main dining room. Sure looks like a dinner menu to me. Interesting. Overall not that bad of a menu really.

I’ve only ever seen that offered on the lunch menu in the dining room. Are you saying this was for dinner? It’s not on any of the themed dinner menus that I’ve found

Agree, the 4 drinks vouchers per day is a massive benefit that keeps us looking at Royal first and foremost. We make use of all of them. It doesn't completely keep us with Royal though. We did get a good deal on a 5 night in December on the Celebrity Equinox with drinks, WiFi and gratuities included. Decent prices are getting harder and harder to come by though, especially when we are currently stuck with summer and holidays due to my wife and kids work and school schedules.

No. I don't have a problem paying for special extras, the question is... how much? My point is that our cruise fare already supplements a good share of the cost of food on the ship. When the cost for food on a cruise equals or exceeds those on land, I have a problem with that. I LOVE the fact that Royal has added Playmakers to some of their ships (I wish they all had it). I'm ok paying extra to get decent food later in the evening, like chicken wings. I get so tired of mediocre pizza and finger sandwiches as my only late night options However, Playmaker prices are jumping as well 😡 Raising food prices doesn't seem to be bothering Royal though. I would argue that their dinner prices for specialty restaurants can easily match or exceed those on land for similar quality of food. We haven't been cruising for 30 years like some on these boards, but have been for regular cruisers on Royal since 2012. This trend of massive price increases for drinks and food on board is disturbing. Yes, it may very well push us to other lines despite the fact that we are Diamond on Royal. It's just sad to see because we love(d) the Royal product... but it's changing.

You are choosing to ignore the point.

Yes, but on a cruise you've already supplemented a good amount of the food cost with your cruise fare. Similar food on cruises should be lower than on land based locations.

That’s Fair. Just curious what are your favorites on the Caribbean night? The bao buns have been either excellent or terrible for us. I do like the lentil soup. I can make the shrimp or steak entree work. So not a terrible menu but not high on the list for me I do agree the Italian night is pretty lackluster too.

Good to hear. For the first time ever we received overcooked prime rib in March on the Anthem (asked for medium rare and received well done). I chalk that up to a "one-off" experience though as it's been very good on all other cruises.

I guess we got lucky. This is what it was like for us just before lunch. What do you think of Magen’s bay by the way?

If you don't want to hassle with the ferry, Magen's Bay on St. Thomas is easy to get to and also a very beautiful beach. Walk a little ways along the shore and you'll be away from any crowds.

One off experiences don't define a place. I wouldn't assume that Truck Bay is going to be slammed. It's still, to this day, the best beach we've ever been to. It wasn't crowded. The water was incredibly clear, and all sorts of amazing hues of blue... amazing. Clean soft white sand. It helped that it was a beautiful sunny way. Dan

We've never sailed shorter than 6 nights on Royal so can't say for sure, but yes my expectation would be French night. That menu (or a version of it) been the first formal night on pretty much every cruise we've been on. I really look forward to the beef tenderloin. However, Royal has revamped their protocol of which menu is served when. I think I see that French and Royal nights are only on 6 night or longer cruises. IMO, Mexican is the weakest menu followed by Caribbean night. Shame they put BOTH of those on a 4 night cruise.

They are serving Mexican night as the formal night? That seems very weird. IMO that's the worst culinary menu of the entire bunch!

We love both lines. We're taking the kids (21, 19, 17yrs) and my in-laws on Celebrity for the first time in December on the Equinox. Price was very good. The main downside to Celebrity is the lack of activities versus Royal. They don't even have a putt putt course. Things get pretty dang quiet after 11pm or so. That's why we're ok that our cruise is only 5 nights. However, on the flip side, we love the slight bump in food quality, service and amenities with Celebrity. I'm very interested to see with the kids think. I think we are all really going to enjoy it. In summary, we're happy to sail Celebrity especially if the price is right. We just need to be aware that it's more of an old school classic elegant cruising experience versus all the activities on Royal. Dan

Thanks for posting so much about the Connecting Promenade Cabins! I've looked at these many times but haven't booked them partly because we are a family of five and two connecting promenade cabins aren't enough. However our oldest now tends to get tied up with college stuff and can't always join our cruises. So, you mentioned the noise from the parties. Other then the parties how quiet are those cabins? Are they like any other interior cabin, nice and quiet? Do you hear noise from the Royal Promenade area? Thanks.

Well, Princess is the premium Carnival, just as Celebrity is the premium Royal. If you are placing HAL inline with Princess, then your ARE calling it premium.