The Fun Researcher

1 hour ago, frank808 said:

Just wondering, where are the self serve laundry facilities on MSC Davina?  

Check in with the MSC forums 

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

IMO Princess has the best Pizza at sea. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Sorrento's on Anthem. It had a good amount of cheese and the sauce wasn't battery acid like the Pizza I had on Celebrity. The burgers on the other hand were an abomination.  When I read comments on this board on how bad they were I just thought people over exaggerated.  They were so bad. It was as if they were boiled or steamed. They didn't even have the consistency of being meat. I don't cruise for burgers or pizza so it's not a deal breaker if they are bad.

Agree about the burgers.    Honestly, I’m shocked they haven’t  realized it and have done something to make them better 

Dan

5 minutes ago, shippmates said:

Just got off the Adventure after 21 days.  Service was better in some areas than others.  This may be our last cruise to Canada/New England on this ship as it was too cold to use the pool or even to sit in the solarium on some days.  We feel this ship would be better suited for warm weather climates.  We knew getting on the ship that they did not have covered pools but we wanted to do this itinerary.

 

 

Agreed, not the best setup for cold weather 

Dan

12 minutes ago, LeeW said:

 

 

Oasis class ships no longer open the MTD dining room at 5:15.  Instead they use that room for early fixed seating and then open up for MTD at 6:30.  Since we like to eat early and don't want to wait for a whole dining room to eat in sync we don't do fixed seating dining.  Other Royal ships do open MTD early.  Folks on this board have also reported that MTD is a zoo now on Oasis-class.  Will see in a couple of weeks on Allure and next spring on Harmony if we will continue to sail on Oasis-class.

What?  They aren't offering MTD until after 6:30?  That would 100% keep us from sailing on Oasis class.

Dan

15 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

That lofty 3 story dining room is only on Voyager, Freedom,  and Oasis. Plus you really don't experience it from the periphery.  

 

On the other hand, the aft tables on Empress are crazy impressive.

 

Thanks for the photo!  That is absolutely gorgeous!  Love the view out the aft as well.  I need to try one of the smaller classes soon!  

Dan

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

That is why that side of the ship sells out faster.  😉 

Yeah, when my parents did their very first cruise about 15 years ago (Celebrity Summit) it was a northbound from Vancouver to Anchorage.  I had never cruised before, but after helping them plan their cruise I thought about where they should have their balcony cabin.  I'm glad we considered it because we came to the realization that starboard side would be facing land far more than port side.  They called Celebrity and got the VERY LAST balcony cabin available on starboard side.  When they got back from the cruise they were so thankful they did.  👍

Dan 

3 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

 The adventure is an Oasis wannabe- 

That's funny.  🙂

Funny because I think the Oasis class is a step down from Voyager class.  It's all in what you're looking for in a cruise.   There are things I like better about both classes but Voyager (and Freedom) class outweighs the Oasis class for us.

Dan

There's always those cruises and crew that are going to be at one end of the "bell curve".  OP I think you had the exception, not the norm.  ...at least that's our experience.

Dan

On 9/8/2019 at 11:26 AM, CruisesRMe said:

Hello Sherri,

 

I really appreciate your input on the Equinox.  We don't need the bells and whistles of the Oasis ship, we aren't much into the shows anyways but would go if it is a show that is interesting.  I love coffee bars and the World Class bar sounds like something we would prefer also.  Buffets are my most priority during lunch, because we tend to eat more "healthy".  

 

How is the food in the MDR (we generally eat at specialty restaurants and found the past two years of it declining) in Celebrity compared to RC?  Would you say its similar or do you prefer one over the other?  How do you get your dining room reservations for dinner if choosing the dining where you can go at anytime?  Can we reserve it online or do we have to do that on the ship and where would that be?

 

You have me more leaning to the Equinox...I also have to book a cruise down the road for next October, so thinking going on the Equinox first then next fall the Edge.

 

I appreciate your help here, thank you.  Linda

I can speak to this also.  We've sailed the Equinox and we felt that both the MDR and buffet were a small step above what we were used to on Royal.  Service was also a small step up.  Great crew.   You can reserve your dining room times online for each night. (if you have the flexible option)

Things we loved about the Equinox:  Indoor pool and hot tub area with true padded loungers.  The Sunset bar is a beautiful area to view the ocean and wake.  Actually, that entire top deck was wonderful to step out to in the evening.  Loved the silent disco.  The food and service were a small step up.  Loved Sushi on 5.  With the included on board credit, it was a nice "free" place for lunch a few days.  Having the drink package included was so nice.   We don't purchase the drink package on Royal, so it was a real treat to just order what we wanted, when we wanted.  We also liked the decor of the rooms slightly better than on Royal.  It's a little more clean/modern.

What I missed from Royal:  The royal promenade.  Love that area of many of the Royal ships.  I also missed having more activities.  No putt putt, no ice rink, no laser tag, escape room...  By about day 6 on our Equinox cruise, I felt like it was groundhogs day where things just felt like nothing was changing and just repeating.  Just an overall lack of activities.  Still a wonderful cruise.

Dan

On 9/7/2019 at 9:46 AM, not-enough-cruising said:

The drink packages are not "included" on the lines you mentioned. If you look at the bottom line cruise fare, the drink packages may not be line item listed, but you are paying for it. At least on Royal you have the option to choose not to buy.

I've priced shopped cruises for ourselves, and many times have found the Equinox with the "Two perks" (Drink Package and OBC) to be comparable in price to many RCI cruises of similar duration, on a variety of classes of RCCL ships.  However, the Royal cruises don't include drinks or OBC.

Dan

Short answer:  NO

Dan

14 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

Sorrentos is the best pizza on the planet

Only at 1am after I've had one too many, and even then...

Honestly I've never had a problem with it.  The best?  No.  I still enjoy most slices I have though. 

Dan

6 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:

I recommend doing a NB or SB, not the round trip one...  we really liked Radiance 🙂. We did NB with a portside balcony and had great views 🙂

Wouldn't you want starboard side on a North Bound so you can see Alaska while cruising instead of just looking out at the ocean?

Dan

We go on our desired ships as long as our schedule permits.

Dan

42 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

I don't know about boring, but a dining venue with nice décor and good service with good food is okay with us.

 

bosco

 

A nice looking venue, I agree, especially if I wasn't used to the three story dining rooms on other Royal ships...  but still nowhere near what we've come to love about the MDR.  It wouldn't ruin our cruise, but a significant drawback for us. (everyone has their quirks right.  🙂 )  Is it available for My Time dining? 

In all our cruising we've never done specialty dining, with the exception of Murano on the Celebrity Equinox.  It was a unique experience, but we didn't feel it was worth the up charge (good thing we were using OBC).  We can generally find something on each nightly menu that we really enjoy, especially the appetizers, so no need to pay more.

Dan

1 hour ago, boscobeans said:

Yes L. Lutoff-Perla is now with Celebrity and before that she was in charge of operations on Royal Caribbean back when there was DD or Dynamic Dining which has since been phased out.

Rehashing old discussions...  but the problem is the Quantum class was designed around this dynamic dining idea and now there are multiple rather small, boring, low ceiling main dining rooms.  Gone is the grand dining room of this other ships.  This is one thing that is keeping us off Quantum class (Anthem in particular).

Dan

1 hour ago, frito58 said:

Oh I don't disagree with you they have made a lot of cutbacks throughout the years , I have made to  Diamond on Royal and Platinum on Carnival 

Just curious, what does Platinum get you on Carnival and how many nights to reach that level?

Dan

55 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

I know some will find mine silly 🙂. But, if they did away with the loyalty program, we would no longer be Loyal to Royal.

Not silly.  All else being equal (or even close) working our way to Diamond keeps us with Royal.  (Mainly for the nightly happy hour).  We’re within reach 

1 hour ago, rimmit said:

 

I wasn’t the biggest fan of quantum class initially,  but if you go on a couple cruises where the weather is cold or less than ideal you will quickly appreciate the quantum class.  It is an excellent cold weather ship.

True, we had a cruise booked on the Anthem in March until we switched to to the Liberty out of Galveston.  The Anthem is setup well for cold weather cruising, and there were some things I was really looking forward to.  The problem is I don't want cold weather cruising.  I could have save a lot of $$$ by cruising out of Cape Liberty on the Anthem, since we can drive but I didn't want 4 out of my 7 days in March to be cold-ish weather.  That's what I'm trying to get away from in March.

Dan

If RCCL started producing ships that I just didn't care for.  Fortunately they've already built ones that I love, and I hope they keep them for many years to come.

I am a little concerned though, because I'm not a huge fan of the Oasis class and I'm not sure I'd like the Quantum class based on my research.

I'm happy to stick with Freedom and Voyager class as long as they do itineraries that we like. 

Dan

22 minutes ago, HardyVA said:

After reading some of these comments, I’m beginning to rethink our scheduled 12 day  April cruise on Grandeur.  We always sail on Celebrity and have liked the food and service.  Any thoughts?

They are far more similar than different.  I wouldn’t worry

Dan

11 hours ago, BixBebe said:

Disney does chocolates, plus a lot of other little unexpected treats that make the cruise extra special, but they are so much more expensive than Royal. 

Agreed, about twice the price.  We know two families who are close friends that used to sail Disney... until they sailed Royal, Celebrity and NCL.  They never looked back and now exclusively sail those lines.

Disney has a lot to offer, but they now don't feel it's worth the price, at all.  One comment was pools just jam-packed with kids (almost dangerous), and the chopped-up feel of the ships making it weird getting from point A to B.

Dan

11 hours ago, thtalks said:

In Bonaire rent a golf cart (Bonaire Cruisers) and tour the island on your own. 

This would be a fun way to get around.  We rented a couple of small SUV's for our group of 7 instead, because the golf carts only hold 2 people.

Either way, Bonaire is absolutely drivable on your own and it made for such a fun day.  It's kind of hard to imagine going everywhere that we did on a golf cart (we covered the whole island), but I suppose it might be doable. 

The option for a car or SUV is the Hertz location at the Divi Flamingo resort, which is only a 5 minute walk from the ship.

15 minutes ago, bilyclub said:

 Nightclub didn’t open until 11pm or later each night.

 

Royal used to have the Dungeon, a two story dance club/disco on the Freedom and Voyager Class. They got rid of it, replacing it with a specialty restaurant and cabins. They now have moved the dancing into the Viking Crown Lounge and start it late at night.

Surprised there was no parties up by the pool or solarium.

 The dungeon is right. Never liked that Gothic scene. I love the Viking Crown so much better at night for the DJ, dancing, etc

 Better yet, I would have loved to see them turn that gothic two story area into a proper modern night club.  The venue was great. The theming was horrible

Dan

15 minutes ago, Glide_Path said:

There is going to be a JR express on the Explorer Of the Sea, but it doesn't look like it's going to be free either. 

Not a free venue.  However I did like the ala carte version on the Navigator way better than paying a fixed price.  I'm not a huge eater in general and loved that I could just buy the burger I was eyeing up instead of paying, IMO, a fixed price that is overpriced.

1 hour ago, vacationlover_mn said:

On Carnival, our first cruise, when we were young and dumb, we didn’t tip much.  I know, it’s bad, and we always tip well now. But back then we didn’t know any better and were broke and thrifty.  Anyways, our room steward actually put sand in our bed the last night, after getting his tip envelope!  Yes, this really did happen 😞. Where did he get the sand?  Well, I had filled a bottle with it to take home, and I assume he used that, since it was 1/4 empty that night.

This is incredibly wrong behavior, but something inside me thinks it's hilarious.  What a story to tell!

Dan