PACrew

I cruise spring break a lot because my wife is a teacher. I will say the ship you choose makes the difference. Last year on spring break, we were on Harmony of the Seas and while there were 2k kids on board, you wouldn't know. The ship and pools are so spread out, it wasn't very noticeable at all. The pools were crowded on sea days (but nothing out of the ordinary). The kids club was a zoo but we kept our kids out of it. The buffet was even manageable. I think RCCL Oasis class ships are great at spreading out people and activities. They also do a great job forcing people to wash their hands before going into the buffet. We are booked next year on Oasis for the same reason.

I noticed that Star is cheaper than Icon for the same itinerary same time of year in 2026.

The reality is cruiselines like RCCL are shifting more toward a land-based resort model of pricing. I wouldn't be surprised in the future to see your cruise ticket only covering your room with all food being a cost just like a hotel. Maybe they offer meal plans like Disney or and all inclusive option but I wouldn't be surprised to see lines remove all complimentary/included food. The lines will chalk it up to choice and better quality, I hope that's not the case but it wouldn't surprise me.

I hope everyone is completing the surveys after the cruise.

Great reading! Thank you! Looking to book this ship for next year so this is really helpful!

Yeh but everyone seems to forget that MSCs ticket price is cheaper than Royal. For example, a cruise I booked it was 40% less. (Mera v. anthem, same itinerary less coco cay)

This is dead on. My upcoming MSC cruise is 50% of the cost of Royal. Do I expect the same as Royal - no. (However, the food on our last royal cruise was not great at all and frankly I feel it was a rip off at the price we paid. They are clearly milking the cow for all its worth.).

I guess I'm annoyed by the decrease in service yet we are paying more. As a family of 6, having twice a day cabin service is nice because of all the trash and setting/putting away the beds. I am all for rewarding crew but with the increased ticket prices, plus now raised gratuity over the past 2 years, we are getting priced out. We booked a cruise with MSC to try it out. At 60% less, we will give it a whirl. We will cruise Royal again, just not a much.

Exactly - ships are registered outside the US. They are not subject to all US working laws.

With 4 kids under 8, the splash area on odyssey is a huge feature for us which anthem doesn’t have.

Did the same thing William. We are on the March 24 sailing. Not a big fan of anthem so it was an easy call. Now if it was an Oasis class or Odyssey, it would have been a more difficult decision to go with MSC. I have friends who sail MSC all the time and say its great. Nothing is perfect including Royal.

Yeh, the pricing is as high as 2024 and 25.

I dont think its apples to applies but MSC America will be a brand new ship. Is icon worth and extra $6k. I dont think so at this time.

Looked to book Icon in 2025. $12k for my family if 6 in a balcony. MSC America, 6k for my family in a suite. MSC it is. If Royal comes down, I’ll switch.

Watched this. Really interesting. Can’t wait to visit.

Just booked a NCL cruise with air. The savings for me is around $1600 to use NCL air. I just did a 2 day early deviation (which we would have done had we booked ourselves since going to Europe) so its a wash.

Just booked an MSC and NCL cruise. RCL prices just go too high. Our last experience on Harmony (3/23) wasn’t that great. MSC was 1/2 the price for our next cruise and NCL offered way more for our cruise to Greece then RCL. Love Royal but will shop around now at other lines. If royal fills the ships, good for them. I’ll wait it out or pick another line.

Problem is you aren’t getting what you pay for with Royal these days. You are getting less and paying more.

Just Booked Meraviglia for March 24. Anthem from NY with same itinerary (no coco cay but ocean cay) was $5k more for two cabins. Sorry, we cant be loyal to Royal at that price.

Just booked two cruises, one NCL and another MSC. We wanted to take Royal in March but MSC from NY was 1/2 the price for basically same itinerary (ocean cay v coco cay). $4k savings…sorry but Anthem and Coco aren’t worth an extra $4k. We will just cruise other lines for the time being.

The “value” position is just not there at these prices. We love royal but just booked two cruises, one with NCL and another MSC.

We just put a deposit on a MSC cruise for next spring. Love Royal but the almost identical cruise (stateroom, itinerary) is 4k less on MSC. For the price savings, I’ll give it a try. Friends have taken MSC multiple times and love it. Appears to be a much better value proposition. I too and looking at World America. For my family (6) in 2025, World America is $6k in a suite and Icon is $12k for balcony’s. Wow. Tough to justify the $6k for icon.

We too have been priced out by Royal. We were looking at Anthem from NJ and it is literally twice MSC. I need 2 cabins (family of 6) and MSC is $4k less than Royal for same date, same cabin type (cheapest a balcony) and itinerary (ocean cay obviously, not coco cay). So MSC it is. Sorry, but Royal isn’t worth $4k more to me. We had had friends take the Mer from Ny and said it was fine. They would do it again.

RCCL is pushing pricing and service cutbacks just like Disney. Until demand slows, Royal has no reason to stop. For me, Royal is diluting the whole cruising experience. Food and cruising has been synonymous. Service too. I don’t need/expect 5 star but I do want value and Royal is not giving it. To charge for pizza is a slap in the face IMO. If you want to cut waste, limit slices a person. If someone eats it all, they can get more. People can live with that. For our next cruise, we (9 guests) are trying MSC. For the price, it’s worth the try (royal is double the $$$ on the same week and identical itinerary). I see value here with MSC and willing to try.

As a parent with 2 young kids in the room, trash can accumulate. Having extra trash service (2xs a day) would be great and also having the stewards open and close the beds should be given. I dont need a full cleaning 2xs a day (nor do a I need new towels twice a day) but having trash and beds made is something I miss. I think Royal (and other lines) need to figure out a balance that pleases everyone.