ARandomTraveler

Who?

I was on the spectrum cruise from Singapore to Japan with @bonsai3s and agree with what he said regarding the passengers, food, crowds etc. Always a lounger by the pool if you wanted one (I guess Asians don't like to tan). Drink packages were really cheap ($43/day for the alcohol and $19/day or maybe it was $23/day for the non-alcohol). No freestyle machine and the soda selection at bars is not the same as it is on the Caribbean sailings. Spectrum does have some interesting tea drinks that you won't find on other ships though. Great cruise, highly recommend. Be prepared to be hot and sweaty (more than on a Caribbean cruise, it's very humid in Asia).

It's more than I would spend, but considering the prices we were seeing last year, the prices listed didn't seem bad. That's what I meant. As someone who doesn't drink much and can easily go a whole cruise without having alcohol, I'm glad they don't add that 50% cost to the cruise fare. Let the people who feel it's worth the money pay it.

I like it, but would only get it on an oasis class ship or a quantum class, because they have more than 3 restaurants to choose from. Add me to the camp that ends up overeating and spending every meal in a specialty restaurant, just because I can, and because it psychologically makes me feel like I got a better deal on the package. It's really too much food, and forces me to eat more meals than I otherwise would, but I get it anyway and I like having it. I wouldn't bother on a freedom, voyager, radiance or vision class ship.

Wow that's not bad, for a while there (last year at least) it seemed like $72.99 was as low as it was going for Caribbean cruises, and most times people were reporting prices into the $80's. I guess RC wasn't getting as many sales as they wanted and finally started dropping prices. My cruise on Spectrum last summer was only $43, but it was a 12-day cruise so it was still gonna be the same as paying $80 on a 7-day cruise. I knew I couldn't drink for 12 days straight so I didn't get it. Bought the refreshment at $19 but didn't get my moneys worth out of that either.

I've never seen someone suggest reading a tipping thread, but I guess that's a much better option than starting a new one 😂

I've gotten the refreshment package my last 3 or 4 cruises. I don't think I get my moneys worth out of it, but I also don't think too much about spending $200, so I don't feel like it's "wasted." There's a lot of drinks I try just for fun just because I've pre-paid for them, and I'm one of those people who thinks being able to order as much or as little as you want without thinking about price has some value to it, so I'm willing to overpay for the drink package up to a certain point. That being said, I generally get tired of trying sugary drinks after day 3 or 4, so if the price of the package keeps going up, I'll probably stop buying it. When it was $19/day it was worth it, at $23/day I don't think I'm breaking even but it still has value to me. If it costs too much more than that, I won't buy it.

Add me to the "I didn't think I'd like it but I did" camp. I sailed Spectrum last summer for 12 days and really enjoyed it. Didn't get bored on the ship at all, thought the size was good (though I prefer oasis). It was very easy to navigate the ship, plenty of venues that spread everyone out nicely, and seemed to have plenty of room for everyone. I didn't like 270 as much for shows because there seemed to be a lot of obstructed views but it wasn't terrible. Really liked music Hall. Just overall was really surprised that the ship didn't feel too "indoors" and it didn't feel too small. I would have liked a playmakers also but that food definitely doesn't appeal to the Asian market as much. And as for the high-end shops, they were empty on our sailing too, even though the Asian market actually does like high-end shopping. Those stores were a waste of space.

Rhapsody does the route with Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua etc also, you may just have to look at a different sail date. The southern routes that include St Lucia and Barbados are my favorite because those islands give you beaches and scenery that are more lush and water that is more clear than you'll get in some of the more typical eastern/western ports. The southern route is my favorite but I've avoided it lately because I don't think the rhapsody is worth the money they're charging, especially when you factor in the flights to San Juan. I loved it when they were putting voyager and freedom class ships there. If you like hiking, St Kitts has the Mt Liamuiga hike, and in St Lucia you can hike the Pitons. You can also hike El Yunque forest in San Juan. No hiking to be done in the other spots you mentioned. you can go to St Thomas and St Maarten on any ship sailing the eastern route.

Asia cruises also provide kettles in regular, non-suite rooms.

I know that you get double points when you book as a solo, but sometimes when you book as a solo they charge more than double the price. For example, I was looking at a cruise for this July and if I book it for 2 people it's $4400, but if I book it for 1 person it's $5900. So it would be better for me to book it for 2 people and have 1 person be a no-show, but if I do that, I don't get double points, and it seems like a waste of money to pay for 2 people and not at least get double points if someone else isn't gonna get to enjoy the cruise. That's what I meant by that.

I think going solo could work in your favor on this ship! You'll have a very easy time finding a good seat in theaters, even without a reservation. Often when I'm traveling with other people, I end up wanting to wander around or grab a bite to eat while they're napping or showering or doing something else, so even though I'm not technically traveling solo, I'm doing things on the ship by myself. Nobody can tell whose solo vs who's just doing something on their own for a bit, so don't worry about standing out or not being able to find things to do that are enjoyable on your own. I often find doing things on my own is easier because I don't have to check in with anyone else. I can come and go as I please, eat when I want, sleep when I want. I would like to try a cruise by myself but most of the time when I price out a solo cruise it costs more than paying for 2 people, and it seems like a waste to pay double the price without getting double the points, so I haven't done it yet.

My brain hurts

Not true for Asian countries. Sat in hours long lines and had to go through immigration in Vietnam and Japan. But this person is most likely not going to either of those places. We couldn't take food off the ship on Vietnam, Hong Kong or Taiwan, and they were very serious about it. Had government officials and dogs along with multiple warning signs and plastic food examples of all the things you couldn't bring off the ship. I know some Caribbean ports also say that you can't bring things like fruit or meat off the ship, but it's not as closely monitored as it is in Asia.

Keep in mind that if you booked the restaurant when it was on sale, and the price has now changed, they won't honor the sale price when you rebook. If that's the case, you're better off waiting until you board the ship and asking them to change the reservation for you.

I think all of the ships have Starlink internet now, if that's true, you should be fine steaming it on your phone. High likelihood that game could reach game 7. My daughter and I both watched sporting events on our phones on the Symphony (regular Caribbean route, we were somewhere between Mexico and Honduras) and also on the Spectrum, while in the middle of the South China Sea. I even made a phone call on that one (there was a bit of a delay/dead spots on the call though.

Except Spectrum doesn't have playmakers so I'm not sure what makes it ultra-class. Spectrum is the only Quantum class ship I've sailed though so I have nothing to compare it to.

I had to read that sentence twice too, and then realized they probably just have a very low limit credit card. If their mortgage is $2,600, and they drained their bank account PLUS had to use a credit card and still only came up with $1,500, then it doesn't sound like they were gonna make that mortgage payment anyway. Even funnier is that they think they'll be able to afford another cruise.

Agreed. To be fair though, the article did say the cruise was gifted to them. Another funny thing at the end of the article was the couple saying they'll be sure to get travel insurance before their next cruise 😂 Good luck booking a cruise when you don't even have $2,600, nor a credit card with that low of a limit. I guess they probably don't know how much cruises cost these days.

I was on Symphony for Thanksgiving week 2023 and they didn't put up any decorations.

I saw several listings today for cruises at insanely low prices ($300 for a 7-day cruise on brilliance in an ocean view balcony for example), but as soon as you click on it, it showed a price of $1500/per person or something like that. This was the case on several cruises. I figured it was a glitch that happened after they did their website update last night and was definitely probably a pricing mistake on the listing. Maybe you were seeing something like that.

I did a cruise on Spectrum in August that left from Singapore and ended in Japan. It was 12 days. I think they only did that longer route a handful of times before moving back to China for the shorter cruises. It seems like there's a big draw for gambling on the Asian cruises, so maybe those 5 day routes are conducive to the Asian gambling market moreso than the US/Europe/Canadian market for longer tourism routes. Not sure, but I really enjoyed the 12 day.

I book independent excursions 100% of the time on Caribbean cruises. But on my 12 day cruise in Asia last summer (Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan), I didn't even consider an independent tour, I booked ship tours for the whole thing. I wasn't willing to risk it in countries where there are very few reviews for independent tours, the language barrier is pretty extreme, and where there was a level orange travel advisory from the United States in some of the ports. I wasn't willing to get left behind.

Get on the waitlist as soon as you board.

The only port that checked my temperature was Hong Kong back in august (2023).