md80fan

My family has taken only a handful of cruises on Royal Caribbean. We are leaning towards taking a celebrity cruise on Silhouette or Equinox due in part to the new and different port choices. The only issue is I know absolutely nothing about these islands and ports. I am curious if anybody has any opinions on which one is a can't miss and a must stop versus a skip it or "we don't even get off the boat there anymore" I realize that some people like beaches and bars while others may like educational or tours. Each itinerary stops at a different island and I am trying to decide which itinerary would be the most interesting. They all stop at St. Kitts or St. Maarten or Barbados and I have already visited these islands. The islands that are different are the following Dominica St. Vincent Grenada Tobago Martinique Thanks again for anybody who replies back either skip it or worth stopping at. I only wish there was a cruise that did all of these in one trip and knock them all off the list as I have done St. Kitts and St. Maarten and while I really enjoy those stops I would like something new.

I wonder if this is not Royal also trying to discourage people from buying the water package. We all know turn around day is crazy. Just watching all the trucks line up to resupply the ship is amazing. Cases of water take up a huge amount of space and weigh a ton. We also know that room attendants now have more rooms to cover. Is this a way of Royal trying to say we have better things for the room attendants to do than lug cases of water around the ship. I am sure their is also profit motivation and if people are willing to pay it then keep raising prices. However I cant help but think they also are trying to lower the number of cases of water as the room attendants are busy enough on turn around day. Maybe they would rather have the passenger lug their own water on board then have to dedicate space in their ship store room for more water and have attendants lug those things around in addition to having to do things like move luggage around. Just a thought

My family has only been on a handful of cruises and all on Royal Caribbean. We are thinking of taking a cruise on Silhouette as we would like to see some new and different islands in the Caribbean. My father absolutely loves and is obsessed with the Stir Fry station on Oasis class ships. In reading the reviews it sounds like Silhouette also has a stir fry station in the buffet. If so what are the opinions on it and does any of the other ships also have a stir fry station.

What I find sad is the state of how things are with people in general. So many people think the rules should not apply to them and they are special. How many times have we seen posts where people ask or want exceptions to be made for things like weight limits ( both minimum and maximum) on things like zip lines or age limits ( both minimum and maximum) for things like escape room or kids club. There was just a thread recently about insurance and not having it but wanting Royal to make an exception because of a medical issue. Some people are very nice when they post and are just asking for advice and some people are just beside themselves that they are not given the special treatment. It is not only here on this board but you can look at the videos on social media where people are loosing their minds in fast food places, stores and airports because they are being made to follow some policy or rule. People tell their friends, family and co workers about an issue and they all give a sympathetic ear and figure they will come here and post and get the same response. To the OP if you are still following this thread and this is not some sort of troll. You are going on a cruise, on probably a great ship, and visiting some great ports. There are many people in this world that do not have the time and / or the money to go on vacations let alone a week long cruise. Go enjoy the fact that you have the means to be able to partake in this activity and enjoy the vacation. You obviously picked this cruise versus any of the many other cruise options because it fit your schedule and offered something at a price you were happy with.

There are many companies that do not offer refunds. For example hotels, rent a cars, and airline tickets. Some may offer a credit if prices go down but most do not. It is a risk we all take. You mention stores like walmart and home depot but you leave out a very important item. Most of those have a time limit. I think places like Best Buy and Walmart say price drops within say 14 days for electronics or 30 days for other general merchandise are eligible. I HIGHLY DOUBT you can go back to walmart or Home Depot say a year later and say hey this t shirt or this screw driver is cheaper I want a refund. I think it is printed at the bottom of every receipt which is their policy. Royal offered for sale a product with terms and conditions attached. You thought it was an acceptable price and purchased said product. Now the company is offering a sale to move merchandise (in the case cabins). I can understand why you would want say 1000 dollars back as it is a lot of money but I would wager you bought this cruise a long time ago and even if you bought it at Walmart or Home Depot ( I know the do not sell cruises just using it as example) you would be outside their return police just like Royal has no price changes after final payment. Companies change their rules all the time for example during COVID airlines and hotels were very generous with cancellation policies but now that is not the case. Just because a cruise line did it in the past does not mean things do not change.

The only way I would do a B2B is if I was able to stay in the same room and the itinerary was different. If I had to pack and move cabins (even if the attendant helps moves items) it would not be worth the hassle. I like variety so doing the same ship with the exact same shows and maybe the exact same entertainment would get a little boring for me. Throw in the same itinerary and I am not sure I would enjoy it.If I had to switch rooms I would almost prefer looking to see if there was another Royal ship in the same port and do a side to side to change things up. The only nice thing with the OP is that there will be different family members for the two cruises so that could offset doing the same ports and seeing the same shows over again.

I wonder if this is more of a logistic issue ( as well as a profit issue). Cases of water and pallets of water take up precious space on a ship not to mention how heavy a case of water is. Maybe Royal is thinking it is not worth the hassle of dedicating storage space and having staff members lug around cases of water to staterooms. Maybe they figure they will raise the price to decrease demand and for those that must have water then Royal will make it worth their wild in terms of added profit. I am just guessing here with no first hand knowledge. I do not know who delivers cases of water to staterooms as I have never ordered it but if this goes with stateroom attendants having more rooms to look after do they want them lugging around cases of water at the beginning of a cruise.

I have been there twice and I will not go into that area again. Not all of the people there are aggressive or obnoxious, however the handful that are, in my my opinion ruins it for the rest of them. My issue is some of them flat out lie. The one person I dealt with at the entrance of the trail was super nice. Asking how are you and what do I think of the cruise etc... He asks me to come up to his stall. I said I am looking for 2 specific type of souvenirs. He said he had that and more and to come take a look. We go up to his stall and he does not have what I am looking for and clearly lied just to get me to come to his stall. he puts the bracelet on me which I did not want and then carved my name into this little cheap balsa wood looking shot glass. I told him I was not interested in this stuff just those 2 specific items.He clearly did not have them and I finally said I am leaving and then he demanded I pay for the bracelet and the wood shot glass thing. I said no I never asked for nor do I want it. He said you must give me at least 1 or 2 dollars for each because he cannot sell them to other people. I said not my problem and in the end he just gave them to me for free. The wood shot glass thing had a sticker on the bottom that said made in china. In the end I threw the wood shot glass away and had someone cut the bracelet off. As I walked out of there I could tell there were probably some people trying to be courteous and trying to make a living. There were a couple other that were being flat out rude to the passengers that they got to come to their stalls. I was also shown the cheap wooden pirate sword meant for a kid which also had a made in china sticker on it. I have no way of knowing what percentage of stuff is real authentic Haitian made vs china. I get it that Haiti is a very poor country and the people are trying to survive in a terrible economic situation but being pushed around just makes for a negative experience. To me it is not worth it and just enjoy the beach or zipline or roller coaster or jet skis and ignore that trail unless you actually enjoy arguing with people. There is a difference between barter and negotiating like in some markets around the world and then there is just being rude. I realize my one or two experiences might not reflect what other people see but it just my two cents

I have a question that I hope some people either have more knowledge than me or understand cruise logistics better than me. I am curious why Royal does not have more variety in their ports in the Caribbean. I understand certain ships (Oasis class) only fit in certain ports. Using Turks and Caicos as an example. Why does Royal not use this port more. Is it something about the facility or something with the local government. There are other ports like in Jamaica and the Dominican that I see Carnival or Norwegian frequent but not Royal. As much as I love ports like St. Kitts or St. Maarten I would like to see something different. I do see a small handfull of cruises that will stop at St. Croix or British Virgin Islands but is there a reason why these are not utilized more. I would think a 4 day cruise from MIA or FLL to Turks and Caicos would be nice versus always going to the Bahamas.

I have stayed loyal to royal and really love the oasis class ships. However I am starting to look at other cruise lines. One is for a variety of ports. I am not sure how many more times I care to go to St. Thomas or San Juan. Second I would like to at least experience Carnival Mardi Gras or Celebration to compare to an Oasis ship and try Shaq's chicken or Guy's burgers or BBQ. Some of the prices are getting a little high for my taste where I can try something new and save some money. I was just on OASIS a couple of weeks ago and the food was noticeably worse. I still found things to eat that were good but did notice a change.

Here is an idea, If Royal wants to put a money making casino in a place that is not crowded and at same time reduce live entertainment then convert the theater on Oasis when cats is playing. Nobody will miss that 😁

I was on Oasis last week when due to high winds and rough seas we could not dock at Perfect Day. It was also to first time I could feel the ship rocking in the waves and wind. After a couple of hours of rocking I noticed I was starting to feel a slight nauseous but nothing serious from the motion. I have started looking at other cruises as it is getting a little old to continue to go to St. Thomas and San Juan. In one of our ports Vision was docked next to us and I was surprised at how small the ship is. In looking at the itinerary it was going to some new and interesting ports. It got me to thinking if the motion and rocking is more noticeable on the smaller ships in rougher seas then on Oasis class ships. On all of my past cruises on Oasis class I have never really felt the ship move except for the last day on this last cruise. Thoughts from people who have sailed on both the large and small ships during rough weather

I am curious if this will make Royal rethink an Oasis ship here during the winter. I think every winter in the Houston area it will get below freezing at some point, now that just depends on will it be below freezing the day the ship happens to be in port or get lucky when it is out at sea. I am not sure if Royal learns that every season they will have to replace the trees and bushes if they will continue with an Oasis class ship. Maybe they will switch to a ship like Anthem or Odyssey if they want a large ship there.

I was just on Oasis and would agree that some of the food (but not all) was not as good as in past cruises. In fact our family talked with a couple of other couples during the trip and they all agreed that some of the food was noticeably worse. I thought the prime rib and NY steak in the main dining room was very good but some of the food in Windjammer was not hitting the mark.

I was just on Oasis and they offered the chips every day I went there. They were in a rack behind the person making the beef sandwiches and you had to ask for them but they were there every day. In fact every day was a different type of chips. Even though I did not get them I saw Doritos, salt and vinegar and cheddar and sour cream and the 3 days I went there for lunch

I figured I would pass this along and maybe I am too old fashioned and no one sends post cards anymore in today's tech world. I just got back from a nice cruise that stopped at St. kitts. I am not sure if everybody is aware but there is a great post office right in the port area. I have used it on each of my 3 cruises that have stopped in St. Kitts. The reason I mention this is on all 3 times I have stopped in the post office I have never seen another cruise passenger in there. In fact the post office has never had anybody in there when I have gone in except for the people working there. The agents working in the office are very friendly. I think the total cost for all 6 stamps to mail to the USA was under 2.00 USD. When I got back to the ship I was talking with another couple and they had no idea the post office was right there. As you walk up the main street in the port it is just one block past the "Cheers" bar on the left. It is a decent size building and you can see all the mailboxes on the outside on the wall. You really cannot miss it. I figured I would pass this along to anybody that still does post cards to family or friends.

I will admit I am not 100% sure about this and hopefully someone else can provide more information. I believe cruise lines do have a stand by list where you can get on for free at the last minute. However, this is for employees that work for the cruise line. If memory serves me correctly I remember reading an article (years ago) about cruise lines and they interviewed someone that worked out of the corporate office and they were able to be put on a stand by list and show up at the port and if there were no shows or open cabins they were able to go for free. I have no idea if the cruise lines still offer this benefit or if only certain lines do but not others. Just like airlines offer their employees free seats at departure time if they are empty I believe cruise lines do the same thing. However this would be for actual employees of the cruise line and not for non employees. Maybe this is where the OP heard of a stand by list. Maybe there are people on here that would have more information.

I know other people have asked before but I cannot remember the answers we have a cruise with one person will most likely be a no show. Do we tell Royal at the port that one person was unable to go or will their system automatically know about the no show after departure. Does the other person who shows up automatically get the double points or do they need to go to guest services during the cruise? Do the port taxes, fees, and gratuities get automatically refunded or do they became on board credit. Thanks

I never though a CD would make a difference as we never interacted with them. Then we had Marc Walker on Harmony a couple years ago. I actually liked watching his tv show in the morning and it added just a little something to the cruise. We had I think it was Bobby Brown on Symphony after that and you could tell the difference between the two and how much hearing Marc on the ship just added a little bit extra to the cruise overall. Just my 2 cents

Thanks for the replies, The issue with passenger one would be how to get pictures of their passport or vaccine card to upload to the website. Since they are in a different city I am not sure they would be able to scan and send a picture or email. That is why they would probably need to do everything at the terminal Thanks again for the replies it is a big help

I have 2 questions about checking in. 1. Is it still possible to check in on the day of departure at the terminal? This is an older passenger having issues with computers and would have an issue checking in ahead of time. Can they just show up on the day of departure if they do not upload anything before hand. Port would be Miami. 2. In the second room there will be 1 person that is definitely not going and we just will allow that person to be a now show. Can the other person check in ahead of time on the website or will the website require both people to check in to complete the process. We do not want to cancel the second person and potentially have the room reprice to a single if there is a price increase. Can 1 person upload their data and show check in while passenger 2 in same room does not. The person in room one is coming from a different city than the person in room 2 so they would not be bale to assist room 1 with online check in Thanks