mac_tlc

Our two prior family cruises in 2022 and 2021 were Star class, but the prices for this year were ridiculous. I’m someways, this year was better because everyone has their own room and space — although last year in the 4-bedroom Villa Suite was spectacular in every way. We are on Ascent in January, I’ll probably do a LIVE from that one too. mac_tlc

We did find the Diamond lounge a welcome respite from the crowds. Never crowded when we went in —- and the coffee machine was working every time we went in! mac_tlc

On Oasis, while there is a "pool" in the Solarium, it is very small and on sea days is always packed. Its more like a stand-up pool, no opportunity to "swim" at all. The Solarium is also very HOT if you are on a Bahamas/Caribbean itinerary. If you get there early on a sea day you can find a lounger. On Radiance and Freedom class vessels, the pool actually is one. I'm sure lots of folks like it, but it has no attraction for us. On Harmony, they just skipped the stand-up pool altogether. On Symphony they added one back that is smaller than Oasis. The Celebrity E class ships have a wonderful adult Solarium. Enclosed, with a larger pool. Photo below:

Thanks @dbancroft for adding your experiences. With 6700 on board, there are quite a few and it’s good to hear from others. We did not get off in Labadee and unfortunately didn’t win in the casino😂😂. Congrats on your win! We did have Ricardo (DL concierge) in the Suite Lounge last year. It was nice that he recognized us and we him. Is it the epitome of irony that the DL had a smoke smell now that it is next to the smoke free casino 🤔🤔🤔 ? mac_tlc

I feel like I am looking in the mirror😂. mac_tlc

There are no Royal departures from PE between 5/10/24 and 7/15/24.

Yah, that happened a couple times last week too. mac_tlc

Thanks, That is our feeling as well. We had an excellent time with the entire family together. You never know how many more opportunities we have to do that. Next year? Celebrity Edge in Alaska. mac_tlc

So, here is my wrap-up and some thoughts, observations, opinions. I'm sure I'll get some rolling eye emojis from some folks but that's ok. Some of these are due to the fact that we were on the only 9 night summer Oasis sailing. Some are impacted by the fact that my DW is in a wheelchair most of the time. I'll try to hit many of the current CC hot topics, so everyone can be equally outraged 🤣. Windjammer - If you read my posts, you know I am not a fan. Not even a little bit. We did end up there twice, which is two times too many for me. Here is where you feel the crowds in all their glory. Too many people, not enough staff, tables that take forever to get cleared, food that is just OK. When we first started cruising, it was a big part of embarkation day. Not anymore - Main Dining Room - It is incredibly loud. Many nights it was impossible to have a conversation with the person across the table. I'll mention my opinion on the dress code, which will probably upset a few. It is more and more beach wear every time we go. Shorts, flip flops, baseball hats that are never taken off (on frontwards and backwards), Muscle shirts (I will not use the other colloquial term as I find it very offensive). You name it, it's there. Many that don't like that aspect of the MDR say it "ruins my meal". I'm not here to say that but I will say I find it in conflict with the decor, ambiance and wardrobe of the hard working servers. I could say more but I will leave it here. We had early seating which is 5:00 - 5:15. It's too early. I'll blame it on staffing but Royal used to have no problem doing a 5:45 or 6:00 early seating, plus My Time at Any Time plus a late seating. Now, all three of them are ill-timed. MDR Food - My faith was restored that Royal knows how to make a good French Onion Soup! On Jewel in June it was awful. Overall, our entire group was happy with the food -- especially the nightly curry which we always had for the center of the table. As compared to the Jewel, much better -- which leads me to the scaled down menus. I guess removing the classics from every night is the issue for us. We always found something acceptable. The temperature was also better than on the Jewel. One thing we did mention to the head waiter was how the apps were served. Often we would have two -- maybe a soup and salad. For the first three nights, they were both served at the same time. Depending on what was ordered, one plate sat getting cold while we ate the other. Not to mention the table for eight got really crowded. After we mentioned it to the HW, the delivery was one at a time (good), but it was accomplished by both being brought out of the galley to the serving area and one sitting there until we finished the first one -- a distinction without a difference. Never had the apps served this way in 49 previous cruises. Seemed odd. Kudos to the HW and bread maker for giving us a special treat on three nights. One of our group mentioned the somewhat famous savory bites. Seem that they did not have the proper flour to make them. We said no problem. They insisted on making some additional bread item every night after we mentioned it - nice touch. Entertainment - I could watch Aqua80 every day. It is great. The ice show cast was spot-on. Never a stumble or fall on the jumps -- great job. We have probably seen this show 10-12 times, but we still really enjoy it. For the first time in 50 cruises, we never went to the theatre. One of the headliners we had seen before. Skipped Cats, although my daughter and grandson liked it. There was no second production show (Boo) and although we had 2 more days than the usual 7-night cruise, they just put the headliners on for an extra show on the two extra days (Boo). There was a plethora of game shows and trivia sessions. Problem is they are REALLY popular. The non-theater non-Aquatheatre venues are all just too small for these activities. They were held in the Schooner Bar, Boleros, Pub, Blaze, Music Hall and maybe others. Additionally some of these venues spill out into the Royal Promenade making it hard to hear the activity. Get there 45-60 minutes early if you want a seat. Really missed having a good cover band. Stateroom Service -- We are not fans at all of the once-a-day service. I won't repeat all the reasons here -- I went into a bit more detail on my Jewel of the Seas Review for our 6/17/23 cruise. These folks had 25 rooms, and looked at their wits end at all times. Twice, our attendant forgot to give us towels when he did the AM service, between 10-11. Once, I noticed it while he was still doing his evening service and got them. The second time, he was already done for the day. For those who always liked once-a -day, good for you -- now we are all stuck with it. (I know, I can book a suite and still get it -- for now). If you have a wheelchair or scooter - Leave a lot of extra time to get an elevator. Here again is where the number of people on board -- coupled with the fact that we cannot take the stairs -- is really noticeable. Most folks were very accommodating as far as making room for us in the elevator, holding the door, asking what floor we needed, etc. But the number of elevators is insufficient for the number of people. We did not experience any youngsters pushing every button ..... Maneuvering down the hallway is a big challenge -- not because of passengers, but because of stateroom attendant carts and those red laundry bags that we began to dread around day 5. Luckily, my wife can get in and out of the chair so "push, stop, get out, fold it up, walk ahead, unfold it, get back in , push" was a frequent event. Try to get a cabin as close to the elevators as you can. Casino - Smoke sucks. It is everywhere -- even on the non-smoking side of the casino. You can smell it as soon as you get off the aft elevators on deck 4. We did try the new non-smoking casino where Jazz on 4 used to be. Its small and never had a lot of people in it. We do appreciate Royal's attempts here, but I fear if the traffic doesn't increase, they will say "see, we tried, no one went" and get rid of it. We did go less frequently than we normally do. Overall - We had great time with the kids and grandkids. Loved Portside BBQ. Kids loved the Splash Zone. We think the Solarium on all O class is a big miss. Loved being 90 minutes from home. We had debarkation number 24, got called at about 7:45, were in the van exiting the garage at 8:04, pulled into the driveway at 10:15. Perfect. I may think of a thing or two when I fill out the Royal Survey later today ----- Thanks again for following along. mac_tlc

They were ok. Pleasant, personable, around the ship. We did not have a lot of opportunities to see the CD given what we did and did not do. mac_tlc

You get a Crystal block when you reach 140 points and then every 70 points after that (140, 210, 280, 350, 420, 490 and so on). I you just reached Diamond you are over 80 points, may still have a ways to go to get to 140 for that first block. mac_tlc

Welcome to Bayonne, NJ! We are safely aside at Cape Liberty and they are tying us up. When I woke up at about 5:30 and looked outside, I saw this: Good timing, I guess! We are in Group 24 and our scheduled debarkation time is 7:45. My guess is I’ll be pulling into the driveway at about 10:30ish. Later today, I will cap off our 5th cruise with a final post with some thoughts, comments and observations. Thanks for following along! I enjoy documenting our voyages for others waiting their turn. More later…… mac_tlc

Due to an exciting thunder and lightning storm, the Captains Corner was moved from Aquatheatre to Boleros — not exactly the same size venue. Interesting discussion, nothing earth shattering. Final lunch was here: Our first time at Portside BBQ and everyone thought it was really good and the portions are generous. Two can probably eat for $20. mac_tlc

For @wolfcathorse and @DELTABLUE , currently on Oasis and Captain is Capt. Goran and CD is Katie. mac_tlc

Off topic, but was thinking of you and your family as we see the wildfire devastation. Hope you were unaffected and doing well. mac_tlc

Maybe it’s true so far, but I have been on the delivery side of those calls and an investor call is never the place for bad news. Even during Covid their calls were positive — at least as positive as they could be given the environment. IMHO, the message is more detailed and less “marketing” in the one-on-one meetings with analysts. We shall see and it is really moot. At current prices, I’m not in —- and that’s all that matters to me. mac_tlc

Love those TA’s ! 👏👏

Us too. As you can see in my signature our next 4 are on E class. But their prices are also crazy now. Three of those four were booked over a year ago. mac_tlc

Captains corner at 10 in Aquatheatre, but the weather, it is a changing’.

We are in a similar situation. My guess, with no supporting data, is that the ships are full now but a large percentage of those cabins were booked a while ago when the prices were reasonable. I know we booked this cruise in November 2021, and 4 balcony cabins, double occupancy, was less than $10K total. Can’t get that now . Symphony’s same cruise next year is almost double. For the reason that @cruise wizard mentioned and others, I just can’t help but think that those occupancy numbers will drop once the “new” pricing becomes the norm. For the first time in 21 years, we have no Royal cruises on the books. And we are retired so time is not the issue. mac_tlc

Last sea day today 😞. This was on the bed last night: Block #5 and so far no duplicates. First one of the new design, looks ok. Might be a while before we get to #6, if it happens at all. A few more 7am pix today:

You have identified tomorrows mission! mac_tlc

We docked there yesterday, as far as I know everyone made it back on board 😏😏. mac_tlc

Our son/DIL have found three, our grandkids have found four at last count.

In the spirit of research, I was at the Freestyle machine near El Loco Fresh: I took my daughters mimosa cup, which was empty 😜, and placed it in the machine and hit “water” and the dispense button. This was the message: Seems like you can get a cup for just water. El Loco Fresh was not yet open so I could not complete the assignment 😂😂. Still have a day and a half left! mac_tlc