rjrpar

Total fail? Wow, tough crowd.

Agree, what difference does it make what a terminal looks like. Some people will complain about anything

I can do great vacations for a lot less than what a cruise costs. In a good economy people have more disposable income. A cruise is not a great value, it's just a different type of vacation.

A cruise in an inside cabin for less than $200/couple/night is a very inexpensive vacation. If you are booking higher end suites, I don't think it is a good value

I'm looking forward to this as well.

 

Something that I have noticed many times on numerous threads is people complaining about the menu at American Icon Grill. I wonder if it's more the name of the venue that the actual menu.

 

Many of the dishes are not that far off some of the dishes on the current menus. Love the fact that there is surf n turf available every night. IMO the dishes appear to be quite a bit more upscale than your average diner.

 

ENTRÉES

 

CLASSIC SURF N’ TURF

Maine Lobster and Rib-Eye with Cottage Fries

 

NEW ORLEANS GUMBO

Gulf Coast Shellfish and Andouille Sausage

 

COLA BRAISED SHORT RIB

Red Beans and Rice with Root Vegetable Mash

 

PISTACHIO CRUSTED SALMON

Green Beans and Oregon Mushrooms with Vermont Maple Butter

 

SOUTHERN BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN

Sautéed Okra, Dirty Yams and sweet Candied Pecans

 

AMERICANA BURGER

Aged Cheddar, Crispy Bacon, Thousand Island Dressing and Steak Fries

 

APRICOT GLAZED PORK CHOP

Sweet Potato Succotash and Braised Red Cabbage

 

SOUTHWESTERN FETTUCCINI

Smoked Sausage, Chicken and Poblano Cream Sauce

 

Kids menu is available

Tend to agree but you can't consider the the food more upscale until we experience the quality. Cruise lines have a knack of making a canned pear sound exquisite.

It was just an observation, no need to get statistics brought in. :o However, we have been on 49 cruises, have been diverted 3 times total. So statistically the diversions are on the rise for us. ;)

 

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Statistics is the only way to verify if your observations are correct. Why waste time explaining something that may not even be accurate

For 1 balcony cabin for 1 week anything over $3000 is high. Keep the cabin and watch for price decreases. You can always cancel before final payment.

We've done this route twice. You're best port to stay inboard is St Lucia. We went to an all inclusive once and did a tour of the island the 2nd time. I felt both times this place was just ehhhh. Better than home? Of course!!! But if I was staying on one island this wouldn't be it. For me at least :)

 

Barbados and Antigua are some of the best beaches around and my favorites in the caribbean. St croix is nice because you can just walk from the ship to the beach and even just go for a few hrs if you want. St. Martin has lovely beaches but I guess would choose this as my #2 if I HAD to stay on board just because it's including on so many caribbean routes.

 

Ps do a catamaran tour in Barbados. We did silver moon and Casablanca Both awesome!

Been to all these ports more than once. Totally agree with Mary521.

I would be surprised if the food quality in the free restaurants was much different than the MDRs today. Preparation is another issue.

We always buy the soda package but usually don't carry our cups everywhere we go. Can you still get a diet coke at any of the bars?

Since RCCl has to fill about 20 ships every week, they must keep the prices low. As they add more capacity, it puts even more pressure on prices. We all need to remember that a cruise is a low priced, high value vacation for most people onboard; you are not on a luxury vacation like 30 years ago.

I do feel for many of the suite passengers, who are paying for a more upscale vacation but for most of everyday, share the same overcrowded facilities as all the other passengers.

I'd be interested to hear if People think what I have paid for Anthem is considered expensive, cheap or average.

 

I have booked 14 nights in a D7 Balcony room for my Wife and I, Italian Mediterranean cruise in June next year. Total cruise price including port parking, gratuities and select drinks package is £4,398. ($7000)

$7000 is very expensive, even for the Med. Watch for price decreases, I'm sure there will be some

Been on both cruise lines several times. The cost differences of onboard purchases is insignificant. Of course things may be a few dollars different but who cares if you are spending thousands on a cruise.

Agree with most of the previous posts that the dress code is trending more casual on all nights with little enforcement by RCCL. However, as you roam the ship on formal nites around the dinner times, you will notice a higher level of dress by most people which makes for a very nice atmosphere on those few evenings. That will not exist on the QOTS as the new dining system is introduced.

New ships are generally more costly, however, we booked a balcony on the 11 nite Feb. 2, 2015 QOTS for $3300 - for both of us. Booking early usually pays off.

You can jet ski at Orient Beach for about $40, cheaper than most excursions. I'd take the question to the St. Maarten Port board for more input.

Celebrity has tablets in Q'Sine, which is one of there specialty restaurants.

We were on Celebrity earlier this year and the place was empty every night, despite discounts being offered for a couple on the nights.

I read that they going to make passengers wear wristbands, they can also keep track to you, what you do, etc. I don't want to wear a wristband I am not a child I like the key card and prefer that!! I also don't want a robotic bartender either, but the question is if a robotic bartender serves you a drink I would have to say the robot doesn't deserve a tip!!

 

http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Quantum-to-use-wrist-bands-instead-of-key-cards/?a=cruise&cid=eltrcruise

Don't let the facts get in the way of any of your posts.

Chops is not what it was 5 years ago. Cheaper steaks, sides, and desserts. Really not worth the $35 surcharge anymore.

Well, I'm glad to hear I'm not alone with trying different brands. We worry about it because we know what to expect with Royal....but variety can be good and maybe make us appreciate Royal more.

Other cruise lines are great in Europe. Don't think Royal is anything special, besides, it all about the ports.

Have a great time.

There are several Hump cabins. Those in the middle of the hump, will have no obstruction to either direction. But if your cabin is in the back of the hump, like 7324 in Mariner, you would not see forward past those middle hump cabins.

Likewise, forward hump cabins will have obstructed view backwards.

 

Me thinks. ;)

Agree, a center hump has a slightly better view, but any other is obstructed in one direction, which can be annoying. Any balcony not close to a hump has a great view - save your money.

Has anyone been able to book show times yet on Quantum? If so' date=' when are you sailing?[/quote']

 

No, not for the 2/2/15 cruise.

That's great to hear. We are booked on Avalon this spring from Nuremberg to Budapest. There really isn't much on the boards about Avalon. We were going to book on AMA but the dates on Avalon worked better for us.

 

It's our first river cruise so it's nice to hear positive things about Avalon.

We did the same cruise last year on Avalon and had a great time. Had a great cruise director, very good food, just thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. My advice is to take as many tours as possible, they are so memorable.

Both cruise lines are similar so go with the 5 days. easy choice

Come on Liz, you like I and many others were happy to book on the first day available. Sure I would have thought that they would have given more detail by now, but it hardly effects our want to book.

We know the product and that Royal will only ever step up to even more exciting things, they will not go backwards. Sure I know that some people will argue that over the years certain things have changed and as such are never the same. But we all know the brand is now more of a family holiday, and some do not like that or the payable extras. But we know that is now the way, and we knew that when we booked.

Relax and look forward to being part of another set of "firsts" with a cruise line that has rarely let you down :D

Well said. Can't understand why some are so upset.

We are booked on the Quantum next March. If I understand correctly then "Formal" in The Grande is not really formal but kind of smart casual. We are old timers and enjoy dressing up so we booked The Grande assuming it would be "Formal"; Tux or Suit. Were not able to get a definitive answer from RCCL customer support except that the dress was formal.

Guess the days of Classic cruising are coming to an end.

True formal eliminates too many passengers from partaking in the "formal" venues. In the mass markets, the cruise lines are forced to compromise or risk alienating too many customers.