FamilyCruiserUK

Its all subjective which is good. People have different ideas of what food is good and bad. I love trying fresh food from different parts of the world. Love American proper smoke style bbq. Hate most other american, foods, over processed and too many additives. On the flip side hate a lot of processed food in the UK too but love a good curry, chinese, roast dinner, fish and chips. Very rarely had a problem with food on royal, in fact only in the MDR where it was less tasty and displayed like cheap pub food. In fact ive had better in the mess (chow hall) when deployed on ops. 😂

She does look good. Will be watching the onboard reviews with interest. Having seen the vids and pics on here and deck plans i am questioning the amount of open deck space. Seems a lot of covered areas around the deck, esp pool areas. I could be completely wrong tbh. But at the mo i am prefering the oasis area around the pools.

Windjammer for us has been better on all our royal cruises compared to the MDR.

Tbh it wouldnt surprise me now. I remember my first time on Royal and was told it was free, a big surprise for me at the time, but seeing how Royal are charging for everything i suppose it could eventually be a paid activity......with a 18% graturity on top.....😂, and small charge for watchers.......

The buffet on arvia so i assuming rhe same had a gluten free station for breakfast, breads, and other diet requirements. The food was labelled well as well. But as others have said people can be grim and cross contaimiate using the same spoons etc.

Having been on azura and Oasis the same class as Symphony i wouldnt be able to compare them fairly as they are totally different class of ships. , size, style, features, things to do etc. i agree symphony blows the older p&O ships out of the water every time. However if i was looking at say symphony vrs Arvia/Iona it would be a harder decision as i enjoy both classes. The difference in price would be a major factor. But then i have a 10 year old so its more of a ship entertainment factor in my decision making and azura would just be itinerary only.

Keep looking at Icon. Now with the children sail for £99 it comes into temptation. But not sure on the weather mid-late October. For the three of us, 2 adults 1 child, inside room its now £3010 for a week on 18th Oct 2025. So yes still higher then Oasis same week but its becoming tempting. Although MSC world America is 2 weeks for a little bit more 🤔 and going on world Europa in April from Barcelona. Icon is tempting me...... 🤣

I agree cruising has gone up but it can still be affordable as well. There are deals out there and you can also cut back on what you spend onboard. Obvious examples. 1, Seach for dates that suit you, keep away from peak periods. 2, controversial but only stating an option and not telling people what to do. Remove Graturites. 3, No drinks package. Drink the free drinks, coffee, water, etc. or buy the odd drink. 4, No wifi package. 5, No speciality restruant. Just eat in MDR or Buffet. 6, If dates not an issue book last minute. Always the best deals in uk with P&O and MSC. 7, keep to cheapest room and grade. Inside for us and let royal pick room. You can still have a blast, still on a cruise, still visiting destinations, still going to same MDR, still seeing same shows. There is no need to cruise and spend lots onboard. I could go on but like anything got to decide whats really important to spend your money on.

Have to say i didnt enjoy Anthem, much preferred Oasis or Independence. Also disliked Brilliance but loved the ports she visited when we traveled in the med in 2022.

So if you get a government advisory to not travel to a certain country how does this affect your travel insurance. I am sure in the UK if you travel to a country when advised not to, by the UK government 99% of travel insurance policies would be invalid for that country..... 🤔

It should be the way forward. P&O and MSC for UK booked cruisers have Graturites included. 👍

Sorry i cant comment on princess as i havent been on princess for a number of years. So Royal. I have been an Anthem, brilliance and more recently Oasis of the seas. I have to say i didnt enjoy Anthem. I didnt enjoy the lay out of the ship. For a big ship the atrium was just crowded and not many places to sit and chill. I also didn't enjoy the fact that there is a graturity on everything. The staff and food was good tbh but for the value id go with P&O or a better royal ship Oasis for example which is amazing. I would even say that Independence of the seas is better then anthem. As for what children can do, the ifly is great but i wouldn't pay for it as well as the arm thingy. It was free on port days but fully booked out. Kids club is good, although my daughter prefered P&O kids club. So P&O, recently went on Arvia. Gorgeous ship, the atrium is really good and open, lots of seating. The buffet is very good, had lots of options for those who are gluten free etc. The specialty restaurant esp the keel and cow was fantastic, although they get booked up quick. Daughter loved the kids club. The only negative i found was the pools. Just small, lots of them but small and packed in school holiday cruise. The indoor pool, retractable roof, the space around it was just small and not sunbeads but reclining chairs. A third of the area was used up by the stage. Lots of sunbeds all over the ship. The shows were good, except the take that show sadly as i love take that. So in conclusion its swings and round abouts. For me unless its an Oasis class or the Independence of the seas, ( we just booked for Aug 25) i would stay with P&O. Anthem just dosnt do it for me and its not got that extra WOW factor for me.to pay the extra premium. On a side note you can pay Graturites daily on Royal or remove them completely on board. Its up to you.

Its on the new MSC ships and works fine TBH. Still have to wait at busy periods

Its in direct competition with MSC. They are a major F1 sponsor.......and far more MSC adds on UK tv then royal. not as much as P&O......

Ah i misread....thanks 👍

Nice for a bit of fun can you add water slides and make the pools bigger please 😁

90 USD, we all know there will be lots of very silly people that will pay that amount of money. Look at all those who pay silly money for coco kay and the private beds on sea days.....Then again if you can afford it then its up to you.

Nope not for me. I never understand paying to choose a room in the area you want to be to then pay again to upgrade and be put almost anywhere in that new grade. 🤷 If you win the bid.

Following along as we are on the same cruise and itinerary in April for my birthday 👍

Cruising for me gives me more opportunities to visit new places and countries. I do moan about Royals prices from the UK or around Europe especially when i look across the pond at how much cheaper it seems to be to cruise from Florida. But on the flip side you can be in a different country almost everyday on a European Cruise. Add in the flights, i can get rtn flights for 3 to Europe from the UK for cheaper then a rtn flight for 1 person to florida. The ships excite me from Florida, Icon,Star, Any Oasis class but the destination does not. Once is enough at coco kay. So for us its cruises from Europe, around the Med or Greek Islands. Going with MSC and P&O in 2024 as they were far cheaper, including Graturites then Royal. So cruising is still something i enjoy instead of land holidays but i am no way loyal to Royal anymore.

Again another emotive subject. Ive been to many places in the world where i hear peoples experinces and they share what kinda contract they are on, perks, etc..However i deal in evidence and facts. I would like to see a proper contract stating how much they earn, perks, etc. I could probably find it somewhere on Google but TBH im cooking bread so cant really be bothered. I guess the answer would be to stop sailing with Royal. Whilst their ships are full, prices high, people toping up wages via graturites, Royal will continue down their current path. There is no incentive to change..as for the Staff, lots stay and come back for more. 🤷. And finally i guess we have to stop comparing their earnings, T&Cs with what we expect in the UK or US.

The indoor mrket in Barcelona on Las Ramblas is a must..The fresh food is stunning and well priced

MSC do it all the time in Europe and the Med. You can choose where you get on the ship. Whilst its a good idea in principle it can be annoying as they will do the muster drill everytime new people get on. But those already onboard do NOT need to attend. Just closes some venues for a little bit. But TBH 99% of the time you would be off the ship exploring. But it is good if you want to start/end if a different city rather than Barcelona.

Sad icon and star only sailing out of the US, but its Royals biggest cash cow and probably easier to iron out any issues being home ported. I am looking forward to the reviews though. Merry Christmas all who celebrate.

Wow so uk prices about £1.20 ish. Got to wonder what ingredients are in that....... 🤔 🤣