cantwait2cruise926

We recently cruised on Adventure of the Seas. We cruise about every 8 yrs or so. I noticed a difference in the quality of the food. We never went hungry but some dishes could have used a little more flavor. The lamb shank wasn't great and you couldn't even tell it was lamb. My favorites were the mushroom risotto, tiger shrimp, and prime rib. I did enjoy the strip loin too. The appetizers were small but tasty. The coffee terrible!! We left full and it was fine. I would never pay for the specialty restaurants but i think since these have come around, the quality of the food has decreased in order for you to pay for the specialty restaurants.

Or they can do it because it's "their vacation" forgetting it's everyone's vacation.

 

It hasn't always been a suggestion. It's evolved to that to accomodate those that whined about it the most and those that just flat out ignored it.

I saw a few people on my cruise enter the main dining room in cut off short shorts. It did not affect my meal with my family one bit.These people were clean and well mannered. They seemed to be enjoying their vacation.

For me, my cruise was about spending quality time with my family and enjoying their company. the conversations we had at dinner were memorable. So much so that I didn't even give a thought to what people were wearing in the MDR.

It was nice to see these families get together for a meal. When I got up to use the restroom, I saw a bunch of happy faces and people enjoying themselves.

With all the ugliness in this world and busy lives we lead everyday, it was nice to see so many families enjoying each other no matter what they were wearing.

To each their own and everyone should wear what they feel appropriate.

What I usually hate about the “fashion” posts is that they give the impression that everyone dresses down and I actually once brought less dressy items because of them! It had been a while between cruises and I felt a little underdressed. IMO, those shorts in the MDR posts often do more bad than good. I therefore appreciate the OP’s more realistic assessment because, to my eye, that is how the majority of people dress. Even on the Empress, people dressed well for Chops and Chef’s Table - and that’s a fully non-formal ship.

Thank you. My assessment was just to inform cruisers what I witnessed on my recent cruise and be as realistic as possible. I also don't mean to downplay dress attire. Some posts regarding dress on cruises can be a little harsh to new cruisers so i wanted to be informative about what I saw on my cruise.

My first cruise was on the Empress back in 2002 and dress codes have changed from then. Back then I remember seeing dressier clothing on formal nights, more gowns and more men dressed in tuxedoes.

Yes and no,

 

Literally anything seemed acceptable in the MDR on our Oasis cruise and neither the staff or passengers seemed to care.

 

European cruises and particularly the UK are vert different and our Dubai one on a different level altogether with most evenings nearly completely formal.

 

It can’t be a heat and comfort issue completely as Dubai was considerably hotter than our Caribbean cruise on Oasis.

 

I just think people are different, Americans perhaps are more casual and nothing wrong with that at all.

 

 

 

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I agree 100%. I think culture and where you are from play a big role in how we dress. All in all we need to respect each other and not judge. Everyone's perception of how to dress varies.

Can we talk about “big kids” meaning newly turned 21 yr olds. Their behavior can be worse. No need to announce loudly through the halls or public areas you are here to get your drink on lol

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Last 3 years on Royal have still witnessed people turned away at Main Dining for wearing shorts and tank tops but only on Formal nites. Other nites not so...

Hmm interesting because as most people were dressed on formal nights there were very few that weren’t and were still seated in the MDR. They were not in shorts but in jeans and shoes. I guess it depends on the crew.

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I go on RCI a lot, but I just got off the Carnival Vista. A lot of folks dressed up a lot but not tuxs. Did see many gowns tho.

 

Folks from Latino culture as well as the southern states do really like to dress up.

 

It was a fun cruise and lots of women with heels and fancy nails.

 

Then again on NCL it is expected to not dress up much. I think RCI cruisers are becoming more like NCL these days. And really most men hate tuxs and like being comfy in their clothes.

 

Also luggage fees makes one rethink how to pack as well.

Luggage fees do play a role. If suits and tuxes are being brought they need to be packed in garment bags.

I was walking into the MDR one night with my family. My husband as well as a few other gentlemen were wearing dress shorts. One gentlemen turns to his wife and says "hey I thought you told me shorts were not allowed". He was rather annoyed. Everyone wants to be comfy but look good as well. This can put a damper on your vacation if you stress over your attire.

In the past cruising with RCCL, the dress code was enforced. Not anymore!

I just got off the AOS and agree with the OP, there was sanitizer all over!!

Hope you have smooth sailing the rest of the trip!!

My family and I just got off the Adventure of The Seas July 13th sailing to the Bahamas. I wanted to add what I witnessed as far as attire in the MDR.

I'll start with the 2 formal nights. I saw very few men dressed in tuxedos. Most men wore suits but there were also plenty of men wearing dress slacks and button down shirts with and without ties. The majority of women I saw wore cocktail dresses. I think I may have seen one woman wearing a beautiful gown.

The other nights varied. I saw a lot of men wearing khaki or dress shorts and button down shirts and boat shoes including my husband. He was always allowed in the MDR. He wore suits on the formal night, slacks one night and dress shorts the other nights. Ladies wore capris, sundresses, jeans, etc.. The majority of people I witnessed were dressed like this. I only saw one teenager wear cutoff shorts in the MDR and she was not turned away.

There are also plenty of dining tables for 2 or 4 if someone is not comfortable with their table mates attire.

My take on attire is that it has become more casual and comfortable. I think the subject of attire is mostly criticized on these boards and as far as Royal is concerned almost anything goes. It could also depend on the destination of your cruise.

So feel free to dress however you feel comfortable, enjoy your cruise and ignore the posts saying you must wear certain attire.

We chose this cruise for our family vacation because it was leaving out of a port that was easy for all of us to get to. My family consisted of my husband and I and our 2 adult children along with my daughters boyfriend. My husbands cousins came along as well. Our groups age group ranged from 22 - 55 yrs old. We have been on Royal cruises before and love the cruise line. We did notice a few changes though.

Embarkation: We arrived at Cape Liberty at 11am and were on board by 11:30am. Our vacation has finally begun. Getting to the port was so easy. We hired a van to get our family there. We were dropped off and our luggage was taken, We checked in and up to the ship we went.

As soon as we arrived on board and met up with the rest of our group, we toured the ship. We were fascinated by the decks, bars and lounges. The helipad area was open and gave us a great view of NY and the Statue of Liberty.

We headed up the the WJ for lunch but of course as I had read, the line was awful to get in so we headed down the the Cafe Promenade. They offered pizza, sandwiches, salads and desserts. It hit the spot and by the time we were done our cabins were ready at 1pm.

We had an aft balcony cabin on deck 7 (7674). It was roomy enough for my husband and I and everything was clean. Luggage was in the hallway and we had received all of it except for one. It was time to go to the muster drill and figured we would find our last piece of luggage when we got back. Our roomy adjoined with our daughter and the walls were thin. You could see the light in their cabin from under the door.

After the muster drill, we went to the sun deck for sail away. The elevators were slow so we walked up the steps in order to beat the crowds and get a good spot which we did. There was music playing and drinks flowing. Although the pools and sun decks were crowded I still felt like I had a lot of room. We eventually made our way back to our cabin to finish unpacking and get ready for our dinner. My last piece of luggage was there and we met our cabin steward.

Dinner on our first night was a little rocky. We had our head waitress Putri and her assistant Xin. Xin seemed fairly new and very timid. We placed our drink order with Xin (we all had the drink package) but our drinks did not arrive until our meal was almost over. Xin came around to ask if we wanted coffee and I asked for a cappuccino. Xin told me I couldn't have one because she didn't know how to make it. This threw me for a loop. I have always gotten a cappuccino after dinner with no questions asked. So I settled for regular coffee. Our drinks finally came but we were not happy. My husband spoke to our head waitress who apologized to us for the lack of drinks and for Xin not being able to give us cappuccinos. The second night at dinner we didn't get our drinks until dessert came out. This time my husband mentioned it and the bartender came to our table personally to apologize. He then proceeded to "scold" Xin. It made us all very uncomfortable. We could tell Xin was not very experienced and seemed to be "thrown to the wolves". The following nights were great though. Xin knew which drinks we wanted and asked if we wanted capuccinos. She still appeared timid but was coming along nicely and I think just needs a bit more experience. Our waitress Putri was great though. She apologized every night and asked us if there was anything we wanted or needed to just ask her. I came to dinner one night and was disappointed to see the curtains drawn over the windows during the most beautiful sunset. She was able to have the curtains lifted for me so we could enjoy it. They do try to please you in any way they can.

Food: The food in the MDR was mediocre. I thought on our past cruises it was better tasting. My favorite dish was the mushroom risotto. With that said, we never left hungry. The appetizer portions seemed a bit small but we were able to order more than one. There were times I ordered 2 entrees and would share one with a family member. They never told you that you couldn't order multiple entrees, appetizers or desserts if you chose. We had the late seating at 8pm and were done with dinner by 9:15pm most nights. We did miss a lot of the trivia shows because of this. On our past cruises we used to be offered after dinner drinks/shots. Not anymore but Putri was able to get the bartender to come to our table every night and offer an after dinner drink/shot which was nice. Although the quality of food was not the same we still enjoyed our dining experience and walked away full.

Entertainment: We saw 2 comedy shows which were both great. We had to leave the dining room immediately just to get to the theatre to get a good seat though. We didn't go to the ice shows so I can't comment on that. There was a pianist/comedian in the Schooner bar every night. He was pretty funny just don't walk thought the bar while he's performing or else you may be part of his act.

Pool activities were great as well. Loved Bingo BUT did not love the lounge it took place in. There were too many people on board and the Imperial Lounge was packed and there wasn't enough seats for everyone. We sat by the bar and some of my family sat on the floor. We went to the Love and Marriage game and again got seats in the upper level because of our late seating at dinner. By end of our trip we knew we wanted to see and participate in the quest so my cousin and I left dinner a little early to get seats for our group. My family tried the slides and the wait wasn't awful but they had tried to go on the slides while we were in Port Canaveral and they were closed. More on ports coming up.

Sea days were full of poolside activities and music and there were plenty of things to do indoors as well. We saw dolphins swim next to our ship a few times as well. It was an added bonus for the first time cruisers.

Pools & Hot tubs: The pools were clean but crowded. Arriving at the pool area by 11am was too late to find loungers for our group. We ended up on the upper sun decks away from the music by the pool. It was quiet up there though. Another day we ended up by the sky bar at a table. Loungers were hard to find near the pool area. Kids were unattended in the pool as usual and on our last day my cousin witnessed 2 boys about 12 or 13 arguing. It got pretty bad and one boy yelled racial comments to the other. My cousin asked him to stop and broke up the argument. Their parents no where to be found. The lifeguard got involved as well. Kids are splashing and jumping on you. Those things haven't changed although there are 3 pools on board. Lifeguards watch the pools and try to calm rowdy kids. The solarium pool didn't seem any better.

Ports of call: Our first stop was Port Canaveral. We had to plans to not leave the ship and hang out by the pool and use the slides. Possibly enjoy a less crowded ship. Well the ship was a little less crowded but slides were closed, no music by the pool and shops were closed as well. The ship was more than half full so I couldn't understand this. That was a little disappointing but we enjoyed our day anyway.

Our next stop was Coco Cay. We arrived by tender around 11:30am and went straight to the beach with the floating bar. It was a lot less crowded and there were enough shady areas to sit. The water was shallow enough that we were able to walk out to the floating bar. The tide changes so when we got to the floating bar we were in about chest deep water but by the end of the day it was ankle deep. We saw a beautiful huge stingray swim by the waters edge along with a few other fish. Bring some snorkel gear. In addition, we saw a beautiful baby lemon shark (about 3-4 feet). He swam by a few feet in front of my cousin and I. I ran out of the water but he was actually harmless. He ended up hanging out by the bar until the bartender chased him away. We hung out in the water without another visit from him. This was a great island but lunch was only served until 1:30pm. We weren't ready for lunch till about 2:30 and the only food we could find was a hot dog stand. We had a couple of diabetics in our family and were pretty annoyed there were no other food options. They allow you to stay on the island till 5pm so they should offer some food options till at least 3pm. Here you could buy souveniers and there were plenty of stands.

Our last stop was Nassau Bahamas. We love this place and have been here on vacation before. With that said we knew where to go on our own. We took a cab to Paradise Island Cabbage Beach and were dropped off by the public access beach area. That is a few feet down from the resort we had stayed in the past. A lot has changed in 4 years. It was really crowded but what was worse was the locals trying to sell you drinks, umbrellas or chairs. It made our heads spin. We had a local carry an umbrella for us to a less crowded area and set us up there. We had a bartender remember my sons friend from a previous vacation and he hooked us up with coconut drinks. We were asked several times if we needed jet ski rides or banana boat rides but after saying no a few times they left us alone. The water is crystal clear on this beach but this time around the current was a bit strong. I'm thinking this was because a tropical storm had passed over the island recently. We spent a nice day here and taxi's were waiting to bring us back to the ship. We then went to Senor Frog's for lunch and drinks. We love this place and enjoyed our day in Nassau.

The 2 formal nights were great. The 2nd formal night took place on Wednesday. The same day as The Quest and white party. The Quest was a blast but the white party was lame. It took place on the sports deck and a small bar was provided along with music. I could not figure out why we needed to wear white though. There were no black lights or anything. I've done a white party on another cruise line and that was poolside and lot of fun. This was awful.

Overall we enjoyed our vacation very much despite the few negatives. Unfortunately we had 2 Medevacs on our trip and I hope all is well with those people. We had some rocky days and on our way back hit some rainy weather but the captain did his best to divert us and head into better weather. The captain kept us well informed over the medevac situations.

Staff: All were great!! We enjoyed the entertainment, 70's parade etc. They are very accommodating and do what they can to make your vacation memorable. My cabin steward was good. He made sure my husbands shirt was pressed and returned in time for formal night.

The size of the ship was perfect although there are some areas that are hard to get to unless you climb stairs so it is not completely handicap accessible. I saw a lot less kids play on the elevators because they are really slow. We found ourselves using the stairs most times.

Disembarkation: Well the dreadful day arrived. I got up at 6am in time to see an awesome sunrise and watch the ship pull in. We left our cabins and headed to the WJ for breakfast. Then to Studio B to be called to leave the ship. Once we were called, the line seemed long but a crew member pulled us off the line and brought us to another area and in 2 seconds we were off the ship :(

It was that fast and easy. Getting our luggage was easy and so was customs. Our ride met up with us and we could see new passengers board the ship.

What an awesome family vacation. The cruise port was easy for everyone in my family to get to. Parking was great as well for some in my group that used it.

We would definitely go on another cruise our of this port again.

This worries me since I've never cruised. Lol. Is this a common thing? We plan on buying those sea watch type things for motion sickness

 

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Nothing to worry about. Even though I feel a little off, im keeping hydrated and it is getting better. I will still cruise despite this feeling. My other family members all have different forms of this. No one is actually bed ridden over it and its not stopping me from going about my day. I go back to work tomorrow and im sure working will get my mind off of it.

Enjoy your cruise!!!

The Quest tends to be the highlight of my cruise vacation as well. I've had CDs wait for the parents to walk the kids out until they start ... everyone applauded when they left.

I love that!! This is one of the highlights of my cruise as well. I look forward to having an adult only game. With so many other family activities on board, this game shouldn't be altered to suit the kids who are there. The kids should be removed instead.

This last incident resulted in some good luck for one passenger. He had initially missed the ship in Nassau and was able to board when the ship came back.

Oh wow, that is lucky!!

Hope the medevac passenger is feeling better.

Give it about a week.

Wow this is a first for me. Never got this way after my last cruises.

Just got off the AOS Friday and still trying to get my land legs. I never got sea sick the whole cruise thanks to the sea sick patch but now my head is foggy and not feeling myself. I feel like i'm still rocking but not as bad as I did on Friday.

Hope it passes soon...

Like I said in other rescue yesterday, interesting they never use the Helipad, all rescues I witnessed always basket and located away from the front...

On the July 13th sailing of AOS we had 2 medevacs. The first one took place on our way down to Port Canaveral. We were diverted closer to the SC coast so the coast guard could pick up the passenger. It took place on the helipad and not the pool deck. The 2nd medevac took place while in port in Nassau. We had just left and were only 5 minutes into our sailing and the ship backed into port. An ambulance met the passenger on the dock.

Wouldn't that be culture based? Undressed humans and boob flashing is no big deal where I come from.

 

I haven't seen the show, but I'm often surprised by the culture in other countries.

This would be true, but it goes farther than a boob flash. The actions that take place can be raunchy and not meant for children's eyes.

We were team 5, had Andrea and Floyd's brother as our captains !!

Given that there were people undressing and a boob flashed, I think that they definitely need to make it clear that kids shouldn't be there ..

Oh wow, we were right next to you guys!

I agree! They make it known that it is not a game for kids but nothing is enforced. With so many family activities on board, it's nice to have an adult only game.

Seems to vary by ship. We were on the Indy 2 weeks ago and one of the rounds was specifically for under 10s. That was definitely family friendly.

Wow, I've been on 3 Royal cruises and have played the Quest everytime and it has always been adult only. RC has always given a warning saying it was an adult only game. Everytime I have played it has been raunchy too and definitely not for kids. They did have a "quest" type of game by the pool the following day that was family friendly.

Anyone on the AOS sailing July 13 sailing see the lemon shark circle the floating bar? Any pics?

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We just hung out by the pool that day. I was surprised that there wasn’t much going on on the ship that day.

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We were on a cruise years ago that hosted a family quest. It was a ton of fun and nice to be able to bring the kids to experience a toned down quest.

That’s a great idea but there aren’t many adult only activities on these cruises so I would personally be disappointed if this happened on our sailing. A good suggestion would be to have a toned downed Quest during the day for families then the adult only Quest at night.

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We skipped the WJ and went to the cafe promenade

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We were on the July 13th sailing and were team 6 on the Quest. Amazing how parents allow their children to watch. Royal should enforce the adult only policy. It was a great time though.

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This was true for us with the exception of Embarkation day, but it was rainy the day we boarded.

I wonder why they changed this??