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Sorry, not paid but it's on the invoice, so I'm told that it's the same thing.

I don't think this is true.

We are on Solstice on March and I've heard that they charge about $50 US for a laundry bag - and some have said it's not that big.

We've bought a small stretch clothesline and are wondering if we are able to hook it up in the shower or something? - just so we can wash and dry our knickers / bras every couple of days.

I've read that drying clothes out on the balcony is a no-no, so I'm after any tips from other cruisers on how you managed to do any washing on board.

if we still have any OBC left near the end of the cruise, then we may buy a laundry bag then, but I don't plan on bringing 12 of knickers.... I don't think I even own 12 pairs!

Based on the title I thought you were looking for places to wash your hands. ;p

I would say the biggest advantage is the embarkation lunch. A lovely peaceful lunch in the MDR. Also I like cabin location and the free wine. For our next cruise Concierge was cheaper than Obstructed Verandah so that was a no brained for me.

We're not a fan of the embarkation lunch, the menu is far too limited. We walked out and went the the buffet. Agreed that the concierge is a far better choice than the obstructed view. The free wine loses its value with beverage packages.

C1. C2. or C3 cabins? Location?

There are almost no advantages of any Concierge class cabin over veranda class cabins on the S-class ships other than location. We usually sail the S-class ships and sometime I book a Concierge class cabin if there are no acceptable Veranda class cabins available (we prefer cabins on the non-smoking side near the front of the ship). I'm not sure about the aft facing cabins but the interior of all of the standard Veranda and Concierge class cabins are identical on S-class ships.

Hopefully the passenger has improved, but it seems like there would be other options on the way back to Miami, perhaps Grand Cayman, Cancun or even Key West.

We just booked the Solstice for the Vancouver-Homolulu-Sydney B2B cruises and I didn't realize this was just before the dry dock. I'm convened that parts of the ship will already be under construction or closed. I wonder if these cruises are still a good idea:confused:

I disagree. With the 'old' MDR/MTD concept you had 'one menu fits all'. IIRC just 6 entrees. Sometimes nothing appealed.

With DD you now have 4 (or 5) restaurants - each one serving 8 entrees - that is 32 (or 40) entrees each evening to pick from.

DD results in a far more varied offering than MDR/MTD

 

I may not be any good at maths but I always thought that 32 entrees was a higher number and therefore giving me more choice than 6 entrees.

 

And yes, I've done DD on both Quantum and Anthem.

I guess you still have a problem with math. You only get to go to one restaurant each night, so it isn't 40 selections.

With the continued growth of cruising and a good percentage of first timers becoming repeat passengers, there are naturally many more higher level members than there were 10 years ago. We started cruising in 1995, have cruised multiple lines, and are almost diamond level on RCI. Think of the hundreds of thousands of people out there in pretty similar circumstances. Ten years ago none of us would have had the "exclusive" diamond and higher perks. Now, hoards of us are about to arrive. There are more ships but, even with that, still many more diamond and higher members per ship as a percentage of the total passenger load, with this percentage growing each year. Using the following numbers for comparison purposes with no claim for accuracy, if 2% of every 2,000 cruisers were diamond and higher 10 years ago and the percentage is 5% today, that means an additional 60 diamond and higher members for every 2,000 cruisers. The capacity per ship and size of the lounges has not changed, nor for the most part has the number of suites. A ship that held 4,000 people 10 years ago (such as FOS) had roughly 80 diamond and higher members using the CL for every cruise in 2005. The same lounge now has to admit 200 diamond and higher passengers, this in addition to the suite passengers, whose numbers have not grown. Of course the lounges are more crowded and of course the line has to do something about it to maintain or restore the higher service and benefit levels that go with the suite passengers, who pay much more per person per day. We are the problem because the sheer numbers of us are diluting what used to be exclusive membership levels. Just as with airline miles programs, the rewards for these levels need to be lowered as more people qualify for them.

 

Perhaps RCI will introduce new, higher membership tiers with passenger numbers that reflect past diamond and higher percentages and move yesterday's diamond and higher benefits to these new even higher levels.

I don't agree. That would be true if the fleet was stagnant. RCL created all of these new levels as well as duped many of us into chasing those new levels. RCL has chosen not to design the lounges on the new ships to accomodate all of the new D and D+ cruisers they created. Perhaps we were too gullible and believed they would follow through on their commitments to the D and D+ cruisers. Shame on RCL

Due to my limited funds & time restraints from work we're looking at booking a short cruise on Royal. All of my most recent cruises have been on Celebrity and they were all AMAZING so I'm a bit nervous about taking the plunge w/ RCL...

 

 

Its been so long since I've been on a cruise and really need a vacation... I'm just dont scared of being disappointed.

 

Could anyone who's gone from one to the other share some experiences, differences, and what I can expect?

 

TIA ;)

I think you will be disappointed with RCL. There has been significant cost cutting at RCL and it has taken a lot of the WOW factor from RCL. RCL will likely try to re-introduce the failed Dynamic ding concept and all of their newer ships. I would suggest that you select the most interesting itinerary and hopefully the service won't be too bad.

Curious as to why you aren't cruising with Princess to Alaska? Your signature clearly states your opinion of Princess.

 

Hopefully your decision wasn't based solely on price...seems you've been disappointed before. ;)

 

Shawn

Nope, my decision was based on value for a specific time period when I was able to cruise. TThanks for asking.

Does anyone know how well the port operations work with the Solstice in Seattle. We just booked cruise for the end of June and it shows a 7:00am arrival time. Is it reasonable to expect that we should be able to leave the ship at 7:00 carrying our own bags? Is there typically much of a delay at customs? We are looking to book a limo and need to set a time. Any suggestions for a limo company at Pier 91? Thanks.

Just curious to get your input on how many Euros to take- will be in Barcelona two nights prior to cruise- all excursions/transport and trips at various ports are prepaid so only need to consider taxi from airport, food, snacks, incidentals, spending money for gifts, tips to drivers, etc...I have purchased 600E already- wondering if we should take more- thanks for the advice!

You can always use the ATMs at various banks around the cities to get more Euros. The service charge is a small price to pay carrying a smaller amount of cash and provides an easy source of additional cash/

Are D+ revolting? Sign me up. I use to love the Oasis CL, actually they offered way more than any other ship. I loved the lunch with wine. It was so nice to get away from that windjammer crowd. I loved boarding and going right there and being spoiled.

Some of us are revolting. The only way RCL will notice is if the D+ leave for other cruise lines. I'll be gone after my current bookings. If you don't like the new policy, it's time for you to find another cruise line.

Here I am at the beginning of day 2 on the Quantum and I just wanted to give a quick review of my experience so far.

 

FIRST THE GOOD:

1. I am very impressed with the size of the inside cabin. I had expected it to feel claustrophobic and that is not the case.

2. I fit into my 12 year old daughter's leggings (see below).

 

NOW THE BAD STUFF:

Embarkation: Holy Hot Mess Batman! This is the third cruise line I have been on and I was shocked by the scene at cape Liberty. Mobs of people everywhere with no guidance and no signs (that I noticed at least). We got to the pier at 12:20. Our Set Sail Pass was scheduled for 11:45, but RCI called, texted and emailed everyday for the past four days to let us know to come an hour later (rumor has it that the past cruise had a Noro outbreak and they needed to sanitize.). Anyway, at 12:20 we turned in our six pieces of luggage and parked, uneventfully. We then jumped on the shuttle. We should have just walked the short distance. Instead it took 20 minutes to get to the terminal because there is no shuttle lane so we had to wait in line behind all the cars dropping passengers off at the terminal. We got inside and eventually figured out that we had to go wait on line to go through security. Then we waited on line to check-in. At 2:00 we finally made it to the front of the line. After half-an hour the guy helping us called over someone else because he was having computer issues. The second guy then brought me and two of my kids across the terminal and checked us in. He gave us our Sea Pass cards there and told us to throw out the cards that would be in our stateroom. At about 2:40 we finally got on line to board the ship, which took another 15 minutes. Of course when we got to the front they told us that three of us needed to retake pictures. FINALLY, got on board at 3:00.

 

STATEROOM: They announced that rooms would not be ready until 4:00 so we took our heavy carry-on luggage and waited in line for the elevator up to Windjammer. After a few minutes we decided to just go to eat at the cafe since we were no where near the front of the elevator line.

 

We waited in line at the Cafe @ Two70 which was completely disorganized, only to discover we were in the 'roast beef sandwich line' instead of the 'Sandwich line.' Finally got a salad instead, which was very fresh and good.

 

Took elevator up to fitness center to sign up for boot camp, and was very surprised to find that there were no staff members up there, just a few clipboards with sign up sheets in them.

 

At 3:30 they started the Guest Assembly Drill, which was fine, except it took over a half hour, which was much longer than what I've experienced on other lines. Oh, and we had to wait in line to get in...an apparent theme on RCI. Dh thought we might have to wait in line to fall asleep at night. Luckily he was wrong! The captain made some kind of announcement at the end that was so quiet and mumbled, the only word I could make out was, "Florida." Just hoping he didn't say that we're no longer going there! We nicknamed him 'Captain Mumblebutt.'

 

At 4:15 we left the Drill and headed to our stateroom, only to be met by a sign that said it would be ready after 4:30. Okay, no big deal. We, along with everyone else on the ship, sat down with our carry on bags in the deck's lobby, figuring we'd wait 15 minutes. At some point they made an announcement that the rooms were not going to be ready anytime soon. We dragged our kids, ourselves and our carryons over to the indoor pool, my dh got some drinks for everyone, which my daughter promptly spilled onto my carry on, and we hung out there. Since we didn't have bathing suits, we literally just hung out there.

 

Finally, at 5:45 they made an announcement, that we couldn't hear at all by the pool, but we decided to check our rooms in case they had said that they were finally ready. They were, yay! But...no luggage yet...boo.

 

DINNER: After a few minutes we made our way down to Silk for our 6:30 dinner reservation. The bright spot there...our waitress, Acella, was wonderful. She was the first crew member with a real smile on her face. Most of the others just looked miserable. The food at Silk, did nothing for me or my family, though to be fair, my four-year old liked the meatball that came with his spaghetti. Didn't like the pasta or cheese, but liked the meatball.

 

LUGGAGE: After dinner we went up to our staterooms and discovered that only 4 out of our 6 suitcases had arrived. We were told by our room steward that they were still bringing them up (it was 8:45 at night) and we should have them soon. I was working off of three hours of sleep and really just wanted bed, but didn't have my suitcase yet, so I waited, and waited, and waited. We finally got one more suitcase...not mine. At 9:47 I called the room steward to find out where my suitcase was. He said he was going to go look on deck and would call me in five minutes. Twenty minutes later, he came by and told me he couldn't find it and that I needed to go to Guest Services to see if they had it. So I went down and stood in line (behind the 27 other people already in line) to report my suitcase missing. I finally get to the front and me, along with the two people behind me who were missing luggage, reported the missing luggage. The woman at Guest Services fills out a form to report my luggage, gives it to me to check and sign. I tell her that it is inaccurate. She had written that 0 people were affected by my luggage being lost. I tell her 6 people are affected. My clothes, along with all the sunscreen, half the toiletries, and most importantly, my son's prescription medication! are in that bag. Without a word, she goes into the back room, comes out hands me a small bag of toiletries and a tshirt. I say, "What should I do if they don't find my suitcase? My son's medicine is in there." Her response..."They will start looking for it tomorrow. Sometimes it's delivered to the wrong stateroom and the guests don't notice right away. If we don't find it you can check with Medical." Uh...okay. I have a bright purple suitcase. How is someone not going to be able to distinguish that from there own? Oh, and thank you for that compassionate answer. Also, really? They'll start looking tomorrow? Thanks for the urgency.

 

As for the medicine. My bad. I would never have put it in my luggage if traveling by air, but I thought a cruise ship was different. Lesson learned.

 

She then hands me a voucher for complimentary laundry, which I think is hysterical. Shall I sit in my new T-shirt while they take two days to wash my clothes?

 

Anyway, still no luggage.

 

Last night my daughters called Maintenance to report that their virtual balcony wouldn't shut off or mute and was extremely loud and annoying. They said they'd send someone right up. Apparently the repairman walks slowly, because my girls are still waiting for him to get there.

 

Here we are on day two, and the toilet won't flush unless I press it with my foot!

 

If you'll excuse me, I am going to put on my dirty underwear and go to breakfast.

Sounds like you have been Wowed. I hope things improve for you.

So that sounds like D+ have been demoted, is this correct?

Yes, that would be a reasonable conclusion.

You raise a good point. I know you have high expectations, but I always have the best experiences with anything in life (not just cruising) by lowering my expectations. Than my experience always exceeds my expectations lol

It sounds like RCL is an excellent cruise line for you. If you accept lowering your expectations as a requirement, I am sure that you will continue to enjoy RCL.

I currently have $100 OBC, it would still be $1000 more. Expensive!!!

I just checked the price of my next cruise on Oasis in January 2016. For 3 of us in a D1 balcony the current sale price is $1100 more expensive than the price I got last August. Not much of a sale!!! I cannot afford any more of these RCL sales.:eek::eek::eek:

When people find out I cruise they usually ask me which cruise line I sail with or recommend. In the past I always said RCI (unless I thought another line wold suit their needs better). Up until now RCI has been the best overall with regards to price/value, ships, amenities, etc, to us.

 

But lately I've stopped recommending them as a first choice without pause. I say RCI has been our favorite but I can not, in all honesty, tell people to try RCI without doing your research because I no longer feel they are the best value in most cases. Now I tell people to compare a few lines with similar itineraries because in recent months many of RCI sailings have gone up so much in price, to me, they are no longer even close to a good value. This is my opinion, YMMV.

 

The BOGOHOAX sale that's been never ending since last may is a complete farce now. But I guess there must be tons of new cruisers out there that don't know that most of these prices are truly inflated, even from last year's prices, so the sale is working. Supply and demand I guess. I realize there's inflation but the cost increases are way more than that.

 

And now with the huge jump in drink prices....things are getting crazy at RCI. We have 3 cruises booked (booked them back in early May with BOGO, so we truly got sale prices) but unless I find some decent rates I don't see us booking any more RCI cruises.

 

I realize there are still some good rates to be had but they never seem to line up when we want/can to go.:mad:

 

RCI is still my favorite and I will continue to look for opportunities to sail with them but it's not the only line I am pricing now and cruising is not the only form of vacation we will consider. In fact, we are headed to Cuba in a couple of weeks - this is the first winter without a cruise in years - in the past few years we never even considered anything but a cruise. It's sad but it's reality. For me, the value has diminished substantially.:(

 

I know many of you will disagree and that's ok. We all have our opinions and what's a good value to some is not to others. I'm glad there are choices out there for all of us.:D But maybe there are others like me who have stepped off the Royal band wagon and looking at other options.

 

Happy travels:)

I agree 100 percent

Just got off our first Royal "Oasis of the Seas" ship. We have traveled previously with Carnival 6 times and heard good things about RC. I've always wanted to experience a RC and loved the layout of the Oasis as we we're taking our 11 year old daughter with us. Unfortunately, the only WOW was the size of the ship. Central Park was beautiful and we enjoyed breakfast a few times at the Park Cafe. As for the My Time Dining at Silk; it lacked service and quality of food. We ate there 3 times during dinner hours and after "waiting and wondering around the dining room by the staff looking for a table" then to only be seated at a wall facing table both times with what I would compare to as inadequate service and food selection compared to our previous "Carnival" experiences. The balcony room for the 3 of us was ok. The sleeper hidabed our daughter slept on nightly was in need of a bad cleaning. Nightly our stateroom had a "noise" coming from the ceiling above our bed and made sleeping very difficult. On a positive note all the meals we had via reservations and "paid additional money" were pretty good. Special consideration being made to our waiter Tom Edison who made our dining experience at Chops a positive one. The kids Adventure Club was also a hot spot for our 11 year old who enjoyed a few hours doing some extra activities away from us. The adults only solarium is also beautiful and if you can get there early enough makes for a nice get away from the rest of the hoopla. All in all I would give it a 5 out of 10. Was expecting better in my "book of expectations" for the additional expense. We are not "picky" people and simply looked to Royal Caribbean for a better aka more "Royal" vacation. No WOW found here unless you look at our checkout bill when exiting the ship. My opinion.

Ditto

I'm throwing mine into the ocean. RCCL current itineraries and service are not worth the current costs. The increase in drink prices and exclusions are the newset examples of a company that has lost it's way.

RCCL must be counting on a lot of international passengers to fill their new ships. Perhaps a favorable currency exchange makes these prices look better.

The plan is to follow the lead of Celebrity and include the drinks package as part of a sale with the cabin. The over inflated cabin prices may look better if you include an inflated drinks package.

My browser had a problem with http://www.rccl.com, but works ok with http://www.royalcaribbean.com.

Thanks

Can anyone get to the RCCL website?