Cruising89143

I just received and completed about a ten minute survey. The entire survey was based on the MDR. The survey asked for me to describe my perfect MDR experience. It asked me to rate the overall “time” situation for a dinner being considered too short, just right and too long. It gave me a sample menu to rate the overall menu and then it broke each item down and asked for a rating of 1-10 on how much each item interested me. This included each appetizer, entrée and dessert on the menu. By the way, this was one of the current menus (had the classic items ) that I saw listed on the Symphony a few weeks back on the app. It was a thorough survey so it looks as though RCI is looking to tweak the current menus and process.

In the Med, the ship becomes the moving hotel as usually it’s a very port intensive itinerary and very little time is spent on the ship. I prefer the smaller ship in this case.

More the size of the Voyager class.

Agree. One really has to watch the prices. Jamie’s is showing as $54.99 for the everyday price. Once they add the 25% savings, it’s back to the regular price. Six months ago we were paying $34.99 PP. At that price it was doable but not at twenty bucks more PP. I realize that things are more expensive now but Jamie’s pales in comparison to Giovanni’s.

The two lounges on the NV would be the Diamond lounge on deck five forward. The suite lounge is located starboard side in the Viking Crown lounge.

IMHO the ice show is a “don’t miss “. Showgirls is pretty good also. We were recently on the Symphony and it was honestly the worst ice show that we have ever seen. I appreciate the entertainment on the Navigator so much more.

Same here. We have cruised with RCI on nine cruises since March. With each cruise they have emailed us the current protocols for boarding. No issues here with their IT. I do feel for the OP but there is usually more to the story. Since I was not able to hear the conversation between them and the cruise line I will refrain from commenting one way or the other.

We did look at Wonderland but it really didn’t grab is. Reviews here have been very mixed. The place itself is beautiful. They gave it a prime spot. We eat at Jamie’s and Chops on the Navigator a lot so we skipped it on this ship.

On two weeks ago. Hairspray was the show.

We were on the SY two weeks ago. We enjoyed CK. Never made it to breakfast but did for lunch a few times and dinner on five evenings. Overall the food was good but what we enjoyed is the fact that it’s quiet up there. Some nights were better than others due to the menu. You can view the menus on the app. Don’t know if I would equate the quality to the specialty restaurants but overall good. It’s nice to have a cocktail in the lounge and then head over to your table for dinner. After the first evening, we requested the same server for the week. Service was outstanding. We did do Central Park 150 and Izumi. CP150 was just okay. Service was very good but our server reminded us to remember him when completing the post cruise survey with a (ten). I don’t like that. Izumi felt like we were dining in a cave. Poor location on the ship. Food was very good though.

LOL….I guess some never take the elevators on a ship. Has to be the most crowded place on board. Some have a contest to see how many bodies that can pack into those suckers……😳

We like the food better on X but have found that both are about equal in specialty dining. Both can be inconsistent in this area. Varies by ship. We were just recently on the Freedom and Symphony on an almost B2B. We really enjoyed having the use of Coastal Kitchen on the Symphony for our meals (never made it to breakfast). Overall much better than we expected. We only dined at specialty dining twice since we enjoyed CK. We’re not huge buffet people but X does this much better than RCI. On the Navigator, the Food and Beverage officer Cornelius recently left the ship. We could tell a difference and it wasn’t for the better.

We have cruise seven times out of Los Angeles and twice out of Miami since the restart on RCI. Each time they scanned “each” persons Set Sail pass. I fully expect that the cruise lines will eventually move back to the old system.

Not a big deal not as not every city or town wants cruise ships debarking thousands of guests. I have friends who owned a B&B in Key West for years. They absolutely disliked cruise ships. Only a handful of tour operators made money while those actually staying in KW had to deal with the large groups in town who spend very little.

Agree. The alternative is to just take away the vouchers completely. This place would explode. LOL……

On the Symphony now, Freedom last week along with the Navigator three weeks ago all in a GS. On both the NV and FR we had all MG products. This week we have MG conditioner and body wash and some yellow coconut smelling shampoo in a clear pump. On the NV we have had the Salt Breeze products in the pump bottles in a JS.

Just stayed at the Marriott prior to our cruise. They too have moved to using the three dispensers in place of the small bottles. This was a concierge level room.

Ah………Really?

Be careful, I got roasted here for making a comment on this board but for us it depends on the cruise. Last week and this week we booked a GS so we skipped the packages. We are also Prime in the casino so in all we receive drinks in the casino, suite lounge plus the daily drink vouchers. It did not make sense to purchase them but yes we have in the past and did not regret it. I just think that it’s a matter of time before the number of vouchers are reduced but that’s just my feeling.

Was on the Freedom last week and on the Symphony this week. Both were/are full ships. I would say that the Freedom felt much more crowded. Oasis class does a great job of spreading out guests throughout the ship IMHO. Our only question now is where we will go. Currently headed to Cozumel but there’s a tropical system headed in the same direction that we’re scheduled to cruise which is Roatan and Costa Maya. I’m guessing a trip to Nassau is in order after a rainy Cozumel. Captain announced yesterday when leaving Coco Cay that he was keeping an eye out for it. That should make some of the guests on this sailing happy. 😳🙂🤦‍♂️

I haven’t read all of the responses but what was booked today may be canceled tomorrow once people realize what they’re spending. Personally the ship really doesn’t appeal to us at this time. I’m sure one day we will give it a try. We’re currently docked at Coco Cay and after walking around, it appears as though RCI dropped this island on top of the Icon. The prices are crazy but if people want to pay to say that they were first on board then go ahead and enjoy.

Yep. Agree…. It’s 2008/09 all over again. With each new class introduced we read the same comments. It started with the Voyager OTS. It’s very simple. If you don’t like the ship then choose something else. There’s a ship out there for everyone. There is plenty of things that I don’t use on certain ships but that doesn’t keep me off of them. Royal Caribbean is no longer your grannies cruise line. Maybe Holland America is……. 😉😉

Depends on when you cruise. I have six sailings under my belt on the Oasis class. Four of those cruises had very few kids on board. One of the best ships that I have cruised that didn’t feel crowded.

They haven’t announced all of the information.

LOL….I remember when the Oasis entered service in 2009. I read right here on CC that RCI would be bankrupt in two years as they would never be able to fill a ship that size on a consistent basis or comments like “adults will not be interested in this ship”. Well a dozen years later we have the sixth Oasis class on order and the next generation of RCI’s cruise ship being introduced. RCI made it pretty clear when they introduced the Voyager in 1999 that families was their focus. RCG has a ship designed for adults that do not want a floating amusement park. It’s call Celebrity Cruise Lines.