tx121

Just off the Oasis on Sunday, They had a spa special for $169-179 plus grats (so $211) each day for 75 min that included (depending on the day) Swedish Massage or Bamboo massage or hot stone massage. Plus ankle, foot, shoulder and neck massage and exfoliating salt scrub. It was shown on the front of the daily planner for each day which type of massage was offered.

Along with the birth certificate, Would a school ID for a 16 year old be ok for the photo ID requirement on Royal Caribbean?

Yes I agree. When I cruised on the Edge, I found it to be great. I think they have tweaked it and the reason why it works is because they have the classic section, the special menu for that dining room AND a section of the menu that changes every day.

That's what I said over the years they were named the nickel and dimed cruise line. NCL was the pioneer cruise line for extra charges starting with the specialty restaurants. All other lines have followed suit with extra charges. Example of NCL's current nickel and diming practices: Charge for laser tag, VR, bowling ,go karts. etc If you don't do these activities then yes you would never be nickel and dimed.

I have never experienced dynamic dining but heard it was a major fail. Hopefully Royal has learned from their mistake and NCL will too with their new concept. I have never went on a cruise where the MDR menu was the same every day. NCL is rolling this out on their new ship soon.

NCL has revolutionized the cruise industry in the freestyle concept and most of the maintstrean cruise lines have adapted it in some way in their business model. It seems like most of NCL's practices are just a cash grab and in the past has had the reputation of the "nickel and diming" cruise line. Thanks to NCL, some of the cruise lines over the years have downgraded the quality of food in the main dining room so people would rather spend money on the specialty restaurants to get better quality food. Now NCL is rolling out on their newest ships and soon after their entire fleet where the main dining room is going to have the same menu every day and smaller buffet options. I really hope Royal doesn't follow this change. I enjoy going in to the MDR and seeing a different menu every night and having many different options in the Windjammer. Would you second guess cruising on Royal if they made this change?

We will be sailing soon on the Oasis and was wondering how the main dining room works for a unvaccinated guest in our group. We are a group of 12 and have a 4 year old who is unvaccinated. Are we all allowed to sit together in the main dining room or will we have to separate?

I hope the Icon isn’t just a “upgraded Oasis class”. There was a lot of hype when the Freedom class came out and it was all a let down when it turned out to be the same as the Voyager class but they just added a new section and some features like the flow rider.

We are currently on a river cruise in Europe. Everyone is vaccinated and no test was required before boarding the boat. There has been numerous cases onboard and we are now recommended to wear a mask around the ship and required while on a bus tour. Most of the guests are older and there’s a lot of coughing and clearing throats. The important part is no one is in serious condition or the need to disembark the ship to a hospital. I think this pre testing needs to go. If covid will end up coming onboard, then so be it. We all have to live with this.

We are currently sailing on the Viking Baldur, following you guys “down the river”. Our program director mentioned yesterday that we will have to pack our bags and transfer to a new ship since the water levels are low. I’m guessing your boat will be one of the last ones to go through with the minimum water levels. Viking must be prepared for these type of situations and have a empty boat waiting for us on the other side. I agree with you that the service seems off at times and the quality of food has been declining each day as well. Hopefully this transfer to a new boat with a different crew and chefs may be a blessing. Also it seems like Covid cases seem to be increasing on our boat. We have be encouraged to wear masks around the boat and required when on the bus.

yes it is an older production but it is still enjoyable to watch and not passed it’s prime (meaning it is still popular) unlike cats, grease, we will rock you.

All depends on the cruise director. Some go all out with decorations, dances, haunted houses, costume parties, etc. Others have done the bare minimum and put up simple decorations.

Your title is correct in terms of the production shows. Royal Caribbean shows since Nick Weir took over are more miss than hits. Original shows by RCL like The Effectors, Columbus the Musical, 270 shows, Voices, etc are so bad. The visual effects are amazing but the plot and song choices are corny. Also how many versions of the Showgirls show can they put on the ships? Same show just different titles. The new aqua shows are basic carbon copies of each other like Hiro, Intense, Aqua 80s. Same choreography just different music. The choice for broadway shows is pretty much outdated ones that have passed their prime except hairspray. In my opinion, the only area that the RCL production show team has consistently delivered great shows is with the Ice shows.

They probably pay Royal to keep the show on the ship since it’s that bad and outdated. 😂

Great information. Thank you so much!

Hello, We will be boarding our first River cruise on Viking this Sunday. I have read that Viking usually mails out the red luggage tags to put on the luggage but we have not received them yet. We booked the cruise 2 weeks ago. Is it necessary to have them?

It is really a shame that the new Genting World Dream cruise ship that was 80% complete is heading to the scrapyard and being sold for metal and parts. At 208,000 tons and watching the videos, it looked like it would be a fantastic ship. I know all the cruise lines are having financial difficulties right now because of the shutdown and pandemic, but do you think RCL would have bought this ship instead of it being scrapped if they were in a better financial situation?

Royal Caribbean seems to focus more on their new and larger ships since they bring more money and revenue for the company. Brilliance and it’s sister ships and the Vision class are kind of left in the dust. The crew shortage on the Brilliance is a example of this. Also the older ships tend to be training ships. That pool deck TV will never be replaced until the ship is sold to another company. I agree they should just turn it off. We were on the Carnival Mardi Gras and they were able to have a full line up of activities and shows. Yes it is a new ship but even on the newer Royal ships, they are only doing 1 production show or Broadway show in the main theater compared to 2/3. Ships in Europe usually have a itinerary being very port heavy. More is focused on the destination than the ship. Different feel just like Alaska which is a slower type cruise. Hold times are ridiculous on Royal compared to other cruise lines. They really seem to have staffing issues on both land and sea.

Hello! We will be doing the Grand European river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest with Viking River Cruises. For those who have done this itinerary with Viking, does anyone have a list of the port times we will be in each port? Also are we able to deviate and do our own excursion? Thanks!

We just booked our first river cruise on Viking! One question we have is that we had Viking book our airfare but we don’t arrive in to our embarkation port which is Amsterdam until 2pm. We would like to explore a part of Amsterdam before the ship leaves the port. What time does the ship usually leave? Would we have enough time to check in to the ship and then explore Amsterdam ? Any info provided is greatly appreciated!

Is there a way to buy cruise insurance through Royal Caribbean for 1 person in the cabin? I would like to purchase the insurance but my travel partner does not. If not, has anyone used a outside insurance company to insure the trip for 1 person? I guess I would have to just divide by 2 the cost of my portion of the trip ? I'm just worried if I have to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances, does my travel partner also have to cancel?

We decided to cancel our excursion through Carnival and go with a independent tour company. We received a email from Carnival saying tour has been canceled and refund is being processed but due to covid ..... there is a delay. If you have cancelled a online purchase , how long did you have to wait to see the refund on the credit card? Just trying to avoid having to pay for the purchase and then asking for a check from the credit card company. Thanks!

Has anyone noticed that the Cruise Directors on Royal Caribbean seem to be less visible (even before pandemic)? It seems like the only time I see them is to open the shows or for special events to introduce the officers. I feel like over the years they have become more administrative than actually front of the house, especially the older Cruise Directors. In my opinion, I think having them at more activities and being visible around the ship, makes a important connection to the guests. Former Cruise directors for RC like Richard Spacey, Jimmy Rhodes, Kirk Detweiler.....were always around for the events and seen around the ship. A current Cruise Director that still does this is Mike Szwajkowski. He was always seen around the ship and even hosted a game show called the Broken Link (which is hilarious) on our Odyssey Sailing last year. He is very polished and seems like the "old school" cruise Directors of the past. What is your opinion on Royals current Cruise Directors? Who is your favorite and were they "active" during your cruise?