hcat

Some areas ( theater) of the newer HAL ships look okay. We do not gamble so whatever was discussed above is a non issue for us, . One time we could not get a res at our usual pre cruise hotel.. We stayed at a place with a tiki hut that catered to HAL cruisers. Def they were the super senior crowd, slow moving, many needing asistance ...We are srs ourselves at this point, but still not in that group..Nice people I am sure, but not our cup of tea. Elevs were jammed, We plan to stick it out with X as we wind down our cruise bookings. Staying closer to east coast US....nice and newest X ships..except Tampa.

We sailed on Solstice when she was brand new and cuttung edge.,,hope sge will be upgraded...not that old for a ship. No interest for us to cruise on HAL!

Great photos..glad you enjoyed the tour

Great live from thread...nice blend of food, places, ship etc along with lovely photos and relatable commentary. Thanks!

We have friends heading out later today on EQ from Port Ev, Wising them a good sailaway and smooth seas ahead,.going East Carib ( not west) Anyone on board..let us know how things are going..EQ is one of our favorites!

Buffet, EDEN cafe, for Elite guests..the lite breakfast in Tuscan, and one of the big MDRS..( it was pretty good) . Cafe Baccio for pastries and coffee. Room service

but many dress up a bit on chic night..optional

This is quite obvious since X became Royalized and adopted that culture. Lower standards all around, The watchword always was that X would exceed expectations..Now we have reduced expectations! Still a nice product but no longer amazing! Just look at food photos and recent posts....2 asparagus on a plate...

I think we have gotten A2 pricing for an A1. AQ cabin locations can be tricky..research pays off!

H A P PY B I R T H D A Y! Great way to Celebrate on BEYOND! Are you going to do any spa visits???

Great review so far.... thank you ! We did Montserrat post cruise,,,great experience!

Very nice shot!

Were there alot of vendors hawking stuff as you entered the Miracle pathway? We hated that..one of them actually grabbed on to me to push his junk...big mistake on his part..middle age does not always mean weak!.. The tower and other bldgs were impressive but we found the whole okace a bit if a " tourist trap" We loved Florence..great art and architecture...beautiful vibe, good food and great buys on leather when we were there...would love to go back again some day. On another topic.. the food on board sounds "uneven"...not much to rave about!

8336 looks nice.. aft noise inevitable in ports but fun to watch them hook up lines... Hopefully they can correct soot.. it is very oily. We had a blow back of soot on another ship..aft bar. Major mess...

I'd look for a Sunset Veranda....they are great.

In many yrs of doing AQ class and BLU we did have one bad experience on Refection and one "dreadful" experience..on another non E ship..sorry can't recall which one it was. On Reflection, pre Luminae, the Suite concierge walked in lines of suite guests while AQ guests just stood in our line..After a few nights and many complaints..that ceased! On the other cruise, kitchen service was terribly slow...while everyone waited for food, the Maitre d and sommelier catered to a few select lg round tables..most of them became very drunk.A big party vibe! Maitre d tried to stick others in the rear with poor and very slow kitchen and wait service. After a few nights we booked into the mdr which treated us like VIPs..great tbl, great service and the food was outstanding, We did not return to BLU for dinner on that cruise. When we let maitre d know at bkfst..he was pout faced but really did not care. Over the yrs BLU was our favored place..less salt, plainer food, more custom orders, great service etc..but not sure abt future,..On E class the mdrs are excellent! A good, well trained staff is the key to success!

Water is supposed to be warm..not too hot. Some have the rack seating..cant remember abt EDGE Some have overhead sprays, some no longer have them. Not real T pools with hydrotherapy stations and minerals..sure do miss those!

Overcrowding of BLU with added suite guests could be solved by enforcing the space available basis rule for suite guests to enter...and or have a suite guest sign up list limited to a few res per evening. Or give each suite a dinner voucher for a Specialty restaurant to provide guests variety. Sad Commentary on Luminae which was created exclusively for suite guests after the huge success of BLU for AQ guests. Maybe they should review the Luminae menu and add some items from the BLU menu,, That might limit those going to BLU because they prefer the BLU menu or are just curious or seek variety. I believe mgmnt is aware of these issues..there were once rumors that the 2 venues might at some point be combined on newer ships but it never happened

We have been in AQ Class from inception on a variety of ships and mostly enjoyed it..as good value compared to a suite. BUT it all depends on what you are looking, relative pricing, ship selection and cabin location...Here are my comments... AQ class is worth it if you enjoy dining in BLU which we did for many yrs ( with attentive service, nice menu, fewer children & usually a nice atmoshphere away from the din of the mdr)... OR worth it if you want unlimited access to Persian Gardens / thermal suite area, OR if you the need extra per night cruise points. Also has less crowded hallways, and some better cabins..but beware of location! Recently some of the previously good perks have waned. Preferred boarding is almost a fiction with many more suite guests. Concierge guests sometimes going on 1st for their luncheon. On our most recent, Concierge guests also had more special events and attention than those in AQ, and priority departure was a joke..Our entire AQ Class floor got the dead last departure groups..we all ended up at Guest Rel to change that. CAVEAT E Class : We did not enjoy BLU on Edge due to its lousy location along the hallway to EDEN beyond the creepy forest or alternative need to walk up a winding staircase. Blu did not have any real sea views, and they kept the draperies closed to block view of service items We eat early and experienced a very slow kitchen when we were there. It was also noisy....bad acoustics. We were so busy on our cruise that we only got the the amazing thermal suite area a few times. Did not get our value for that perk. And AQ on EDGE comes with a infinite Balc...not a real balc..we managed but room was small. Would not book a IV or AQ on E class againl On a subsequent cruise we ditched AQ Class.. and .loved our large Sunset Veranda cabin with a true balc, and the 4 mdrs (all superior to EDGE BLU) and we did not miss the thermal area. Next cruise..trying a small suite w/ Luminae..hope we manage ok with that

PS balc had nice loungers, was often sunny..small over hang. Great aft view.....sunrise, sunset and night sky.,

We had a middle SV on EDGE deck 7...great cabin, very large balcony. We heard some music from EDEN a few times in the bthrm hallway at night but .nothing disruptive. There was also some stray music from someplace else during the day....speaker or pool area??? We had no soot and our only annoyance was the cabin next door .They..crammed in lots of folks on their balc nightly from dinner to bedtime..party cruisers...but that can happen anywhere. Inside the cabin was just fine.... Not sure abt deck 11 SV ...but 7 was good

Great photos.. sorry for choppy seas and sickness. We took a ship's excursion on a bus .. long ride, some very nice scenery, along curvy steep roads! Could feel car sick at times. But was worth it! Loved the unique city...had a great historical walking tour which became a bit too long,. We went off on our own for awhile. Nice shopping (lovely Italian Pottery) & tasty lunch, all pricey. We had the bonus of seeing an Italian wedding group come out of church in all their finery.

Enjoy both.two of our favorites..each has its good points!

Same for us,. The SV was awesome...larger cabin, huge balcony, awesome views . Fairly private location..we did not mind the walk to/ from the elevator. We find that most Royal C cabins have always been a bit small. No matter what, if we ever go back to Royal, we would pick an older ship and NO IV.....it may have a "Veranda" but it's NOT a balcony

We managed with an IV on EDGE...but the cabin was too small overall and never had the feel of a balcony. Would not book again!