JeffT237

Last March I paid $105.99pp on The Wonder, this March for our upcoming Harmony cruise we are paying $112.99pp. Keep in mind there is an 18% gratuity added on a time of purchase.

Great comments, 100% agree. I read a lot of these type of posts and like many, wonder why people who no longer like the product Royal offers continue to cruise with Royal. Especially long time cruisers, they seem genuinely so unhappy with everything Royal offers anymore. Is it simply the free drink vouchers and the earned status of being a high tier passenger? I would think a higher end cruise line with smaller ships that cater to an elevated experience would be the answer. We still enjoy cruising, we cruise on other lines as well and the complaints are similar on those message boards too. We certainly never have had a meal that has been "inedible", we've cruised enough to know what to expect as we do both speciality and included. All indications and reporting are that cruise bookings are in demand across all lines, millions of people have been enjoying cruising so it can't be as dire as some on the message boards make it out to be.

3 cruises in the last 18 months, Port Canaveral somewhat enforced, Port of Los Angels strictly enforced, and Seattle not enforced at all. What port are you sailing from? But even with my past experiences, I bet it is different from week to week.

Maybe this was the video the OP viewed

You probably won't find the answer you are looking for on this board, YouTube or any social media platform. I'm just as guilty of reading and watching many people's views on food and all things cruising, however in the 3 cruises we have done (not all on RCI) post pandemic we have found most of the complaints about the onboard experiences to be overly exaggerated. After too much time on CC I have questioned should I even cruise anymore, but once onboard most of those concerns quickly went away. If you do chose to cruise on Royal I'm willing to bet you will find the food to be good, whether that be the included food or if you choose to do speciality dining. If you're that concerned stick with Celebrity since you already know you like it. Best of luck with whatever you decide, it's still cruising!

In your opinion what exactly are the cruise lines trying to do here? Purposely lower the quality and quantity of the included food options to force passengers to spend more on speciality dining?

We had been moving towards more speciality dining well before the pandemic. We just enjoy the food and atmosphere more than the MDR food and experience. We typically purchase the 3 night dining package and almost always get a speciality dining voucher for another dinner from our TA. The remaining nights we decide when we get onboard with either the MDR or Solarium Bistro. In all our cruises we've yet to do a dinner in the WJ.

We had the earliest for general boarding, 10:30 I think. Now when we cruised they did somewhat enforce boarding times early, meaning they had areas set up outside of the terminal by boarding time that they physically checked and they did let us in based on our group, we checked in and once inside the terminal we sat again by boarding time and allowed to enter the ship shortly after that. I do believe it relaxed a bit with the later boarding times, it seemed at Port Canaveral for our cruise they were doing this for the initial rush. Friends of ours who had an 11:30 boarding time were allowed on before that. This was our experience, many will say show up when you want just don't be surprised if initially you are kept outside in the 12:30 group until the earlier groups are allowed in. The other tip I'd have, you may already know this but you can also go to a speciality restaurant to make your reservations for any restaurant. My wife and I split up when we board, one goes to the dining table in the Royal Promenade and one goes to a speciality restaurant and we communicate to whoever gets served first.

We were on the Wonder with the 3 night package last March, we also had a speciality dining voucher from our TA. We had an early boarding time and went right to the dining table and made all of our reservations upon boarding. We were able to get all of the restaurants we wanted close to the times we wanted as well. By the time we finished the lines were a bit longer and the speciality restaurants were all pretty full the 4 nights we dined in them.

Thanks, this was our plan as well. We usually skip the shuttles for an Uber for the same reasons.

Is this pretty common? I just figured we'd Uber or Lyft from the Harbor House to the terminal when we cruise in March on the Harmony.

Agree, I really don't understand why so many are concerned with how people spend money on their own vacation. I'm speculating, is the argument that if the majority stopped paying for extras or paying for the price increases then Royal will return to the past? I get it but I don't see it happening. 3 cruises in the last 14 months and even with the sticker shock everything was in high demand, plenty of people purchasing the extras even with the price increases.

Having done only one Alaska cruise, a round trip out of Seattle I'd opt for a one way northbound out of Vancouver for our next Alaska cruise. The Seattle round trip seemed like a lot of open ocean non-scenic sailing. In short it was a disappointment compared to what I envisioned an Alaskan cruise would be. The Victoria stop for us was shortened and we arrived at night so it was a waste for us. We'd be fine on an older smaller ship to gain more scenery and less open ocean. I've heard multiple definitions of the "inside passage" but we're specifically interested in sailing east of Vancouver Island through the Johnstone Straight for our next Alaska cruise. We sailed Princess for Glacier Bay and we really enjoyed that experience. Like others we booked the Seattle round trip due to ease and convenience, but again our next one will be itinerary based not ship or cruise line specific.

So our most recent cruises have been on both Royal and Princess so I'll give you our opinion. A big difference in the 2 lines I feel is the dynamic pricing that Royal has, prices on additional add/ons (drink packages, speciality dining packages, wi-fi etc) go up and down pre-cruise. It's best to buy them on Royal if you have in interest in them and then continually check the prices on your cruise planner in case they drop. If they do you can cancel them and rebook them at the cheaper price. Princess's prices for add ons are set, and generally cheaper than Royal's. We enjoyed the Princess plus program, one price ( I believe it's $60 pp per day now) for drinks, wi-fi and gratuity. For us they were in line with how much we drink including water, speciality coffees and a few alcoholic drinks). We have never purchased the drink package on Royal as we would never come close to the $1200-$1400 cost for the 2 of us. We have found the cruising experience between the 2 very similar and enjoyable for different reasons. We prefer the entertainment especially on an Oasis class ship over what Princess has to offer. Food is very similar, service we've found to be very good on both, for us really no complaints on either. Royal we've found to be more families with children and activities and amenities geared towards them, while our Princess cruises were a quieter and older crowd. It really depends on the itinerary. We have sailed Royal mostly to the Caribbean, and Princess to Alaska and the California Coastal. The dining package you refer to is for speciality dining only, if that's something you don't do then disregard. We have done speciality on both Royal and Princess, and will continue to do so. Crown Grill and Chops are about the same, but we felt Sabbitini's was pretty average. I feel we find hits and misses on both lines in both speciality and included. We also like having access to a self service laundry on Princess but I wouldn't make that a deal breaker for any cruise line we are considering. I do think you're making a good choice to sail on Royal to give it a try and as well as for the kids. Have a great cruise.

Agree, $160.99 was the Black Friday price for our past March sailing on the Wonder.

We sailed the Wonder in March and we had a 10:30 boarding time. They were enforcing times on our cruise and we were let into the terminal shortly after the Pinnacles, suites and Key guests. We were onboard around 10:45 and we split up, my wife went to the speciality dining table on the Royal Promenade and I went to Central Park to find the least crowded speciality restaurant to make our dining package reservations and we communicated via text. She was able to make reservations first, so I met up with her and we got all of the restaurants we wanted close to the times we wanted, we also made our lunch reservation for the Coco Cay Beach Club. Friends of ours who boarded about an hour later found a lot of the times they wanted were taken, but they did get the restaurants they wanted. Reservations go pretty quickly with most passengers who have the dining packages making them as soon as they board.

I appreciate good and thourough reviews, both in print and media, but I kept thinking how annoying it would have been to be sitting next to these 2 while they made their videos regardless if it were good or bad. Especially in the tight confines of the MDR. I understand that being a YouTuber or influencer is a job, but be respectful of others around you. To have to listen to people review every course of every meal while recording I'm sure was very distracting.

Hurricane Irma, we were there pre and post Irma, even 5 years later there is sadly still evidence of the destruction. It was interesting to hear our guides firsthand experience with being on the island at that time. Lunch consisted of sandwiches and chips on the boat as well as beer and rum. One of the stops is Pinel Island and there is a small bar & grill there to enjoy. Agree, we would do it again.

They vary, we were recently on the Wonder and most of the shows we saw were between 8:00-9:00. There will be later performances as well. The most important thing for shows is to reserve them pre-cruise on your cruise planner when they become available which is usually on the first of the month the month before your saling. So with an August sail date your show reservations should open on July 1st. Most of the performances will "sell out" before your cruise, many of ours became unavailable within a week or two once they became available to book. They do take some limited reservations on board or they have a stand by line for those without a reservation, but no guarantees. In St. Martin we did Captain Bob's speed boat, snorkeling and beach tour. We enjoyed it, small group of 14 including lunch & drinks and it's easy to get to on your own. We have done Maho Beach on our own before to see the planes land and take off and that's fun as well. Would definitely recommend Captain Bob's. https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g147346-d15646838-Captain_Bob_Speed_Boat_Snorkeling_Beach_Tour_Including_Lunch_in_St_Maarten-St_Mart.html

We always get the internet package for one of us, but we purchase for 2 devices and share. We had it a few weeks ago on the Wonder and paid around $195 on Black Friday. Worked well enough for our use, we don't have social media but we do like to stay in touch back home especially with our aging parents. Text, Wi-Fi calling and FaceTime is what we mostly use it for.

I don't think anyone thinks your "nutty", you had a horrible experience which shapes your future behavior. That's perfectly reasonable. You also have experience in the industry. But you also seem to convey that cruise hot tubs are unsafe and should not be used, at least indirectly you're saying that. I can Google or YouTube lot's of things about cruise safety and health, I could link to them and go on and on page after page to make my point. Lookup cruise ship illnesses from the buffet, assaults on ships, Noro, excursion accidents, theft on ships etc. Go to the "cruise lawyer's" website and see how unsafe cruising is according to him....not just hot tub use. I sympathize with you for your experience, that must have been tough. But many feel differently and use the hot tubs regularly without incident. They will have a "Happy soaking!!!!" Just watch human behavior on a cruise ship and you'll see many unsanitary practices by passengers. Travel related illness and accidents happen regularly, but common sense tells me that millions cruise every year without incident. Doesn't mean something bad can't happen. The major travel industries aren't in the business of wanting to see its customers get sick and face lawsuits. Again sorry for your past experience. I'm presuming you're going to test them yourself, and if like you say they fail the test you bring on board what will your next action be? Alert all of the passengers? The staff?

Even bot's know not to engage in tipping posts!

That was such an entertaining post

I totally understand that, we all modify our behaviors due to our past experiences.

So to the original question you would say hot tubs are unsafe? What would your solution be? Take the hot tubs out of service as they're too dangerous or maintain them in a different way to make them safer?