aubreyc1988

I always think that if the food ends up being mad, maybe I won't gain so much haha

I am not commenting on any speculation of what they make, because frankly it is none of my business and they did sign a contract, but I had a great steward on Symphony last week, she did service once a day and it was fine. I don't need overly much, just fresh towels, and I got many towel animals the whole week, and she really had fun dressing them up with stuff in my room. Left her an extra tip on top of prepaid gratuities 🙂 I did hear from several very frequent cruisers in the diamond lounge that the housekeeping crew does not like the housekeeping service going down to once per day, so maybe they do get paid less now. I can't waste my time overthinking it, I do the best I can with keeping my auto tips on and tipping at the end and I hope they get fairly compensated.

Don't be worried, just go into it with an open mind! 😄 I ate at Park Cafe, Sorrentos, Playmakers, Windjammer and found everything to be pretty good. Of course, there were some hits and misses at WJ but that is just personal preference.

I never had any experience that aligned with this. Not saying your experience isn't valid, just that mine was different. I ordered some of the same dishes on Liberty, Allure, Freedom last year and didn't notice a difference in taste, quality, or presentation of those dishes on Symphony. On Freedom and Allure, I know several times in the MDR, I waited for 2 hrs for a completed dinner service so I was pleased with my fast experience on Symphony. Of course, we were only two people and larger groups will naturally have a different experience.

We love Chankanaab, another great place that is easy to get there by cab on your own. There are lots of things to do there as well. I might do Playa Mia this next time because I haven't done it in a while

Just got off the Symphony and dined in the MDR every evening at 5:30 Set Dining time. I had a table for two and always ordered all three courses. We had SUCH a great experience with the new MDR menu. Our dinner service was always around 30 minutes from start to finish, but it did help that we knew what we wanted fairly quickly and did not order bar drinks at the table. Our wait staff was amazing, the food was delicious and always HOT. I feel like the speed of dining is MUCH faster than it was on my previous sailings in Sept/Oct of 2022. On Lobster Night, they are charging for extra lobster (and I think the price for that needs to be lower), but you can order a lobster AND a different main entree that ISN'T lobster. Our favorite dishes were the lobster, steak, cheese tortellini, butter chicken, warm chocolate chip cookie, and tres leches cake I didn't mind the new formatting of the menu, but the theming was pretty weak, with Indian food being served on Mexican night 😛 Not a huge deal but just an observation Our cruise did have the top level of the MDR reserved for a Celiac group cruise so I do not know how this factored into my positive experience Let me know if you have any questions about the menu! I didn't take any pictures of the menu or food, as there are many online already. 😄 I don't claim to be a foodie or an expert in food, this is my personal opinion.

I used two days of Starlink on Symphony with my Diamond benefit last week...and it was AWFUL. In fact, I wish I had never activated it because it kept kicking me off the wifi every 3 minutes and I couldn't even use the Royal App...before I activated my day of the internet, the wifi stayed on and I could use the app no problem.

The loyalty programs of each cruise line sort of complement the cruise line. NCL doesn't give drink vouchers because most people just opt in for the drink package, or that is just what I like to think. I don't cruise specifically to climb tiers, most of the time. I did take a 4-night cruise to get to RCI Diamond...but normally loyalty program doesn't factor in

I was expecting Starlink to be amazing and it was just OK. I mean, pretty good for being at sea but I didn't think it was any faster than what Royal had before on their stream package...although I know some people will disagree with me

like RCL for following reasons: 1. Casino Program 2. Entertainment onboard is amazing usually. 3. Solarium, Pub, Central Park ❤️ 4. Drink Vouchers as Diamond are nice 5. Coco Cay is very nice I like NCL for following reasons: 1. All-inclusive pricing 2. Drink Package + amazing bartenders and staff 3. Specialty dining is mostly a home run every time, and their 24 hr food venue rocks 4. The Waterfront, I feel so much more connected to the ocean vs when on Royal 5. Loyalty Program: free bag of laundry, free specialty dinners 6. The game shows/non production shows are SO much fun 7. Their "next cruise" program is very generous compared to Royal's

Most people base opinions on just that, their one experience with it. Whenever I'm looking at cruises, there are so many other pricing factors, it's not just "This line will always be the cheapest". Port of call, time of year, age of ship, etc will all play into it.

I don't watch most of them anymore. I think I only watch Chris Wong, and Morgan occasionally, when I see a video that interests me.

the NCL drink package gratuities are 20.00 ish per person per day. Yes you have to do the "non sailaway cabin" rate, but it's usually a no-brainer. Most people don't want a GTY cabin anyway. Like all travel these days, to get good prices on NCL depends on the time of year, demand, and you also just have to research. Royal prices won't always be cheaper than NCL and vice versa, for the vloggers to talk in such absolutes is just dumb. Yes, Del Rio did say they use the market-to-fill strategy, but they are still using a price algorithm of sorts and they still want to be competitive in the market.

I'm just gonna say what everyone is thinking...YT/Vloggers are in for it for the clicks. Not saying there is anything wrong with that, but everyone needs to keep that in mind while watching. Also, depending on the Youtuber or Vlogger, they also have a bias towards certain cruise lines (which we all do somewhat), and I do feel like a majority of the TY/Vloggers can kind of have this "anti-NCL" vibe. I'm not saying they say that verbatim, it's just a feeling I get when I watch certain ones or read the clickbait headlines.

Haha, but what they don't know if they just saved themselves a sh*t load of money by missing out haha. And the 1,100 for two people was a "good" price, I think it was like 62.00pp pd before taxes and gratuity 😮 I just checked what it is for my upcoming sailing on Symphony on Saturday...77.00pp pd before taxes and gratuity! I also find the specialty dining to be more reasonable on Royal but whenever I did Chops/Giovanni's/Sabor, I thought it was sort of subpar considering the price and thought NCL's specialty dining was better...again, subjective...but I won't be buying it again. Very nice to have it included for the price on NCL. People b*tch about the gratuities on NCL's packages, like they think they don't pay that also on Royal???

100% agree. I am Diamond + Prime on Royal, Platinum on NCL, with no casino tier. If I didn't have the diamond drinks/Prime drinks AND I was paying for my cabin, I find NCL to always be the better deal with all the inclusions. But because I AM Diamond and Prime with Royal, it's harder to make the NCL cost competitive. However, not everyone has perks and that makes it "Sometimes NCL wins, sometimes Royal wins" side note: the drink package on Royal Caribbean is ridiculously expensive. I bought it last year for 1,100 for two people. I probably broke even on it, but my husband def didn't. And the drinks/bar service was not nearly as good as NCL's.

it's crazy to me, from a customer service perspective, that they just aren't giving people the water if they go to GS and ask for them and that they are fighting it THIS HARD with all the "fine print", especially since it is JUST WATER. Honestly, if the FLOW water is so expensive for them that they can't hand out a few bottles of it to angry customers, they need to go back to plastic bottles.

for the first time, you want to go to Glacier Bay. Idk if RCI is sailing to Glacier Bay or not, but try to get it on the itinerary if you can. I've done the route from Seattle with Glacier Bay twice with NCL. The park rangers come on board and give as little talk and will mingle with the guests and answer any questions you might have. And the whole day sailing into Glacier Bay, in my opinion, just feels really special and awe inspiring. I've not done an Alaskan cruise out of Seward, AK or Vancouver, but I've heard those are also really fantastic.

Do you know if it is on any of the menus on the app? I was looking for it and didn't see it

I love the Lavender Daiquiri and the Strawberry Blonde

what bar is this at?

I know for sure Kim Crawford is included and they for sure have Stella

I've never noticed a difference between NCL/RCI. I have experienced a difference on Carnival. Of course, that is just my experience. You will tend to see higher "Drunk incidents" on shorter cruises and Spring Break, but as a rule, it just depends sailing to sailing. I've had two cruises to Alaska where I encountered more really drunk people than Caribbean sailings, go figure.

Didn't see it on Liberty or Allure, but maybe it was during the evening, I only go for lunch! I hope they have some on Symphony!

I need some people from the UK to chime in. Whenever I watch The Great British Baking Show on Netflix, so much gelatin is used...maybe it's just me, maybe people from other regions really enjoy it?