MandyMooToo

I have seen the advertisements. They (Royal Caribbean) say in their adverts that you can come on a cruise, the kids will be entertained by us, and you can relax. That is what they are offering. Then you blame the parents when they take RC up on their advertised offer.

 

 

 

We have done a January summer holidays cruise out of Australia, and we were told there was 770 under 18s on Radiance, so about 1/3 of the passengers. It was messy and grubby.

 

 

 

NEVER AGAIN for us too. Give me an older crabby demographic any time. They don't clog up the whirpools for hours with twice the capacity, they don't sit in the elevators for hours....We enjoyed our cruise, but, no, never again.

 

 

I think, in regard to the ads, that RC is referring to their kids' programs. Many parents bring their children on the ship and let them run loose instead of having them attend the organized activities or keeping them nearby under their supervision. I don't think RC meant "bring your kids, they can run wild and you can hang by the pool hogging chairs for the whole family all day." I know I'm being somewhat facetious but.....

 

 

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I heard it was detained because someone wore jeans to the dining room. ;)

 

Ha ha ha! Thank you, I needed a laugh after the crappy day I've had!!! :D

 

I personally couldn't do it, I bring everything I could possibly want to use to avoid pack regret later.

 

Yep, that's me. It is really the shoes that do it to me...every time, it's the dang shoes :o

We also now avoid sailing when children are out of school. It is not the crowds but as others have said, its what appears total lack of supervision by many parents. The children often roam in groups enjoying themselves while doing mischief(some examples being elevator tag, removing/switching room service and/or do not disturb tags, and games in the pools). We here must note that RCCL must bear some responsibility since we perceive that seldom are their own rules enforced about such behavior.

 

And this is really the problem ^^^

I read so many posts about the wretched children on ships and to be fair I do not want to cruise with a ship full of young ones either, and I have two children (teens) of my own, but typically it isn't the children that are so bad. It is usually the parents who let little Johnny and little Sally run rampant without any supervision. The kids are super excited and they get wild/rambunctious/etc. which is to be expected but a lot of parents feel like they are on vacation so.....:eek: My teens are very well behaved when they are right beside me and I hope they are the same when they are doing their own thing with friends but let's be honest, if you aren't checking in with them, supervising them and raising them to expect your wrath if they behave badly then they'll do as they please (and heck, sometimes they'll do it anyway). It's just in their nature :D So I will say that I would like to avoid sailing when ships are full of unresponsive parents! Shew, I feel better now.

Oh the agony of it all!!! I'm dying here and I'm not on Allure until August :p

All of the French Islands have nude beaches. The south half of Orient Beach on St Marten by The Orient Beach Club is full nude. There are five other nude beaches on St Marten that are more secluded. Some are on the Dutch side, St Maartin.

On St Thomas Little Magens Bay is nude but not legal. From Magens Bay Beach walk to the right keeping the bay on your left for a quarter mile. At high tide you'll be walking in waist deep water.

Take the BNT nude cruise in February 2015. It will be a tour of the French Islands and it's nude beaches.

 

Thank you for the info! I will google the February cruise for details.

No topless sunbathing on the ships. Orient Beach in St. Marten is topless optional, but not full nude.

 

Thank you for the response!

Are there any RCCL ships that allow at least topless sun bathing?? Are there any beaches in St. Marten or St. Thomas that do? The "regular" threads seem to balk at the mention of topless or nude so I hated to ask there.

 

 

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I just find it strange that this review was posted on March 31st and the first comment was not until today. Very strange indeed......:confused:

 

I posted today because this is the first time I read this review. I went back a couple of months to read threads/posts that I may have missed as I tend to be active for a bit and then fall off so I have to play catch up! No idea why there haven't been any posts before today....:rolleyes:

Wow, way to make lemonade out of lemons!! Great positive attitude :)

Going on Allure this August and even though I've been on Oasis so I have a good idea of the ship/activities/whatever I cannot stop reading reviews!!! This one is great so far :D

what is the email for "special services" - thanks or is there a phone number?

 

Sorry, didn't get here fast enough to answer :). Yes, special_needs@rccl.com

is the address I used. Their response was very prompt.

I contacted our local TA, whom the family has used for years, and she could offer nothing other than doing the booking/paperwork for us. No benefit there really.

 

 

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We asked for one on Oasis through special services and received an email stating a fan and extension cord would be in our cabin. When we got there the cord was present but no fan so I showed the email to the cabin steward and by the time we were back in our room that evening the fan was plugged in and going.

 

 

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Last year we booked two rooms on Oasis, side-by-side, with my husband and I in one and two seventeen year old boys in the other. No issues at booking (went through Royal) and no issues on the ship.

We went on Oasis last year and it was held in the Aqua Theater. They recognized persons on each level, beginning with first time cruisers, and then gave out the obligatory gifts to the longest cruisers or whatever :p They handed out glasses of champagne, mimosas, bloody Mary's, sodas, etc. I believe there was a brief show (staying away from the short diving program-ha, ha) and attendance was very good. They went over the levels and some perks with each also. We enjoyed it and felt that the gathering was well done as it wasn't just for those who had cruised 2,334,989 times...

Going on the Allure in August, can't wait to read the rest of your review! Thanks for taking the time to post it!

Also- how does that work when one person in the cabin drinks and one doesn't? We have friends where the husband can't drink due to medication he's on - it would kill him - but she enjoys a glass of wine. So would they still need to purchase the drink package for both of them?

 

 

Not any longer. Previously both parties in the cabin had to purchase a package but they changed that rule so your friend can get a package and her husband doesn't have to.

 

 

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cruise survey:

 

was your cruise awesome?

[ ] yes

[x] no

if no, please explain: no limes, entire cruise ruined. Need refund.

 

how was your service?

[ ] amazing

[x] horrible

if horrible, please explain: my drink had no lime. Asked crew member to make limes. He said he can't make limes. He fails at life.

 

additional comments: can't cruise without limes. It's not the same. Feel dread thinking about cruising again. Have severe fear of rickets and unable to watch shows, take excursions, sleep, read books, or even manically stare at people falling down on flowrider® because of lime deficiency. Hate life. Overwhelming sense of loss and self-loathing.

 

Ha Ha Ha! :)

[quote name='S.A.M.J.R.']So by that definition, you "claim" a chair at the pool, then leave to pick up a snack, walk by a bar and get a drink, take a couple laps around the track, try out the flowrider, and then the rock wall. As long as you don't sit down anywhere else, you're still entitled to the chair at the pool, right? :rolleyes:

I'm sorry, but I won't begrudge someone taking 5 minutes to go to the bathroom, or 20 minutes to sit in the hot tub. I think the 30 minute timer (of some sort) is a good compromise. Pool attendants should "walk the floor" at the top & bottom of the hour. Any towels on a chair should be folded and draped over the headrest. Any towels found folded and draped over the headrest during the next time by should be taken up and any personal property brought to a "lost and found".[/QUOTE]

I agree.

We were on Oasis last year and the policy was being enforced...both ways. Husband and I had been in our chairs for a couple hours when I needed the restroom (dang mango daiquiris). I excused myself and he decided to get an ice cream from the soft serve machine (mistake for both of us to get up at the same time). When we got back to our seats, 10 minutes later maybe, a woman had taken my husband's shirt/towel/shoes and placed them on my chair and laid down. Pool staff, aided by the new friends we made sitting near us, had the woman move and give us the chair back. All in all the staff did well that cruise. We never saw any children in the adult main pools either so maybe we just got lucky?

 

 

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Maybe so in your experience with on-line TA's, but our "live person" TA gives us great service before and after the sale - that is why we use her.

 

The cruise lines can also refer you to a TA if you don't have one.

 

I did not realize the cruise line could refer me, that's something to consider. Thanks for the info.

The TA's that the OP has contacted clearly don't appreciate his/her business .

 

The online agencies compete with each other and will offer things to get your business.

 

 

 

Realize that some of those large online agencies, that have "cruise" in their name , may have home based TA's in your area, if that makes you feel better.

 

 

I had not thought about it that way. I'll look to see if some of the larger online agencies have an office within say, 50 miles of me. Thank you!

 

 

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Ask friends & family if they have a good TA

 

We use one in California that many people on our cruise had mentioned

 

She worked out great for us so shop around

 

 

Unfortunately the TA I mentioned before is the same one that my friends/family have used for years if they aren't making arrangements themselves. She is a great gal and is sugar sweet but I do not see a a real reason in booking with her if there are no additional benefits. I guess that is why I was asking about other options since in my area there are only two agencies. Thank you for the response!

 

 

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Try Cruise Critics own selection of TAs under "Find a Cruise" above.

 

Or when next on a cruise join the M&M :D

 

 

I did not know there was a TA selection on Cruise Critic. Has anyone booked through CC (through their system of referrals I guess)?

 

I joined the M&M for our cruise this August, which we booked direct with RCCL, so I may try asking there also. Thanks.

 

 

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