Just back from our first Royal Caribbean cruise

[gambee]

We tried both lines, granted the Sky is no comparison for the Allure, we still had a great time on both. I am really looking forward to our cruise on Breakaway, I think that this will be the best way to directly compare the two lines. Flagship vs Flagship, it cannot get any better than that :D

 

I will however say one thing, I think the Allure will be very hard to match. I am by no means saying that our cruise was perfect, but there is just so much there to do.

 

I still think that we will never have a bad cruise, we work too hard to make these cruises happen and some cold food will not ruin my experience. We like trying new things and it is very hard for me to settle down. I look forward to trying all the different lines and everything that each of them has to offer.

[CruiseRansier]

PLEASE tell me how to get free cruises on RCCL. I have loved every cruise with them. I gladly pay for their cruises as the food is very good, but to be able to sail free would be fantastic. The only free cruises I have heard about for going to time shares were on some small cruise line out of Florida.

I did an NCL and would ONLY do it again if it was free, so I would have enough money to buy my meals like you have to do on NCL. The free food on NCL in the dining room was inedible, probably so they can get you to pay extra to get something edible. My DH would not pay for the specialty restaurants and although he did not like the food he ate it, but he thinks Kraft Mac and Cheese tastes good. I have heard that the food is very good in the specialty restaurants on NCL and would not mind trying the line again if I become wealthy. Maybe instead of "free styling" they should call it "expensive styling"

Our first free Royal cruise was a timeshare. second was won through my husbands work a bud light cruise

[Aquahound]

Even my TA says the new RCL ships are way over rated and way to expensive.

 

No offense, but that TA is clueless and obviously has not been aboard Oasis or Allure. The ratings and guest satisfaction say otherwise, and four years into their existence, they still sell out and command those high prices. As already stated, those two ships are in a league of their own and even on my third trip on that class, I was still in awe.

 

By the way, the ice rink isn't just for guest ice skating. The shows are unique with regard to cruise line shows and are excellent. The rink also makes a unique venue for games, such as Quest, with having the tiered seating on 3 sides.

 

You just can't pass judgement on a ship you haven't sailed, especially with ships like Oasis and Allure.

[terrydtx]

No offense, but that TA is clueless and obviously has not been aboard Oasis or Allure. The ratings and guest satisfaction say otherwise, and four years into their existence, they still sell out and command those high prices. As already stated, those two ships are in a league of their own and even on my third trip on that class, I was still in awe.

 

By the way, the ice rink isn't just for guest ice skating. The shows are unique with regard to cruise line shows and are excellent. The rink also makes a unique venue for games, such as Quest, with having the tiered seating on 3 sides.

 

You just can't pass judgement on a ship you haven't sailed, especially with ships like Oasis and Allure.

 

My TA has been on both and for what they charge for 7 night Caribbean cruises, almost double NCL, CCL and HAL for OV balcony cabins, she thinks they are over rated and over priced. I do not care about ice shows or ice rinks at sea so for me they would be over rated. My TA also thinks their food and service is no better than their competitors and that has a lot to do with why she thinks they are over rated and too expensive for what you get compared to their competitors. BTW I would rather see the Blue Man group on the Epic than an ice show on the Allure for a whole lot less cost of the cabins.

[SissasMomE]

I don't mind RCCL. They are very similar to NCL. The only cruise line I say I would never do again is CCL. I do think the service is better on NCL, but I suppose that is also subjective. The food is the same on any of the mass market lines.

[SissasMomE]

No offense, but that TA is clueless and obviously has not been aboard Oasis or Allure. The ratings and guest satisfaction say otherwise, and four years into their existence, they still sell out and command those high prices. As already stated, those two ships are in a league of their own and even on my third trip on that class, I was still in awe.

 

By the way, the ice rink isn't just for guest ice skating. The shows are unique with regard to cruise line shows and are excellent. The rink also makes a unique venue for games, such as Quest, with having the tiered seating on 3 sides.

 

You just can't pass judgement on a ship you haven't sailed, especially with ships like Oasis and Allure.

 

Agreed.

[wvfrogg]

How dare you call someone crazy for making a joke. I am allowed to give my opinion of my experience on a cruise ship on a Cruise Critic Board. NCL has many more for pay restaurants than any other line I have been on in my 29+ cruises. I said I would willing to try the line again if I became wealthy enough to pay $40 a day extra for the two of us to eat in the specialty restaurants. For now I will sail Princess, RCCl, Celebrity, and Carnival where I find plenty of good food without having to pay an up charge. I guess you got rich being a Mental Health Professional, oh wait, NO they would never call someone crazy as it is not areal diagnosis.

 

I have had plenty of good food, without paying extra, on NCL. But ... the cost of the NCL cruise is usually much less than Celebrity, RCCL -- so even adding one or two specialty meals doesn't add up to the cost of a cruise on Celebrity or RCCL. Just saying - that's my opinion.

[tobyt]

I love a cruise and every line has a bit different to offer.....loved the free adult area and shows on RCL, love the international cafe on Princess and pub lunch, love the free style and casual aspect of NCL, had the best speciality meal on CCL, I can pick out a LOVE item or more than one on every line...

Things that disappoint yup they are there too!

No hair conditioner on RCL, and I know it sounds silly but anytime I don't get turn down animals and chocolate I am sad, hard sell in the spa on Princess, tables for two on anytime dining so close to each other, Carnival games which were at times seemingly rigged, groups on any cruise which mean the other passengers are not allowed into certain venues.

 

Overall a cruise is still what you make of it and good food, good times and the chance to see new things at a reasonable price is awesome!

[Aquahound]

My TA has been on both and for what they charge for 7 night Caribbean cruises, almost double NCL, CCL and HAL for OV balcony cabins, she thinks they are over rated and over priced. I do not care about ice shows or ice rinks at sea so for me they would be over rated. My TA also thinks their food and service is no better than their competitors and that has a lot to do with why she thinks they are over rated and too expensive for what you get compared to their competitors. BTW I would rather see the Blue Man group on the Epic than an ice show on the Allure for a whole lot less cost of the cabins.

 

To be honest, it sounds like you are looking for excuses to convince yourself not to want to sail those ships.....because there obviously is a lot more to them than the ice rink. That's fine. To each his/her own. But I think anyone who loves cruising, especially on the larger ships, is doing themselves a big injustice by making themselves think that way. Their loss, I guess.

 

By the way, those 2 ships have been so successful, they decided to build a third one that will be out in 2016. If that doesn't speak volumes, I don't know what does. To me, I would lend that more value than the word of 1 TA, but that's just me.

[hamrag]

The truth of the matter is that both NCL and RCI are fantastic cruise lines, and both operate within the "affordable to most people" markets. We have sailed both on 5 or 6 occasions on each, along with another nine cruiselines. They both have their pros & cons, and we would continue to sail both without hesitation.

 

My memory is failing, but we definitely have cruised 27 times. Our most recent cruises were Holland America, MSC, NCL, Cunard, RCI, and RCI again. They were all fantastic, and our next cruise is NCL.

[halos]

I agree 100%, no mass marketed cruise line has anything close to a 5 star land restaurant even in their specialty ones.

I agree totally. Anyone who think that it's possible has never had a 5

star meal. In all fairness, a 5 star meal will set me and my dh back as much as 4 days cruise fare, and this is why I would never expet that quality on board a ship.

[SissasMomE]

I agree totally. Anyone who think that it's possible has never had a 5

star meal. In all fairness, a 5 star meal will set me and my dh back as much as 4 days cruise fare, and this is why I would never expet that quality on board a ship.

 

Specialty restaurants are 2-star; 2 and 1/2 at most ... maybe on occassion a 3. Definitely not higher than that.

[AnotherShawnee]

How dare you call someone crazy for making a joke. I am allowed to give my opinion of my experience on a cruise ship on a Cruise Critic Board. NCL has many more for pay restaurants than any other line I have been on in my 29+ cruises. I said I would willing to try the line again if I became wealthy enough to pay $40 a day extra for the two of us to eat in the specialty restaurants. For now I will sail Princess, RCCl, Celebrity, and Carnival where I find plenty of good food without having to pay an up charge. I guess you got rich being a Mental Health Professional, oh wait, NO they would never call someone crazy as it is not areal diagnosis.

 

No one called you crazy, they said that what you wrote was crazy. Sounds as if you are being quick to argue with someone over something that wasn't even said. Reread the post, I suspect that the poster was making a joke of your joke. LOL

[AnotherShawnee]

I haven't been on a cruise in a long long time. My first was Celebrity line to Bermuda from NYC, which was absolutely fabulous. The food was excellent, the service beyond compare. Went then on a Carnival cruise to the western carribean which was lovely, but the ship was no comparison to the Celebrity one. There was a definite difference, I found the elegance of one out shone the other.

 

The last cruise was again in the Carribean and it was great. For the life of me I cannot remember what cruise line. But, I had no complaints that I can remember.

 

Food is something that keeps me alive, I am no gourmet and I will like almost anything as long as I don't have to cook it. Heck, I even liked hospital food. So, I couldn't tell you much there. I do remember that the Celebrity line food was exceptional.

 

I will be going on the river cruise in July, I will have to pay better attention to the food and services. I usually just go to enjoy the time and not there to rate everything. Makes for less stress.

[terrydtx]

Specialty restaurants are 2-star; 2 and 1/2 at most ... maybe on occassion a 3. Definitely not higher than that.

 

I agree and even the MDR's can be a 2 star most nights and better than a good family restaurant like an Applebee's, Logan's Roadhouse or Red Lobster because of the presentation of the food served at least IMHO. BTW I have had better lobster at Red Lobster than most cruise ships serve but that is another subject for another thread. This is why I do not like paying a $30 or $35 cover charge for a specialty steak house on a ship when you can for $20 more get a world class 4 or 5 star steak at Ruth Chris Steaks back home.

[camz]

No one called you crazy, they said that what you wrote was crazy. Sounds as if you are being quick to argue with someone over something that wasn't even said. Reread the post, I suspect that the poster was making a joke of your joke. LOL

 

Thank You! I would never call someone crazy I don't even know. lol :D

[camz]

How dare you call someone crazy for making a joke. I am allowed to give my opinion of my experience on a cruise ship on a Cruise Critic Board. NCL has many more for pay restaurants than any other line I have been on in my 29+ cruises. I said I would willing to try the line again if I became wealthy enough to pay $40 a day extra for the two of us to eat in the specialty restaurants. For now I will sail Princess, RCCl, Celebrity, and Carnival where I find plenty of good food without having to pay an up charge. I guess you got rich being a Mental Health Professional, oh wait, NO they would never call someone crazy as it is not areal diagnosis.

 

Double Dare! LOL Too funny........ :D

[camz]

Whoa there, I think the poster jokingly said your statement was crazy, not that You were crazy.:D

I see your point on the expense of specialty restaurants, but my cruise fare is so much lower that the other lines I can afford Cagney's every night!

 

Well said. :) Thank You! :D

[HokiePoq]

PLEASE tell me how to get free cruises on RCCL. I have loved every cruise with them. I gladly pay for their cruises as the food is very good, but to be able to sail free would be fantastic. The only free cruises I have heard about for going to time shares were on some small cruise line out of Florida.

I did an NCL and would ONLY do it again if it was free, so I would have enough money to buy my meals like you have to do on NCL. The free food on NCL in the dining room was inedible, probably so they can get you to pay extra to get something edible. My DH would not pay for the specialty restaurants and although he did not like the food he ate it, but he thinks Kraft Mac and Cheese tastes good. I have heard that the food is very good in the specialty restaurants on NCL and would not mind trying the line again if I become wealthy. Maybe instead of "free styling" they should call it "expensive styling"

 

 

Wow. I guess this is all subjective. I have never had an inedible meal on NCL and we don't pay for specialty restaurants ever. (Enjoy them as a platinum perk.) The MDR food on our one RCCL cruise was the worst cruise ship food ever and the beef was inedible. I didn't send mine back, just left it, as those at our table who sent various dishes back caused everyone to be delayed getting served and shows missed, etc. We don't cruise for food and we're going on another RCCL cruise next month as the price was right. I imagine the ships do vary ship to ship. Jewel of the Seas was very nice, especially the pool area.

[Bocadude85]

I think NCL is a very good choice.

 

But, your review of RCCL would be more useful if you provide more details.

 

Sorry I was so vague with my initial posting. Our flight from LA to Miami was delayed and we did not get into Miami until 3am so I was exhausted yesterday. We dined in all the dinning venues on the Rhapsody including the chefs table and found the food to be average or below average. The only exception was Giovanni's which had great food. The service in the main dining room was horrible. It took over 20 minutes to get a soda or iced tea and sometimes the waiter would just forget to bring it. One night we had to ask 3 times until we finally got our soda and by that time we were eating dessert. The food came out cold every time and lacked seasoning. The photographers were very pushy and would flat out lie to you, when we were boarding the ship they were telling people it was mandatory to have your photo taken so the ship would have your picture on record which is a complete lie. Our room steward came in our room one morning at 6:30am to restock our mini bar!! We purchased the wine package and upon arriving on the ship were told the package we had purchased was not available because the shipment of wines the ship was supposed to receive was delayed because of a hurricane in Miami. The funny this is I live close to Miami and we did not have any hurricane so again another lie. After meeting with the food and beverage director we were "upgraded" to the australian wine package. And of course most of the wines on this list were also not available. The staff at guest services were oblivious to most things and would also lie to you just to get rid of you. We purchased shuttle tickets onboard and were told the shuttle would take us to our hotel after disembarking , we verified this with three different staff members and they all told us yes that shuttle would take us to our hotel. Well once on the shuttle we came to find out this was not the case and that the shuttle would be dropping us off at a set point in downtown and not at our hotel.The onboard activities were very limited and we found ourselves with a lot of downtime on sea days. The shows onboard were flat out horrible. They consisted of a singer, a pianist, a violinist and after that we stopped going to the shows. As far as I know there were no production shows like on NCL. There were other issues through out the cruise and these are just a few that come to mind.

[Aquahound]

The photographers were very pushy and would flat out lie to you, when we were boarding the ship they were telling people it was mandatory to have your photo taken so the ship would have your picture on record which is a complete lie.

 

That is not a lie. RCI uses a facial recognition system so all your photos can be located if you purchase a CD. They scan your SeaPass on that first picture.

[SuiteCruiser]

The facial recognition set up on the Epic uses your boarding picture. I can't imagine why a welcome aboard photo would be used. Don't you usually take those as a group?

 

I have to agree with others. My first Royal cruise was my worst by far, the food, presentation, everything was really bad. I would not have gone back except I went with a group who had booked the Explorer. It was better than my first RCI one, but still nothing compared to my NCL experiences.

 

Thankfully not everyone likes the same things there are different options for those different people.

 

Happy Cruising!

[Cruzface]

That is not a lie. RCI uses a facial recognition system so all your photos can be located if you purchase a CD. They scan your SeaPass on that first picture.

 

Correct. And NCL does this as well.

[Quincella]

I tried to ask a valid question after being quoted and attacked by the NCL cheerleaders on this thread. I was willing to give it a try and simply wanted to know how much it would cost. The only answer I got was $15-$30 dollars. Is this for dinner and lunch ? So I guess it is $45 per day for each person, so $90 per day times 7 days, another $630 for two passengers.

No time for straight answers to a simple question , but plenty of time to laugh at someone just writing their opinion. I didn't say anything negative about you when you put down food on other cruise lines. And if the food is so wonderful in the MDR why are you spending your money on the specialty restaurants.

I think I am too nice a person to get along with all of you bullies. Go ahead with your "expensive style" cruising.

 

Are you an adult or are you 12? Lighten up. Sail whatever you want to sail. No one cares.

 

If you had to pay to have what you considered to be a good meal on NCL, then you probably shouldn't sail on NCL. Others have had different experiences. It doesn't make them wrong.

 

SDMike answered your question. If you don't like his response, how about researching it and finding out for yourself?

 

Maybe I need a drink tonight or something, but this type of post gets on my nerves.

[chill6x6]

To say the food was "inedible" kinda makes me feel as if there was a no-win situation for Norwegian from the get go. Most know that yes there is/was a LOT of really good food there. NOW....I WILL say that your server may have been the weak link in suggesting what was best and/or in bringing you something else to try if something didn't appeal to you. It should be OBVIOUS...if you didn't eat it, you didn't like it! But some servers can NOT take a hint, regardless of cruise line. ALSO....when one is on a new cruise line it may take a little while to figure out what suits you and ones likes/dislikes. For instance, I all ready know what I like on CCL because I'm familiar with what they do. I didn't really get the "feel" of cuisine aboard the Ruby Princess until toward the end of the cruise. Neither of us was crazy about food aboard Princess, but to say it was "inedible"....well that just isn't so.