Favorite things about Royal Caribbean

[cjdixon4]

Hubby and I prefer RCI over other cruiselines for numerous reasons:

 

- great layout and esthetics of the ships (design of centrums/promenades)

- the variety of free/specialty eateries

- the service given by the crew members has always been exceptional

- we like the itineraries offered

- a plethora of activities for both young & mature

- easy to find sailings in an affordable price range

 

...and probably a ton of other things that I don't have room to name!

Loyal to Royal (unless a better deal comes along, LOL)!

[Havingfun2010]

Cruises are about destinations and Entertainment. RCCL exceeds in the number of port choices world wide, and when not exploring ports, you need to have fun. Entertainment now becomes important. Live bands, broadway like shows, fun shows, unique shows, and the large amount of sports activities to add to it.

 

Food, crews and rooms are important but honestly, they can be very subjective and random. You can meet a bad crew member on any ship.

 

RCCL offers variety based on the class of ship you are on. Seems like no two cruises are the same sometimes.

[LisaAtlCruiser]

Many of the choices are a good reason to like Royal Caribbean but I chose "other". I think they have the best ships to choose from.

 

I agree with you. I like RCL for the ships.

[sleepless]

I like everything about Royal. I have only been cruising since 2008, and have not tried any other line. DH and I are happy with the product, therefore, feel no need to try another line.

[Langley Cruisers]

I find Royal's cabin more aesthetically pleasing and well designed than other cruise lines...

 

I find this interesting as, according to your signature, you have sailed Royal and Carnival up to this point. I don't want to nit pick, but like I said I find this interesting. "Other cruise lines" suggests you have sailed on several lines - have you and your signature is just not up to date? Not being facetious, but sincerely asking. :) We recently took our first Celebrity cruise and loved the layout of the cabin. If you are looking for pleasing aesthetics, you might try Celebrity.

 

To answer OP's question, my husband and I agree that when we cruise with Royal, it feels like "coming home". Yes we have sailed with them more than any other line and I suppose that contributes to the warm and fuzzy feelings - but any ship in the fleet just feels comfortable and welcoming, and we love that feeling. Anything else, positive or negative, is aside from that and we take it as such.

.

[OCruisers]

RCCL has very good $pecialty Restaurants. :)

 

LuLu

[STANCPA44]

Being Diamond Plus, I like the perks, go to the Concierge Club at anytime and getting a excellent cup of coffee (I like my coffee, black, no foo foo coffee drinks for me). In addition the nightly happy hour is the best, I have my two martini's for the day and I am happy.

Don't need a drink package, two is enough for one day.

 

 

Stan :cool:

[george35]

The reason my wife & are are loyal to RCL is there treatment of guests no matter what cabin you are in all are given the special care you deserve. As a Diamond member( after my next cruise diamond plus ) The extras you get keep me comming back.

 

george35

[Guest maddycat]

First and foremost........RCI's crews are always friendly and very accommodating. Love the C&A loyalty program, especially the nightly cocktail hour(s). Appreciate how clean and well maintained the ships are. Love cruising out of New Jersey.

[CruisingSince2012]

Thanks everyone for your replies! Keep them coming.

 

So far it looks like a lot of people love the crew and ships, but not so many love the food or prices. I obviously should have added more options because other is the winner.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

Thanks everyone for your replies! Keep them coming.

 

So far it looks like a lot of people love the crew and ships, but not so many love the food or prices. I obviously should have added more options because other is the winner.

 

I honestly don't think that food and prices are RCL's strong point, at least not anymore. We're not Loyal to Royal by any means, each line has it's pros and cons, but I do love their entertainment and some of their itineraries.

[Paulette3028]

From the very first cruise we were on, which was on Navigator -- there was so much to do....so for me -- it is activities on board and entertainment. We love the flowrider and will love the waterslide on Harmony. Since our first cruise I have found the crew and staff to be wonderful -- always pleasant and nice; always accommodating.

 

Food is very subjective and DH and I are not very fussy or difficult when in land restaurants, so we are really easy to please. LOVE the chocolate chip cookies.

 

I never expected huge cabins on a ship, but we have always found them quite fine. We have not sailed in a suite yet, our first JS will be on Her Majesty, but I doubt if it will become the norm for us.....it just isn't that necessary.

[temple1]

 

I never expected huge cabins on a ship, but we have always found them quite fine. We have not sailed in a suite yet, our first JS will be on Her Majesty, but I doubt if it will become the norm for us.....it just isn't that necessary.

 

I really liked Majesty of the Seas, much better than Monarch. The first time we booked a Jr. Suite was on Majesty because we wanted a balcony. At the time the Jr. Suite seemed to be about the same size as a regular balcony cabin on larger ships, so except for the bathroom and closet space, you won't notice a huge difference. :D

[Paulette3028]

I really liked Majesty of the Seas, much better than Monarch. The first time we booked a Jr. Suite was on Majesty because we wanted a balcony. At the time the Jr. Suite seemed to be about the same size as a regular balcony cabin on larger ships, so except for the bathroom and closet space, you won't notice a huge difference. :D

 

We got the JS at a very good price for the 4 day Her Majesty cruise we are taking, and decided to go for it to make the last cruise on her different.

[LuCruise]

I've already added a post but wanted to add additional reason why RCL is so great. They are INNOVATIVE! What other cruise line offers

• a Central Park area
  
• Boardwalk area with carousal
  
• Aqua Theatre
  
• activities such as iFly (I may have the name wrong...thing on the Quantum), FlowRider, Zipline
  
• Bumper Cars, roller skating
  
• 360 degree views
  

They go above and beyond with non-typical cruise stuff

[tlatrice]

For my parents 50th anniversary they took the family on a cruise. He picked the dates, destination and the line, which happened to be RCI.

 

My DH fell in love with cruising and he is a creature of habit, hates change!!

I have tried suggesting other lines, but he is loyal to royal. Until we have covered all they have to offer or if they don't cover a destination he wants to explore.... then MAYBE

 

My son felt the same way. He doesn't like change and doesn't want to try another line. He was 13 on our first cruise. LOL!

[Paulette3028]

RCCL has very good $pecialty Restaurants. :)

 

LuLu

 

The only specialty restaurant we have frequented is Izumi. The others just don't interest us. We have found the food in the MDR has given us plenty of choices and has been good. Japanese food is not the menu in the MDR at all, and we enjoy going out for it at home, so we do it on the ship -- it is well worth the money spent to us.

[Paulette3028]

Thanks everyone for your replies! Keep them coming.

 

So far it looks like a lot of people love the crew and ships, but not so many love the food or prices. I obviously should have added more options because other is the winner.

 

On our very first cruise, it was filled with 'white glove service' in the MDR and food buffets. It was elegant on formal nights for sure. Is that what I want/need on my vacation? No. Have we had wonderful dinners, YES. Have we had good to great service, YES. Have some of the choices changed over the years, YES. We always find something we like, and get it cooked the way we like it. From what my friends have said -- they have experienced similar food changes on other cruise lines.

 

As far as prices.....we always find a price we are willing to pay and feel is fair for the cruise we are taking....OR we would not book it.

 

Has the price for gas gone up to fill your car? What hasn't gone up? Nothing. We seem to find promotions that fit our budget. We are actually paying LESS for our Harmony cruise in 2017 than we did for our Navigator cruise in 2004, by about $500 for the two of us.

[Paulette3028]

I like everything about Royal. I have only been cruising since 2008, and have not tried any other line. DH and I are happy with the product, therefore, feel no need to try another line.

 

We feel the same....we haven't been given a reason from Royal to change to another cruise line. If there is an itinerary that we want that Royal doesn't have (and that may happen in the future) we will consider something else.

 

But for now....we enjoy our time on Royal ships and don't see why we should change.

[ewenix]

For us it's:

1) C & A perks

2) Suite perks (on occasion when we do this)

 

I've had bad food on RCL and really good food Carnival, and vice versa.

The crew can be good or bad, just as on any cruise line.

(I will say that my personal experience with embarkation folks puts RCL at or near the bottom. They have been in my experience consistently worse. Some are really great, but some are really, really bad.)

 

We do enjoy knowing what day it is when riding an elevator, and miss it when on another line.

Edited June 26, 2015 by ewenix

[American Bear]

As we see it, our opinion,,

RCL doing it right,,,

RCL has the best upper level benes. for their loyalty club.(at least for now)

RCL has the best casino club, (but recent changes may change that).

RCL has the largest ships at sea, (some like that, some don't).

These large ships offer many amenities not found on other cruise lines.

RCL customer service is adequate, needs improving, but not the worst.

RCL offers large Broadway shows on larger ships that attract many cruisers.

RCL adding a dock to Labadee makes it easier for their cruisers.

RCL's excursions although expensive are generally better then other cruise lines.

 

RCL screwing up,,,

RCL has more sea days on average then other cruise lines, some like it, some don't.

RCL's drink prices are now the highest of the major cruise lines.

RCL's cruise prices are generally higher (without loyalty benes. considered) then other cruise lines.

RCL still allows smoking in the casino.

RCL needs a dock at Coco Cay, tendering there is hit or miss.

RCL is falling behind other cruise lines in adding, and creating new ports of calls(such as Labadee).

(Carnival is adding a port in northern Dominican Republic this year, while NCL is building a new port alternative to Belize City in southern Belize!)

RCL has fallen behind other cruise lines in the higher end class category of cruising. NCL's Haven and MSC's Yacht Club ('ship within a ship') are vastly superior to RCL's suite offerings in service and amenities.

[George C]

RCCL got me hooked on 1st cruise in late 1980's on Sovereign of the seas( had done a dozen or more cruises on other lines before that) , loved the design, service and entertainment, while we do cruise other lines RCCL is my favorite, ice show is amazing.

[sellwingri]

I voted for entertainment because we can always find something to do. We don't necessarily go to all of the shows in the main theater but you can always find trivia, game shows, cooking demos, etc (just to name a few), going on somewhere on the ship.

 

And as others have noted, the benefits that come with diamond status, especially free drinks during the dining hours, save us money. We've been on Princess a few times and Carnival once (absolutely NEVER again!!) but still think RCI is the absolute best. We do feel at home as well.

[printingchick]

I listed crew, but there are many reasons. I used to be a Carnival cruiser. I tend to subscribe to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" theory and I enjoyed all my Carnival cruises.

 

Many people say that Royal and Carnival are more alike than different and I would agree to some extent. However, when I tried my first Royal Caribbean cruise I was struck by several differences and they've kept me returning to Royal Caribbean.

 

• The crew seems to make more of an effort to CONNECT with the passengers. They seem to really CARE about making it a positive experience; they're not just doing their job.
  
• My first RCL cruise was on an older ship, but you'd never know it. I'd cruised on older Carnival ships and maintenance issues were glaring. Ripped carpets, broken fixtures, faulty plumbing, areas in serious need of repainting. Every RCL ship I've sailed on has been in GREAT shape.
  
• Food/Cabins - subjective and differ from ship to ship on either line.
  
• Activities - I struggled between crew and activities as my poll response. I often found myself bored on sea days on Carnival cruises. That has never been the case on Royal. The activities seem more ACTIVE and FUN. And I prefer the smaller ships, so I'm not talking about Flowriders and zip lines. I guess this is subjective too, but the 70s party, the parades on the Royal Promenade, Quest, etc. are things I really look forward to when cruising.
  

[CRUISEFAN0001]

With the largest group (nearly 40%) of the votes in the "other category...it would appear this poll missed the mark as far as the selection choices provided.

 

Ships, destinations, and other choices may have changed the outcome...just an observation.