Time to Say Goodbye

[wolfganghowell]

Tim - it's a beautiful show. That being said, I have no intention of seeing it while I'm on a cruise. But then, I don't cruise as often as you! :D

 

Now back to our regularly scheduled program....

[marci22]

I enjoyed reading your post.

[SRQSally]

I also vote you try Celebrity. It is our favorite after many

RC cruises. Having said that we're on Freedom 9/27 with a small

group. But if we have our choice, we always book Celebrity.

It seems like a different line...the differences are subtle but

nonetheless, they are there.

 

Seems as tho you dine early...or at least earlier than the 2nd

seating, so I can understand not liking music starting after 9 p.m.

How about after dinner, taking a quick cat nap, and then back

out to enjoy some music.

[PCWalton1]

Well written and well said. When the product changes or your tastes in that product change it's best to look at other opportunities. Good luck :)

[seaman11]

they could keep their customers and still attract new ones with a great food experience, sure 10 percent of people with not care about food, but a lot of us do. what good is a 80mill refurb or a rock wall and surfing if it means cheap buffet for breakfast lunch and a poor third option at night?

[RLM77]

Thanks to all for your kind words. By way of explanation, my better half is mobility-limited due to MS and we've found that cruising is the best type of vacation for us. Active enough for me; everything just an elevator ride away for her. It's hard to replicate that on a land trip.

 

We also have some experience with most of the other mass market lines, including Celebrity. Our two favorite cruises of all-time were both on Summit, in 2006 (to Hawaii) and 2007 (end of season Alaska and Pacific Coast Repositioning cruise). Having said that, Celebrity's entertainment quality is just above the bottom of the pack IMHO, and the food is a shadow of what it was back in the day when they had Chef Roux under contract.

 

Princess gets a solid B on both food and entertainment; they occasionally have a very good band in the Wheelhouse. NCL's entertainment is normally excellent, both their big and small acts. Their specialty restaurants are also uniformly good to very good and until recently were less costly than those on most other lines. Note that they are in the process of adopting an a la carte pricing model (in the specialty restaurants) that will likely raise the total expense. Although somewhat more costly overall than the others, NCL's medium sized ships (Dawn- and Jewel-classes) are our favorites at this time.

 

I know the least about Carnival. We only have 14 nights on that line, most recently about 2 years ago. At the time there was music available in 2-3 of their lounges each night though the quality of entertainers was inconsistent. Bar service was also inconsistent, but we managed. MDR food is unpretentious but tasty. We enjoyed their pastas. Their steakhouse was incredible on both cruises -- USDA Prime, prepared to perfection.

 

All-in I think these are the best three lines for us right now. The business is constantly changing; we may well have a different opinion two years from now. I suspect that we will be back on RCI (and Celebrity) some day, but for the next couple years at least it's time for a break.

[nbsjcruiser]

I understand where you are coming from and I don't blame you really. That many cruises with a similar product is bound to get boring. Its the reason why we left RCI a few years ago to try other lines. I was tired of the same food, same entertainment and so on. So we tried a few Carnival and we left them with the attitude that it would likely be a long time before we did Carnival again. We tried Princess and the food was knock your socks off good as was the service. We have our second Princess cruise booked next year. We tried NCL and really enjoyed them as well. Fantastic service and better food than RCI. We have our 3rd cruise on the Getaway booked for February.

 

They say variety is the spice of life so do try other lines. Mix it up for a few years. You may find yourself coming back to RCI at some point.

[bilyclub]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but I have a question about Tony Tillman... Is he constantly on RCI ships? I saw him on the Oasis in May, and I'm booked on the Allure in Feb, is there a chance I'll be seeing him again?

 

Couldn't find a Tony Tillman schedule. Found one for Earl Turner, another regular on Royal.

 

http://earlturner.com/schedule/

[dacsmom]

Let me add another compliment to the well worded, and thoughtful post. Happy sailing to you.

[SailyaCruise]

I get it too. Last time I was on Allure, I felt nickled and dimed, and I had to beg for the entire cruise to make it cooler in my cabin. I cannot believe they are skimping on air conditioning. Nevertheless, the Oasis-class ships are just so innovative and beautiful. And I just love the experience of cruising that class ship.

 

Hope you try the Harmony in a few years. Hope RCCI is listening to you. They are losing a very loyal customer. Not good business to lose the loyal cruisers.:o

[time4u2go]

OP, as others have said, excellent post!

 

Have you voiced your thoughts directly to RCCL? If nothing else, I think you could copy and paste your post into an email. I would think they might listen to a customer as loyal as you have been.

[markeb]

Just have to say that was a well thought out post, and the responses have been on target.

 

We don't have near the number of nights on RCI that you have, but we've cruised once a year for I think 8 years, and even with that sample, I agree with you. Something was missing on Brilliance this summer, but with the itinerary (Norway and Iceland), it was hard to place. But, yes, we noticed the relative lack of entertainment. And the absence of live entertainment (for the most part) in the Viking Club Lounge, which is now mostly the overflow for the Diamond lounge. No entertainment during lounge hours now.

 

And, we're now in our early 50's with no kids, so the activity that first attracted us isn't as attractive.

 

We're going to try Celebrity in just over a year, and go from there.

[alexkrn46]

thanks for sharing, have a great vacation whatever you do

[ccletzgo]

Celebrity. I always miss the special touches that Celebrity offers while I am on a Royal Caribbean Cruise.

[flacplnj]

Outstanding, well thought out post. I'm sure many people feel the same way, us included. We have a B2B, on the Allure in October, and a B2B on Celebrity Silhouette in December. After this, we have nothing planned. If this is it, we'll have about 415 days at sea, with almost 300 on RCL and Celebrity. We will return to land based vacations as we still think RCL/Celebrity is the leader in the mass market cruise industry, but just by a hair. Cruising is still cheaper than land vacations, but money isn't everything if you aren't happy when it's over.

 

Let the flames begin...

 

 

I don't see that anyone can have a legitimate complaint on anything posted from either of you. There are some that just can't stand to read or hear anything negative about there favorite anything. I for one thank anyone who takes the time to express there heart felt opinion. Good luck in your future vacation adventures.

[yogimax]

Beware of Carnival. Their entire product, including entertainment and food has gotten worse. They did away with a live band for their production shows and use computer generated imagery instead of sets. I believe they have done away with tablecloths at dinner and have to offering "comfort" foods. Not good!

[rubrrick]

To the OP......what a well thought out, and great posting. Thanks for the wonderful feedback.

 

We enjoy other lines, as you do, and I must say that our last cruise on Azamara brought to life, a different type of cruise from a RCL product. The only problem might be the HC cabins, but they have them.

 

We are a few nights away from our 1400th night at sea with Royal Caribbean, and yet, I'm a bit disenchanted with the line, that I can't pinpoint when we will take that cruise.

 

We are retired......well, almost for me. We do cruise some 3 months per year, and Royal Caribbean has never let us down. However, we have seen so many small items disappear from their ships.....good napkins, great food, slippers in suites, flowers, and the list goes on.

 

And, yes, their demographics are different than what we are. They are looking for the first time cruiser, and they are very good at achieving their goals.

 

We are once again looking at Celebrity and Azamara for our future cruising.:)

 

Rick

[OCruisers]

The time to say "Bye Bye" to anything loved but has changed to being not what it use to be is sad. :(

[Missus Makkem]

Enjoyed reading the OP s post and we certainly know where you are coming from

We have not desserted Royal completley but after 2 cruises with Celebrity this year we have enjoyed the change and the differences.

[2wheelin]

Just an occasional cruiser here but I was impressed this year when we did a Royal Princess cruise. There was usually musical entertainment going on in the centrum at any hour. I enjoyed most of it but tastes vary. I'm a recently retired person who likes a wide variety. A check on the Princess boards would quickly give you more precise info.

[mpoole3]

WOW I've never read something on CC so well and balanced and without negative comments at the cruise line. You were honest and provided constructive feedback about the cruise. I'm only 30 and have many years of cruising ahead of me, but I've wondered if I'll ever get ready to try something new.

 

Best of luck to you Rick, I hope you find something that gets you excited again. :D

[kalliekae]

Another person here who enjoyed your candid review. We came to RCCL from HAL. Still love HAL's above the norm service and the larger cabins at great prices plus the wrap around teak promenade deck, but we were bored by the lack of entertainment and limited specialty restaurants. We fell in love with the Oasis class and will be on our third cruise with Royal since 2013....this time on the Allure in November. We also have a HAL Alaskan cruise scheduled in 2016 so we have not abandoned HAL. We just needed a change, too.

[Grandma Petania]

All we knew about Cats is that it had been on Broadway for years. We went to see it on the Oasis and ended up walking out during the intermission. Could not understand any of what was going on.

 

As soon as we got home, I Googled "Cats" and read up on most everything I could find. I now have a pretty good understanding of what the whole plot line is about. After seeing the 1st act and now reading what it's about, I do feel people have to have at least a general understanding of the story in order to enjoy it. We didn't and we didn't. We're going back on the Oasis the end of November and are actually looking forward to sitting thru the complete musical this time. Tim

Good for you for researching CATS, and I'm glad you're looking forward to understanding it better the second time. IMHO, the best way to understand CATS is to read the book of poetry from which the lyrics (and story) are drawn: "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot." The paperback costs less than $10, and has delightful illustrations by Edward Gorey. When I saw CATS on the Oasis this past February, I couldn't understand all the lyrics, but at least I knew the "story" they were singing about. I'll see it again next February, and will sit down front so I can hear better.

[KansasK]

I thought your comment on dining on Deck 3 was really true. Deck 3 has traditional dining as well as My Time Dining. We had traditional and it seemed like a constant flow of people were passing our table to get to or from theirs all through dinner. There was a very busy feel to dinner on that deck. I think Deck 5 is My Time, Deck 4 is traditional and Deck 3 is the combination. From what you said, it did not work well for My Time, either.

[Grandma Petania]

My very first cruise was on Oasis in 2012. So were my 2nd & 3rd cruises (two with my live-in family of DD, DSIL & DGS - and one with my younger single daughter). Younger DD and I will be sailing on the Oasis again next February. With the exception of CATS, I kind of wish we were sailing on the Allure - mostly for a change in entertainment. However, I booked a really really good deal for us while on board Oasis this past February. This will only be this DD's second time on Oasis, so I'll probably go to all the shows with her, but my 4th time of the Hans Christian Andersen ice show may try my patience - (though I really do like the sand drawing part of it). Kind of feel the same about "Come Fly With Me".

 

We also have a 7-day booked on the Harmony for February 2017, and I'm excited about everything that will be "new", but also on a ship that will be "familiar" in many ways. If we are lucky enough to take another cruise in 2018, I'll likely give Allure a try. I think I can sail Oasis class a few more times without calling it quits. After all, by the time I sail on Harmony & Allure, Oasis class #4 might be ready.

 

While on Oasis in five months, I've decided to try several things I haven't yet done. I want to take advantage of the free tour of Central Park, and am determined to make it to Jazz on Four at least a couple of nights. I also want to push myself to get into a hot tub as many evenings as possible. I'll be 76 on this next cruise, and I'll need to pace myself - (and take an afternoon nap). However, with just two of us to coordinate activities, it should go more smoothly than the two cruises I took with my family of four - one of whom is wheelchair bound with MD.

 

Thanks to OP for such a well written post.