Rare MISTER 67 Posted June 9, 2016 #1 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Just returned from the Freedom of the Seas and our first cruise with RCCL. Some thoughts, 48th cruise for us and comparing RC with our favorites Princess and Holland America. Ship was beautiful and very clean with great entertainment and activities Service was excellent.. What we didn't like was was the cost factor and gouging, cruise fare, drinks, gratuities and photos are much higher on RC. Seems like we were constantly bombarded by sales people from the shops on the Royal Promenade. As far as food goesPrincess has the best food with HAL almost as good but we found RCs food only average, you could tell some of the ingredients used in cooking was not of the highest quality, one night in the MDR my Chicken Cordon Bleu should have been listed on the menu as Rubber Cordon Bleu. Food in the Windjammer could have been hotter and what's with the loud rock music at 7am in the Windjammer? Had to ask on 3 mornings to turn the music down. All in all I still gave the cruise 4 stars but will only go again on RC if the price is right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagsfan Posted June 9, 2016 #2 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Sorry RCCL isn't right for you. At least now you know. We sail Princess and RCCL and find a lot to love about both. HAL is the one that's not quite out cup of tea. That's why we have so many choices. Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted June 9, 2016 #3 Share Posted June 9, 2016 WJ is bad on most lines/ships, we have done several Princess and Hal cruises, on one of our last Hal cruises there was a Italian food that supposed to have Italian sausage , Hal had used hot dogs in it instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_G Posted June 9, 2016 #4 Share Posted June 9, 2016 WJ is bad on most lines/ships, we have done several Princess and Hal cruises, on one of our last Hal cruises there was a Italian food that supposed to have Italian sausage , Hal had used hot dogs in it instead 7nvt_49V0UI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted June 9, 2016 #5 Share Posted June 9, 2016 7nvt_49V0UI This is our favorite show, we brought season 3 with us on last cruise to watch on dvd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete1681 Posted June 9, 2016 #6 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Now that's eye talian !!!! Nicely done!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaisyL Posted June 9, 2016 #7 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Meals are certainly subjective. I have cruised HAL once and wasn't fond of the meals, I think RCCL is better in the dining room. Carnival rates the best for buffet, burgers (Guys burger joint puts Johnny Rockets to shame and no fee), NCL next, then RCCL, and Hal last. So everyone has their favorites. I agree with the rates though, RCCL is the most expensive of any of the cruise lines we tried and the drink prices are horrendous. But RCCL is the most organized cruise line for embarkation/disembarkation, and keeping us informed of anything that's going on. I could go on and on, but just wanted to show you that everyone should cruise on the line and ship they like best. I have never been on a cruise I didn't love and it's over 25 now. Happy Cruising! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocean Dancer Posted June 9, 2016 #8 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Welcome to Cruise Critic and your first post, MISTER 67 :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MISTER 67 Posted June 11, 2016 Author #9 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Welcome to Cruise Critic and your first post, MISTER 67 :) Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MISTER 67 Posted June 12, 2016 Author #10 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Sorry RCCL isn't right for you. At least now you know. BWe sail Princess and RCCL and find a lot to love about both. HAL is the one that's not quite out cup of tea. That's why we have so many choices. Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app As I said if the price is right we will sail again with RC, well, we found a good deal out of Tampa next February on the Rhapsody and even got a call from a personal cruise consultant who was very nice, needless to say, we booked it. We are also sailing on HAL Niuew Amsterdam in December 2016, we would like to sail on the Freedom again maybe in September but so far the rates for that time of the year are sort of high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MISTER 67 Posted June 12, 2016 Author #11 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Meals are certainly subjective. I have cruised HAL once and wasn't fond of the meals, I think RCCL is better in the dining room. Carnival rates the best for buffet, burgers (Guys burger joint puts Johnny Rockets to shame and no fee), NCL next, then RCCL, and Hal last. So everyone has their favorites. I agree with the rates though, RCCL is the most expensive of any of the cruise lines we tried and the drink prices are horrendous. But RCCL is the most organized cruise line for embarkation/disembarkation, and keeping us informed of anything that's going on. I could go on and on, but just wanted to show you that everyone should cruise on the line and ship they like best. I have never been on a cruise I didn't love and it's over 25 now. Happy Cruising! We've been on 48 and the only one we didn't care for was on Carnival about 3 years ago, the food was horrible, one step below Golden Corral. Besides the food the Carnival Freedom though it looks good from the outside is the ugliest ship we have ever sailed on, the decor offended the senses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkrosesdeb Posted June 12, 2016 #12 Share Posted June 12, 2016 HAL was not a fit for us...once was enough! We really enjoyed Celebrity but have booked with Royal for Jan 2017 and going to give MSC a try on the new Seaside in Jan 2018. We found food on HAL to be so bland but we did have great staff on HAL so friendly and helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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