Having Second Thoughts

[CruisingNole]

Ironically I've never cruised Carnival because of everything negative I've heard about them.

 

You might be surprised with some of the newer ships. In the food department, they beat Royal and NCL by a mile, no doubt about it.

[CruisingNole]

You are correct they do have balconies but none the size we like. Since we spend half our time on them we like something in the 100+ feet.

 

1/2 of your cruise is spent on your 100 foot balcony? Interesting. If you're going to spend half of your vacation on a balcony, you might as well go to a land resort. Much cheaper. And I'm very curious which ship had the balcony you reference?

[dd likes to cruise]

. Princess has no baconys so there will not be a consideration. We were on Oasis for 2 cruises and enjoyed the boat, room, and activities but we decided to enjoy everything instead of complaining. Our thoughts are that a cruise is better than staying home regardless. Hope you enjoy your Royal cruise.

 

Been on a Princess ship and it most definitely had balcony cabins. Not sure of your info on that.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

You are correct they do have balconies but none the size we like. Since we spend half our time on them we like something in the 100+ feet.

Not that I care whether you sail Princess or not, but just for the sake of argument, Regal and Royal Princess ships do have regular balcony cabins that have giant balconies. That's, if you don't want to pony up cash for the suites and mini-suites.

 

 

 

[Wordell1]

I was on LOS in January and was shocked by how different the reviews (on this site) were from my own experience. A lot of the negative reviews in the reviews section of this site look like they did no research at all. I saw several with complaints about putting 4 adults in an interior room and "how could RC have expected 2 adults to sleep on the Pullman beds?"

 

Others fall into the category of "People looking for a reason to be upset". There were several where the cruise was compared to higher end lines like Disney and HAL. A few complained there were too many kids. All of these "issues" were reasonably foreseen with a little research (in these forums).

 

RC is not perfect - I actually prefer Celebrity but have already booked a cruise on RC for Jan 2020 because it is a better choice for my teenager and also closer and better on the budget. I won't get upset by trying to compare the two lines - just like I wouldn't expect Applebee's to provide the same experience as Morton's.

[JTBCruiser]

I think if you go in with a positive attitude and don't make a point to look for every single thing wrong, you will have a great time. I find it a bit humorous when I read all the nitpicking about rust on a ship, worn carpeting etc, then I sail on the same ship, it is very rare I see what they were complaining about. We love cruising and always make the most of it, never disappointed thus far.

[RocketMan275]

Thanks. That makes me feel better. We have cruised before, just not with RC. In fact we just got off Carnival's Horizon a couple weeks ago. I know some people just like to complain & I do take things with a grain of salt, but just seeing so many bad ones really had me thinking!

Put this in perspective. Read the worst reviews on Carnival's Horizon and see if they match your experience. I doubt you'll recognize the Horizon from those reviews.

[lovescats5]

Again I apologize. We have checked Princess and they do not have what we look for. We need a room that sleeps 4 and our preference is a large balcony. We were on Oasis in the Sky Loft and then in the A1 Aqua Theater Suite which has an 800+ balcony. We will book a suite if possible and not apologize for taking advantage of all the goodies that are included with the price. We love Star Class and will always book a room with those perkes if available. Right now we are happy with Royal and the suites we have stayed in and the ones we have booked for the next 1 1/2 years. We continue to look at other lines and see if we can find a room we would like. NCL has the Haven suite that has a balcony of 3000+ sq st and that is a bucket list room we would love to have. So, I know, all the other lines have rooms with balconies but not the size we feel we want at this time.

[Eslader]

I was on LOS in January and was shocked by how different the reviews (on this site) were from my own experience.

 

Same here. I was on LOS in February and thought it was a great ship with a really fantastic crew. The *only* thing that will keep me from sailing her again is that I cruise mid-winter to escape the Siberian hell that is the upper-midwest, and Galveston sailings just aren't as warm on the first and last days in February as sailings from Florida, and that's definitely not the ship's fault.

 

 

I remember reading a review of Oasis for a sailing the week after I got back from that ship. The review made the ship sound like a floating ruin. Threadbare carpets, dirt caked on the walls, etc. Now, I turn my brain off when I cruise, but I'm fairly sure I'd have noticed a ship in such shoddy condition, so the only conclusion is that that particular reviewer wanted to post a bad review and was going to do so whether the review was true or not.

 

As with reviews anywhere, you have to take them all with a grain of salt. The "this is the best thing ever, everything is perfect, you couldn't possibly improve on it at all" reviews are often paid, and the "this is the worst thing ever, everything sucks, would never buy again!!!11!oneone!!1" reviews are often trolls just looking for attention. I tend to seek out the more measured middle of the road reviews - they tend to be more balanced and realistic.

[sparks1093]

Again I apologize. We have checked Princess and they do not have what we look for. We need a room that sleeps 4 and our preference is a large balcony. We were on Oasis in the Sky Loft and then in the A1 Aqua Theater Suite which has an 800+ balcony. We will book a suite if possible and not apologize for taking advantage of all the goodies that are included with the price. We love Star Class and will always book a room with those perkes if available. Right now we are happy with Royal and the suites we have stayed in and the ones we have booked for the next 1 1/2 years. We continue to look at other lines and see if we can find a room we would like. NCL has the Haven suite that has a balcony of 3000+ sq st and that is a bucket list room we would love to have. So, I know, all the other lines have rooms with balconies but not the size we feel we want at this time.

 

Big difference between that and "Princess has no balconies". Of course if you'd have said "Princess has no balconies that are big enough for us" that would have been different.;)

[Itchy&Scratchy]

NCL has the Haven suite that has a balcony of 3000+ sq st and that is a bucket list room we would love to have.

hmmm. I am going to look that up. That's the size of our 5 bedroom, 2 car garage house, and you are saying that the balcony alone is the same square footage as a 2 story house. Not that it's not possible, but why would anyone NEED a balcony this large on a vacation?

 

And yes, suites on Princess would have large balconies. I just thought you weren't looking at suites because of the price. Like - I would like a large balcony, but I can't find a regular balcony room with a large balcony. Turns out, you want a gigantic balcony.

[boscobeans]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service.

Once we finish our booking and other purchases we have never had the need to visit customer service with any problems.





Lousy staff on board. Once we had a lazy room steward, out of about a dozen cruises with RC,





Dirty ships. We have not ever seen dirty ships on RC





We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

 

 

Have a great cruise.

 

bosco

[dcgrumpy]

hmmm. I am going to look that up. That's the size of our 5 bedroom, 2 car garage house, and you are saying that the balcony alone is the same square footage as a 2 story house. Not that it's not possible, but why would anyone NEED a balcony this large on a vacation?

 

And yes, suites on Princess would have large balconies. I just thought you weren't looking at suites because of the price. Like - I would like a large balcony, but I can't find a regular balcony room with a large balcony. Turns out, you want a gigantic balcony.

I was thinking the same thing. My whole house is only 1500 sf. LOL

[CruisingNole]

hmmm. I am going to look that up. That's the size of our 5 bedroom, 2 car garage house, and you are saying that the balcony alone is the same square footage as a 2 story house. Not that it's not possible, but why would anyone NEED a balcony this large on a vacation?

 

And yes, suites on Princess would have large balconies. I just thought you weren't looking at suites because of the price. Like - I would like a large balcony, but I can't find a regular balcony room with a large balcony. Turns out, you want a gigantic balcony.

 

That's like 2 and a half times the size of my entire house. Must be quite the balcony! LOL.