Have I "outgrown" cruising? Or am I just done with Royal Caribbean?

[loman]

Sounds like the cruise sucked . 

Try an oasis class  as they have more to offer than the smaller ships. 

If you dont like that , then i would stick with AI `s .

You should expect more than what you got.

 

Me, i havent sailed yet post covid so i cant compare , but i dont have any complaints and will continue to cruise on RC.

I have one coming up soon though , in a suite so i expect i will be satisfied.

[taglovestocruise]

11 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

I now only do cruises that are very unlikely to attract kids; TA’s, Med et al and I only sail early/mid fall and/or spring.  If want the Caribbean or Mexico I go 18+ all inclusive.  

Right with you. Have done 3 Oasis class transatlantics that sailed with about 1500 fewer kids. Last TA on Symphony there were 12 kids under 16. Have a 10 night Vancouver to Honolulu in Oct. and anticipating just a handful of kids. Now it is just having a glut of D and D+ replacing the kids.

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Why do they have to charge for internet when it so undependable on a cruise ship? Why can't it be like most hotels, when you reserve a  room.? Free internet comes with the room.

 

Gurss you favor price increases.  Ships wifi is inherently more expensivevthan land based.

 

Plus most hotels I've stayed sa tend to have two tiers of internet. Free which is weak or pay which is better

[Ret MP]

I haven't read all 4 pages of this thread.  So, I'm sorry if someone already posted the same or close to it:

 

I'm not so sure anything would be different on another cruise line, not the supply chain issues anyway.  Now training and hospitality by the crew is something that probably really really needs to be worked on.  As I've read, and I'm not making excuses here, Royal along with most if not all cruise lines lost a lot of they're seasoned employees and management after the big shutdown.  Many just didn't come back.  It seems that their training/retraining has taken a big hit. 

 

I, for one, haven't given up yet.  But then, I don't have a booking again until Jan 2024.  So, I'm expecting a lot of improvement over my last cruise on the Ovation back in May.  Also, and I do believe that size makes a big difference,  Oasis class ships are the best of any cruise lines.  I've read some posts from people that has had some issues on an Oasis class ship but I've read a lot of complaints of many many issues on the smaller and older ships.  Maybe the Oasis class ships have a priority as far as hiring and supplies are concerned, I don't know.  But, I just haven't read/heard of the multitude of issues on them.  

I guess I'm the eternal optimist when it comes to Royal and their big ships.  

 

I did think the OP's review was well presented and valid, not that it matters to anyone.

[Jimbo]

51 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Because they can, and I love the people on Celebrity board who sail in Retreat suites with AI and they truly believe the unreliable internet is free

Most hotels can too but they choose not to.

Edited July 30, 2022 by Jimbo

[Missymo]

Reading all the reviews of Adventure of the Seas.  I will be on her the end of September for a New England Cruise.  I have been a Royal customer for many years and  truthfully, food was alway blah.  But cruised with a girls group and we always  had a great time.   This cruise was booked  pre pandemic,  and had a credit I had forgotten . Always wanted to see the changing of the leaves.  It may or ,may not  be my last Royal.  Depends on how the cruise goes.  I just became Diamond Plus in February.  It took many yrs to get.here..  Now that I am older and free to travel

,I  find I enjoy traveling without so many children , and Celebrity seems to fill that requirement.  Hopefully I will get good vibes from this cruise and continue accordingly.  

Edited July 30, 2022 by Missymo

[Jimbo]

29 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Gurss you favor price increases.  Ships wifi is inherently more expensivevthan land based.

 

Plus most hotels I've stayed sa tend to have two tiers of internet. Free which is weak or pay which is better

Sure why no just build it into the cruise fare if the cruise line thinks they need to do that. People won't even know what the higher price is for. Prices are getting higher anyway.

 

Guess we never stayed in any hotels that had free and pay internets services.................Free is free internet  where we have stayed, not another option.

Edited July 30, 2022 by Jimbo

[kruzerci]

17 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Sailed almost exclusively Oasis class lately other than Odyssey and Indy. Had a very good time for the most part. 

 

The really poor reviews seem to be coming fom Enchantment,  Grandeur,  etc...

 

Will share info from Voyager in two weeks

 

You may be looking at very different aspects of the experience than somebody else. Have you been on Grandeur or Enchantment recently to discount or support the reviews? We have been on all classes of ships except Quantum since the restart and the issues noted by the OP seem to be consistent throughout the fleet. 

 

Some individuals have high expectations of food, others for entertainment, others of visible maintenance. Some spend money on cosmetics, some spend money on trips. Different strokes for different folks, but I don't think the person who hasn't sailed since before Covid has much skin the in the game on a thread about the decline in quality since Covid.... 

 

 

[kruzerci]

4 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Sure why no just build it into the cruise fare if the cruise line thinks they need to do that. People won't even know what the higher price is for. Prices are getting higher anyway.

 

Guess we never stayed in any hotels that had free and pay internets services.................Free is free internet  where we have stayed, not another option.

 

Because its all about the "starting from" price, to get people who shouldn't be spending the money to spend the money. Then, getting them to spend more money onboard because vacation spending doesn't feel as real as gas pump and grocery store spending 😂. 

[xpcdoojk]

4 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

Since five out of your six cruises was good you may want to try another RCI ship. The entire industry has had challenges since the restart and unfortunately some of those issues have crept up on some sailings. We have had some really great cruises on RCI and some that did not live up to expectations. It happens.
 

Also, look at some other cruise lines. I know that you do not like the idea of giving the RCG family your money but Celebrity is a great cruise line. We are not fans of Carnival or HAL and NCL is okay but they invented the term “nickel and dime” in our book. We may try the new Discovery Princess next year but it seems that they too have issues. Good luck with your decision. 

Gordon, are you in So Cal, now?

 

Miss chatting with you.

 

jc

[xpcdoojk]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

You may have hit the nail on the head😉

 

Seems like the NJ sailings have been plagued lately 

… forever….  

 

I think we can officially call it a trend.😆🤣😇

[xpcdoojk]

15 minutes ago, Missymo said:

Reading all the reviews of Adventure of the Seas.  I will be on her the end of September for a New England Cruise.  I have been a Royal customer for many years and  truthfully, food was alway blah.  But cruised with a girls group and we always  had a great time.   This cruise was booked  pre pandemic,  and had a credit I had forgotten . Always wanted to see the changing of the leaves.  It may or ,may not  be my last Royal.  Depends on how the cruise goes.  I just became Diamond Plus in February.  It took many yrs to get.here..  Now that I am older and free to travel

,I  find I enjoy traveling without so many children , and Celebrity seems to fill that requirement.  Hopefully I will get good vibes from this cruise and continue accordingly.  

 

I think you will have a good time.  We did a NE / Canada cruise in 2016 on the Anthem and it was awesome.  Most days it was me and the crew on the FlowRider.😆

 

I really think when the pressure of kids and family groups are not on the ships, things tend to go back to a happy place.  

 

I am a foodie, and while I have issues with some things I am served, nothing I am served has truly been awful, and if it is the staff fall all over themselves to bring me something else to make me happy.  Actually, had more food issues on the Allure than the Adventure.  I think the Adventure is way shorter staffed than the newer bigger ships.  Because we sailed at a low occupancy time, our cruise was very good.  I have forgotten the exact numbers but something like 1800 on board and less than 50 under the age of 18.  

 

IE sweet spot.

 

jc

[forgotmyCCname]

9 minutes ago, Missymo said:

Reading all the reviews of Adventure of the Seas.  I will be on her the end of September for a New England Cruise.  I have been a Royal customer for many years and  truthfully, food was alway blah.  But cruised with a girls group and we always  had a great time.   This cruise was booked  pre pandemic,  and had a credit I had forgotten . Always wanted to see the changing of the leaves.  It may or ,may not  be my last Royal.  Depends on how the cruise goes.  I just became Diamond Plus in February.  It took many yrs to get.here..  Now that I am older and free to travel

,I  find I enjoy traveling without so many children , and Celebrity seems to fill that requirement.  Hopefully I will get good vibes from this cruise and continue accordingly.  

I am in a couple of Bermuda and one Adventure group on the book of the faces . Adventure seems to be a big hit with the Bermuda cruises this season. We are heading out in September and plan to enjoy; last 6 cruises have been Allure and Symphony. Service on Allure in Late May/June sucked. Absolutely awful. But we had the best time despite 3 of us bringing  home Covid.

one night we had MTD and were out by ourselves on the 4th floor to eat . And the service was still turtle paced. They also shut and latched  the big doors before the second seating and left us alone . They actually forgot we were there and the waiters had finished prepping all the tables for the next seating .We could have just gone down the stairs but had gramma in a wheelchair .

 But we had an excellent cruise. Allure has gone downhill service-wisewith each subsequent cruise this year- we have done 5 identical but with different groups of people and one alone. We just laughed it off . Prices were low to book, we were suites for 4 and balconies for one.
We have never cruised out of Bayonne so it will be an adventure in itself getting to Adventure  (we're driving for once!! yay!)

The past two years have sucked in many ways. But unless something beyond the pale happens, we are going to keep cruising when we can. We have a Celebrity booked in October and then no cruises planned after that for a while, but I would be hard pressed to say "no" if the opportunity arises. We are usually only 1-2 a year so taking 6 cruises in 6 months is not anywhere near our usual vacation MO. But despite weird room stewards and slow service and even the 'Rona, we've enjoyed them all .

 
Hope you have a great time!!!

 

 

 

 

[forgotmyCCname]

31 minutes ago, Missymo said:

Reading all the reviews of Adventure of the Seas.  I will be on her the end of September for a New England Cruise.  I have been a Royal customer for many years and  truthfully, food was alway blah.  But cruised with a girls group and we always  had a great time.   This cruise was booked  pre pandemic,  and had a credit I had forgotten . Always wanted to see the changing of the leaves.  It may or ,may not  be my last Royal.  Depends on how the cruise goes.  I just became Diamond Plus in February.  It took many yrs to get.here..  Now that I am older and free to travel

,I  find I enjoy traveling without so many children , and Celebrity seems to fill that requirement.  Hopefully I will get good vibes from this cruise and continue accordingly.  

 

27 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Sure why no just build it into the cruise fare if the cruise line thinks they need to do that. People won't even know what the higher price is for. Prices are getting higher anyway.

 

Guess we never stayed in any hotels that had free and pay internets services.................Free is free internet  where we have stayed, not another option.

Hilton and Marriot/Bonvoy have standard internet and then an upgraded internet. We have "status"

and get the complimentary upgrade, but both chains have options for internet.

[xpcdoojk]

1 minute ago, forgotmyCCname said:

 

Hilton and Marriot/Bonvoy have standard internet and then an upgraded internet. We have "status"

and get the complimentary upgrade, but both chains have options for internet.

Yup

[loman]

27 minutes ago, kruzerci said:

 

You may be looking at very different aspects of the experience than somebody else. Have you been on Grandeur or Enchantment recently to discount or support the reviews? We have been on all classes of ships except Quantum since the restart and the issues noted by the OP seem to be consistent throughout the fleet. 

 

Some individuals have high expectations of food, others for entertainment, others of visible maintenance. Some spend money on cosmetics, some spend money on trips. Different strokes for different folks, but I don't think the person who hasn't sailed since before Covid has much skin the in the game on a thread about the decline in quality since Covid.... 

 

 

I offered a suggestion to the OP  in trying oasis class . 

You offered ... nothing .

Your response to me was just an insult . Keep them to yourself.

[cruiselvr04]

Thanks for your honest review.  Not every cruise is outstanding but we find most are enjoyable.  We are headed out on Liberty this week.  Not looking forward to all the kids on board but we wanted to fit another cruise in this year.  Hoping our Jr suite gives us some quiet time.  

I would not be happy paying for internet that wasn’t usable.  We use it very little and like to unplug.  
 

During covid we have done a couple of bigger vacations.  They cost us more then our usual cruises and left us wanting.  No entertainment in the evening unless we wanted to pay a lot extra for example and deciding where to go every meal, sometimes paying a lot for a sub par meal, renting cars, driving etc.  It’s great to see more of the country and it has its place but for us the value is in a cruise.  We have done 2 since the restart and they have been enjoyable.   If Royal doesn’t meet our future expectations we will branch out further. You should do what’s best for your vacation dollar.  

Edited July 30, 2022 by cruiselvr04

[Ocean Boy]

9 minutes ago, forgotmyCCname said:

 Service on Allure in Late May/June sucked. Absolutely awful. 

I'm surprised to read that. I was on Allure in Jan and April and thought the service was fine.

[Cruising89143]

38 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

Gordon, are you in So Cal, now?

 

Miss chatting with you.

 

jc

Hey JC. We do live in So Cal. Palm Springs to be exact. When we were still living in Atlanta, we purchased a vacation/retirement home here in 2015 and moved out here permanently in late 2017. It came down to my old home state of FL and Ft. Lauderdale or PS. PS won out. Don’t hang out here as much. Not the same as it was ten-twelve years ago. 🙂 Good to see you here. 

[mek]

10 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I'm surprised to read that. I was on Allure in Jan and April and thought the service was fine.

I will be on Allure in October - a cruise I booked in Nov, 2019 and have rescheduled 3X.  Although I'm still not happy with the testing requirements and the possibility of being moved to a quarantine room during the cruise, I'm tired of playing the waiting game and keeping my fingers crossed that this will be a pleasant experience.

 

 

[mugtech]

8 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

Dillon:  Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
And you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'

Sounds like Bob Dylan

[gadaboutgal]

So sorry you had a disappointing cruise.  Here is a little info that I hope will make you feel a little better:

Cost of a Take Out Meal at Outback Steakhouse with no table service, no drinks per person

$5.99 French onion soup

$2.50 Steakhouse mac n cheese

$4.99 blue cheese chopped salad

$23.99 petite filet with baked potato

$1.99 per topping for sauce for potato or steak

$8.99 New York style cheesecake

$48.45 x 4 people:  Total before tax or tip $193.80

The menu is equivalent to a full dinner in Chops- and with Chops you get the ambiance and table service.  So I don't think you should feel cheated at what you receive at a specialty restaurant on a ship do you?

[HBE4]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Sure why no just build it into the cruise fare if the cruise line thinks they need to do that. People won't even know what the higher price is for. Prices are getting higher anyway.

 

Guess we never stayed in any hotels that had free and pay internets services.................Free is free internet  where we have stayed, not another option.

 

37 minutes ago, forgotmyCCname said:

 

Hilton and Marriot/Bonvoy have standard internet and then an upgraded internet. We have "status"

and get the complimentary upgrade, but both chains have options for internet.

 

Most high-end hotels charge for internet because they can. Most budget chains do not as their customers are more price sensitive. And don't want to be ripped off by being charging for something that should be  included in the hotel price in the first place. Like cable TV, indoor plumbing and electricity. 😉

 

https://yourmileagemayvary.net/2022/01/30/why-do-luxury-hotels-charge-for-wifi-but-cheap-hotels-dont-and-what-can-you-do-about-it/

 

 

[CuseJeff44]

4 hours ago, Seannie said:

I certainly don’t mind your negative review CuseJeff44 - but a few points:

 

-if the waiter only brought you four onion rings for four people, I assume you only ordered one side of onion rings?  Why didn’t you order three more sides of onion rings?  Surely you’re not telling us that you placed an order for four sides of onion rings and they brought you one ring each?

 

-I really don’t understand your issue with the handwashing station in the Buffet.  I want everyone on a cruise ship to wash their hands as much as possible.  The last thing I want on a cruise vacation is norovirus. I’ll take the 2022 version of covid over norovirus any day.  And let’s face it - the hand washing station is not going to cause covid any more than the main dining room or a crowded show or packed piano bar.  
 

So when you make some questionable comments in your review, you can’t be surprised when people are questioning your overall review.

I asked the waiter “is one order of onion rings enough to share or should we order one each”. He said “it’s shareable”. So we ordered one. 
 

COVID spreads in the air. Not on surfaces. So they had us all packed in by the elevators breathing each other’s air so that we could wait to wash our hands to prevent non existent surface transmission. 

[Ocean Boy]

17 minutes ago, mek said:

I will be on Allure in October - a cruise I booked in Nov, 2019 and have rescheduled 3X.  Although I'm still not happy with the testing requirements and the possibility of being moved to a quarantine room during the cruise, I'm tired of playing the waiting game and keeping my fingers crossed that this will be a pleasant experience.

 

 

I think you will have a fine time aboard. If I were able to cruise in the Fall I'd be looking to get back on the ship. I did think there were some food quality issues in January but it all seemed resolved in April.