Observations of Royal Caribbean from recent sailings

[tx121]

-There is no such thing as “low kid” season anymore (For Caribbean sailings on large ships). Expect lots of families and children any time of year. Royal Caribbean has made it clear that the family demographic is their target audience. Lot of the shows will become more family friendly such as the Effectors and Effectors II. Icon will have Wizard of Oz. 

 

-Buffet will basically serve the same food every day and change up one station for “dinner theme”. Specialty restaurants are going to cost as much as ordering from a land restaurant. If you have a dining package, expect smaller portions and limited menu.
 

-Expect room steward to tell you what time they will clean your room. Since room cleanings have gone to one time per day, the room steward said he will be coming to clean our room between 4pm-5pm each day. A positive from this is that you know when to be out of the room and also that you won’t be disappointed if the room hasn’t been cleaned when returning after breakfast or lunch. 
 

-Cleaning staff shortages. On our recent sailing on the Wonder, we noticed there was a lot of wear and tear already. The ship is only a year old and it seems like maintenance hasn’t kept up. Floors are constantly filthy on the pool deck, the buffet, in elevators, stateroom doors and walls. 
 

-The “new” menu is basically the same menu as the old one, just now the classic items are scattered and added to other days. Lobster tails are not unlimited anymore. $16.99 if you want more than 1 tail. 
 

-Spa treatments have risen in price significantly. 
Look for port day specials for some lower prices. 
 

-Pizza quality is back to Ellios frozen pizza. At one point it seemed like Royals pizza was going in the right direction, but now it’s back to pre made frozen dough. Toppings are good quality but dough is sub par.

 

[Cruising89143]

Just arrived home from the Navigator today. Room was serviced twice daily, ship was very clean, crew was great as always. Ate dinner one evening in the WJ with plenty of choices. Chops was not that great. Izumi was good but slow service. Jamie’s was great as always. 
 

We had around 500 kids on board. Saw no issues. Royal Caribbean is a family line. They don’t even try to hide it. Why do people go on a family focused cruise line and expect something different?

 

We were back on Celebrity two weeks ago and we found that our experience this week topped Celebrity. 

[OCSC Mike]

5 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

We had around 500 kids on board. Saw no issues. Royal Caribbean is a family line. They don’t even try to hide it. Why do people go on a family focused cruise line and expect something different?

 

Since my wife is a teacher, we have almost exclusively sailed with lots of kids onboard (and we have none). It's never bothered us. We actually think it may be beneficial in certain instances. For example, we never go near the main pool or water slides, we hang out in the Solarium and the more families with young kids there are, the less adults there will be who are free to park there.

 

I totally understand why many people would rather avoid kids (if they can), to each his own, just isn't an issue for us.

[joeyancho]

I agree in most part with the OP. We have noticed a decline in the MDR and the Windjammer in the last year and a half. So much so that we have decided to try Princess for our next cruise. It seems like Royal has quit trying. We have not experienced the once a day steward service but we are definitely not looking forward to that. A lot of cheerleaders say it's not a big deal, but for us it is. It is part of what makes cruising special.   

     I will report back with a review comparing the two lines. 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

54 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

Just arrived home from the Navigator today. Room was serviced twice daily, ship was very clean, crew was great as always. Ate dinner one evening in the WJ with plenty of choices. Chops was not that great. Izumi was good but slow service. Jamie’s was great as always. 
 

We had around 500 kids on board. Saw no issues. Royal Caribbean is a family line. They don’t even try to hide it. Why do people go on a family focused cruise line and expect something different?

 

We were back on Celebrity two weeks ago and we found that our experience this week topped Celebrity. 

 

You were in a Junior Suite.  They still get cabin service twice a day.  

[Starry Eyes]

If having the room serviced between 4-5pm did not suit you well, did you discuss other options with your steward?

 

We recently did a b2b (different cabins/stewards) on Odyssey.  It was our first time with once a day service. We asked that the cabin be serviced in the morning.  No issue.  We were quite happy with the service.  The rest of the ship was clean, too.   There were lots of kids, and I think one should always expect the big ships to draw kids (though some sailings will draw more than others).  I never liked Royal’s pizza; I do not think anyone should book for the pizza, lol.  

Edited April 28, 2023 by Starry Eyes