first and poss last with rccl

[foneguy]

check in was nice no problems a good start. but then the muster 30 min cannot hear the capt so a waist of time, i understand it is nessary.

pools salt water, but again they are saving energy?! kids pool only open a few hours why? GR was no help, but there are better things to do...like lunch at the almighty buffet.:D ......not so good same ole menue every day, kids did enjoy the adventure club....

menues at dinner not too many options, same thing every other night not like the ads on the travel channel:(

extra this extra that, 1 theater so 1 show......but i did like the ice skating show a must see for those going on the explorer, crew was outstanding especially our stateroom attendant bennington he is the best, and our waiters jintardra and franky. extursion desk not too good open during the day we had a problem on sat but the desk was closed upon returning to the ship and closed the next day in am....how convienent:(

disembarkation was so disorganised, there were folks who had to leave at 7 am and the ship did ot unload their luggage antil after i went off at 930am....maybe im whiney, but this was not what happened on our 2 cruises on princess.......so is it rccl cutting back on quality to make a buck or am i luckless?!

btw stay away from rainbow reef snorkle, it is a cattle boat going to a location where 3 other cattle boats go, my mom had an asthma attack in the water, another skin diver hepled me to get her out of the water, plus they went to the mouth of the ocean inlet 2-4 ft waves not fun not worth the trouble

[leahmariess]

a vacation is what you make it.

you will have things you dont like. thats fine, just find something you DO like.

Next time for a different option try Portofinos or Chops iIF the dining room, royal promenade OR the buffet doesn't suit you.

[kruzerci]

Sorry you didn't have a good cruise. Thats surprizing, considering Explorer is one of their top ships..... I personally cannot immagine having a bad cruise on a Voyager class ship, but I guess anything is possible :rolleyes: .

[ms-getaway]

Sure wish you would have took me along. All of those things to do, and you did not find anything that you really liked??? Yeah whiney sounds about right. but your words not mine;) . I hope next time you will have a better time.

[robtulipe]

Sorry to hear of your bad experiences. We had a great cruise on Adventure earlier this month and on Serenade last month. If dining room menu not to your liking, try the Windjammer bufffet restaurant which offers much more variety. There were always at least five entree choices and five alternate always available items on our dining room menus.

Yes, some of the ship's tours can be like herding cattle on their buses and boats so that's why we do our own thing for port stops. Usually we can do more than the ship's tour does and save money to boot. The only ship's tour I do is the SCUBA diving ones and had good experiences doing so in St. Thomas, Barbados and Aruba. There were very few certified divers on the cruises I've been on so dive boat tends not to be crowded.

[Cruising89143]

Sounds like Princess is a better fit for you than RCI. Good luck on your next cruise.

[cruisenfever]

Sure beats staying around here in bad weather.:(

[negc]

I feel the OPs pain. :rolleyes: Imagine having to go to the buffet everyday and find the same things on the menu: hot and cold meats, a roast carved daily (roast beef, pork, turkey, ham) fish, chicken, sushi, vegetables, rice, pasta, soup, sandwiches, rolls and other breads, pizza, fruit, desserts, ice cream (and I probably forgot some things).:rolleyes: And of course the dinner menu is so boring since it always offers appetizers, soups, rolls, meat (beef, veal, lamb, pork, ham, turkey or a pasta dish, an assortment of vegetables, potato prepared in various fashions (mashed, baked, fried, delmonico, etc.), vegetarian items, and again those pesky desserts like souffles, cake, pie, ice cream, and puddings. I guess my only problem with the OP is that I can't come up with any significant menu items that seem to be missing and which had they been made available would have made his dining experiences onboard RCI more satisfying.;)

[cruisenfever]

I feel the OPs pain. :rolleyes: Imagine having to go to the buffet everyday and find the same things on the menu: hot and cold meats, a roast carved daily (roast beef, pork, turkey, ham) fish, chicken, sushi, vegetables, rice, pasta, soup, sandwiches, rolls and other breads, pizza, fruit, desserts, ice cream (and I probably forgot some things).:rolleyes: And of course the dinner menu is so boring since it always offers appetizers, soups, rolls, meat (beef, veal, lamb, pork, ham, turkey or a pasta dish, an assortment of vegetables, potato prepared in various fashions (mashed, baked, fried, delmonico, etc.), vegetarian items, and again those pesky desserts like souffles, cake, pie, ice cream, and puddings. I guess my only problem with the OP is that I can't come up with any significant menu items that seem to be missing and which had they been made available would have made his dining experiences onboard RCI more satisfying.;)

ROFL LOL Bill..........you forgot the most important thing.......at dinner you can have as many different or the same appetizers, soups, salads, main courses and desserts as you like.

[jezzdogg]

Some cruiselines are better fit for some people than others. The cruiseline we like the best is Celebrity and their M_class ships, but since they do the same itinerary, we do RCCL and have done Princess. We find Princesss is not a great fit for us.

Do not care for their small dining rooms with low ceilings, find it very claustrophobic. Also find service very poor in the dining rooms. Also ship is like a ghost town after 11-12 ish even the casino was empty.

Guess why their are so many different cruiselines, some are better than others for some people

[Suzanne74]

Wow - you are all harsh. I think his report was choppy but he stated what he liked and what he didn't. Does it have to be all sugary and sweet to not get bashed?? :rolleyes: Honestly it seemed like he liked a lot so I am not sure why he wouldn't try again but he is entitled to his opinion.

 

The main issue was disembarking and it didn't personally affect him but I can guarantee people wanting to be off the ship at 7am and not getting their luggage until 9:30 were not happy at all. Then again, I never understood why people book early flights home and feel the need to rush anywhere after a vacation. Wasn't the whole point of the vacation to relax and unwind??

 

To the OP - thanks for the summary. Hopefully you will have a more enjoyable cruise next time with whatever cruise ship you try next...

[jjb415]

....maybe im whiney, but this was not what happened on our 2 cruises on princess.......so is it rccl cutting back on quality to make a buck or am i luckless?!

 

No, I would not say that you are whiney, you certainly did mention several positive points. In addition, on my recent sailing I did notice several examples of RCL cutting back. However, that appears to be just a difference in the market and the placement of priorities. Thankfully we've got lots of options and price ranges to choose from in today's market. These forums are great sources of information and give us lots of insight into what we may expect from different cruise companies.

[robtulipe]

I feel the OPs pain. :rolleyes: Imagine having to go to the buffet everyday and find the same things on the menu: hot and cold meats, a roast carved daily (roast beef, pork, turkey, ham) fish, chicken, sushi, vegetables, rice, pasta, soup, sandwiches, rolls and other breads, pizza, fruit, desserts, ice cream (and I probably forgot some things).:rolleyes: And of course the dinner menu is so boring since it always offers appetizers, soups, rolls, meat (beef, veal, lamb, pork, ham, turkey or a pasta dish, an assortment of vegetables, potato prepared in various fashions (mashed, baked, fried, delmonico, etc.), vegetarian items, and again those pesky desserts like souffles, cake, pie, ice cream, and puddings. I guess my only problem with the OP is that I can't come up with any significant menu items that seem to be missing and which had they been made available would have made his dining experiences onboard RCI more satisfying.;)

Yes, you forgot the grits and eggs!

[negc]

ROFL LOL Bill..........you forgot the most important thing.......at dinner you can have as many different or the same appetizers, soups, salads, main courses and desserts as you like.

But they are all the same, Patti.:D Why can't they come up with something other than the usual appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, vegetable and desserts? Maybe a "catch of the day" that was caught off the bow of the ship and prepared onboard by the chefs or a roast of some wildlife indigenous to Coco Cay or Labadee.;)

[ccletzgo]

does princess have fresh water pools?:confused:

[Cruising89143]

does princess have fresh water pools?:confused:

 

Yes.

 

I don't have a problem with the OP's comments. It sounds like Princess is a better fit for him. He was just giving his thoughts and so be it. I hope that he enjoys his next cruise.

[negc]

Had the OP stated that he liked the food on Princess better than the food on RCI, I would have had no problem. Opinions about food are subjective and one person's tastes might not match anothers. I do have a problem when he complains that the menu offerings in the dining room and the selection in the Windjammer is the same all the time. I just don't know what menu items could be added to provide more variety. I have sailed on Princess and RCI and didn't find significant differences in the menu selections. I did find that overall I preferred the food I was served in the Princess dining rooms but thought that the Windjammer offerings were superior to those on Princess.

[jad7984]

Had the OP stated that he liked the food on Princess better than the food on RCI, I would have had no problem. Opinions about food are subjective and one person's tastes might not match anothers. I do have a problem when he complains that the menu offerings in the dining room and the selection in the Windjammer is the same all the time. I just don't know what menu items could be added to provide more variety. I have sailed on Princess and RCI and didn't find significant differences in the menu selections. I did find that overall I preferred the food I was served in the Princess dining rooms but thought that the Windjammer offerings were superior to those on Princess.

 

I strongly disagree with the highlighted sentence. On the Crown Princess, there was a sushi bar open all day, as well as Chinese food in addition to the sandwiches, pizza, pasta, burgers, fries, etc. Last week on the Mariner, we were craving sushi but Jade had strictly limited hours (I think only during the evening) and we ate in the dining room every night so we missed it. I'd have to say that Princess has much better food than RCI (but I still think the food on the Mariner was great).

 

Why insult the OP? Grammatical errors are common -- they're called typos. Let the OP have their opinion, and move on. What's with the sarcastic remarks? How old are we?

[aqhacruiser]

I am sorry you had an unhappy experience and I am very surprised you were not pleased with some things on the Explorer as it receives very good reviews although you said your service people were excellent and that's something that is consistent on the Explorer. I wouldn't cruise around this time of the year due to all the spring break crowds so maybe that had something to do with it. I hope your next cruise is better:)

[sea-cruise]

Thank you for your review and opinions.....That's what's so great about living in the USA. Don't mind people who make fun of spelling...They're just bored and sassy. :D

Personally, I really enjoy RCCL and have cruised with them quite a few times, but perhaps it's not the line for you. My grandson can't take the saltwater pools either, and does prefer the freshwater ones onboard other lines. I hope your next cruise is more enjoyable.

[Cruise_Couple]

I thought it was a somewhat balanced review. He stated likes as well as dislikes. I can imagine it would be hard not to compare cruiselines if you sailed on more than one. Can we please not ridicule posters of opinions... remember the quote...

 

'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,'

 

(S. G. Tallentyre, referring to Voltaire. Often attributed to Voltaire.

pseudonym of Evelyn Beatrice Hall )

[TheBeachBears]

This review sounds like a typical RCI cruise with someone who was not in step with what normally goes on, on an RCI ship. I sat with a bunch of people who were first cruisers on my last cruise. They were all not enthused about cruising again on RCI, but they had a good time on this cruise, maybe cruising RCI was not for them. This sounds very similar. Please remember most of us here are cruise veterans and English is our first language, sorry, so sorry had to toss that in, RCI is a way of traveling, not just a company. It can be overwhelming for some especially on a bigger ship. Remember you can nitpick or be on vacation, your choice.

[CruiseKeeper]

.

disembarkation was so disorganised, there were folks who had to leave at 7 am and the ship did ot unload their luggage antil after i went off at 930am....

 

 

We've all see posts by folks that were booked on early flights. A 2 hour delay in being able to get your luggage would really stress me out. :eek:

[ohman4966]

Hello Fone Guy as you know I was on the same cruise as you with 5 other people found it awesome no complaints our waiter Ramauldo and Raffi were great and our bartenders at the aquarium bar was Lewis and Andre best and the friendliest our stewerd was great too filled the cooler for us every night and left our rooms spotless. I did book all my own excursions so herding was not a problem for us. I did find the food to be very good but we always did the dining room instead of the wind jammer and Portifinos was great.

We had cabin 8390 and 8392 an E1 Aft awesome balcony we had our whole dining room table back for drinks out there 10 of us no problem.

My only complaint was the rougher seas but thats no RC's fault and there was more movement at the back more so than our friends cabin midship.

I did sail carnival last year had a great cruise too but just found the Explorer to be a step up in class than the Triumph and the staff seemed happier. Already booked Liberty next year same time, before going on the Explorer,after this experience can't wait to go again:D

[dagadget]

Wow - you are all harsh. I think his report was choppy but he stated what he liked and what he didn't. Does it have to be all sugary and sweet to not get bashed?? :rolleyes: Honestly it seemed like he liked a lot so I am not sure why he wouldn't try again but he is entitled to his opinion.

 

The main issue was disembarking and it didn't personally affect him but I can guarantee people wanting to be off the ship at 7am and not getting their luggage until 9:30 were not happy at all. Then again, I never understood why people book early flights home and feel the need to rush anywhere after a vacation. Wasn't the whole point of the vacation to relax and unwind??

 

To the OP - thanks for the summary. Hopefully you will have a more enjoyable cruise next time with whatever cruise ship you try next...

 

 

Well stated Suzanne

 

As I stated in my review on Mariner, I found a few things that could have been better but I found a way to fix them by altering my timing and habits. I think that the OP would have like the Ocean Cafe on Millennium (Celebrity) But a Buffet is always going to be a Buffet. I hope to hear more from the OP on whatever cruise he tries next. :)