Moltar

On 3/30/2024 at 10:23 PM, CuseJeff44 said:

I remember cruising in the early 2000s and the self serve machines were available for passengers to use themselves, basically like the buffet, coffee machines, soda machines, etc. However, for some reason, in recent years, they changed the model and now have a poor RCL staffer whose whole job is to fill ice cream cones for people. Maybe COVID related although like I said, so many other things that people can still do themselves I dont know if thats it. 

Anyway, can we actually self serve the soft serve again?

No, because you all make a mess and slop up the spot, it’s much better with the guy doing it that way nobody makes it ridiculously overloaded cone that spills all over the place

On 2/29/2024 at 6:35 PM, not-enough-cruising said:

Neglected ships?  I have yet to encounter that particular issue.

Right? In over 30 years of cruising with royal, never been on a ship that I felt was neglected, ever.

Nope. I don’t understand this whole RXL has got too expensive nonsense. Yeah, if you’re looking to go on a brand new ship like the wonder, Utopia or icon yeah you’re gonna pay a lot of money. I found A cruise on the harmony of the seas next year out of Galveston in February, balcony room for three people, $1,970.

how much cheaper do you expect Royal to go and still make money?

I don’t know, but I seriously think some of you are living in a crazy make-believe world with your assumptions that Royal Caribbean is too expensive.

If that is the case, then you’re only option is carnival which I’m sorry I would never ever ever ever ever ever ever cruise or Margaritaville at Sea.

if you know the absolute simplest basics economics then don’t book high demand ships because high demand equals high prices. It’s a pretty simple formula.

I know it’s hard 🤣🤣🤣 but try booking a ship that’s maybe five years or older I promise you you won’t be disappointed

13 hours ago, Host Jacquelyn said:

 

Another reason to try Icon! After the disappointing slides on the other ships, I am still wary. I did love most of the slides on Cococay, but they were awful on my back. The tall one especially... did you wear a t shirt?

I did not wear a shirt. 

We can agree to disagree. I’ve been a Coco cay I think five times since the upgrade and I find all of their slides tame except for the tall one that goes all the way to the top. In my opinion the icon slides are just as good. From what I experienced, the icon of the seas has a legit waterpark.
 

The oasis class slides are definitely slow and you always get stuck in the toilet bowl. 

Icon of the Seas. 6 LEGIT waterslides. Oasis class PERFECTED. there are 2 fast slides 4 medium paced, nothing slow at all. Frightening Bolt and Pressure Drop are FAST. Aside from the tallest waterslide at Coco Cay, the slides are just as good on Icon. Once the lines got too long at Coco Cay I got back on Icon, no lines and slides just as good.

Wizard of Oz on Icon and Aqua80 on Oasis.

I just bought the Meta Quest 3, watching movies while traveling will never be the same. Its the coolest thing EVER. Having a 15 foot 4k screen wherever I go is so cool!

I had no idea you could connect with your phone; I have an Iphone and there was not a screen mirror connect to the room tv. Don't know about Chromecast.

6 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Which Icon sailing were you on? I was on the 2/3 - 2/10 sailing. It was challenging finding a lounge chair in the sun every where on the ship. One of the things I didn’t like about Icon was there was a lot of shaded areas around the pools, which contributed to the lack of lounge chairs in the sun. 
 

I agree the promenade is nicer on Icon. It literally felt and looked like a mall with lots of area to walk around, especially on deck 5. However, I like Central Park better on Oasis class ships. I think the Central Park area on Icon is tacky with the colored shutters every where, but that is just personal preference. I have also never experienced Central Park being crowded on any Oasis class ship, although I have only done a dozen cruises on Oasis clas ships. That will increase soon. I am on Symphony in 2 weeks and Allure in 6 weeks. 

I was on 2/10-2/17. Just look at a birds eye view of the pathways on Icon vs Oasis Central Park.They are so tight n narrow on Oasis. I got people rage on it, like road rage but getting stuck behind slow slow slow walkers in Central Park because the pathways are so narrow!  Also what drove me nuts on Oasis was the whole darn one side of the pool deck is for smoking, couldnt even breathe on that side of the pool deck so essentially half the pool loungers were a no go on Oasis.

If Icon is bad, Oasis is 3 times worse than on sea days on the pool deck. I've experienced it on Oasis. It's not fun. The whole Oasis class is so spacious is a myth on sea days. Also, no more whole one side of the pool deck is a smokefest. No more of that on Icon. One section far away from the pool is the smoking ara, no longer the whole pool deck on one side. Never had a problem during my Icon cruise with loungers. They 5,610 people onboard the Icon.... Also the promenade and Central park blow away Oasis class, so much wider and more room, no congestion. Central Park was so tight in the pathways on Oasis class, not anymore on Icon.

Basically if you ever sailed Oasis class full capacity and enjoyed, you won't have a problem here in my opinion. There are so many more loungers to choose from, Promenade way more spacious without those islands in the middle to sell crap and the central park pathways are wide, no more getting stuck behind slow pokes or someone constantly stopping to take a photo..  Lines for waterslides? Oasis class has 3 slides, Icon has 6.

I wouldnt pay these prices either, I got a balcony room in Oct of 22 for 3 people for 4,100 dollars.

It will be 3-4 years before the demand for Icon class wanes, these ships are Oasis perfected.

29 minutes ago, Twenty2020 said:

Re: crowds. I understand they are still not sailing at full capacity, correct?

 

If so, then I don't know if an honest comparison of pool deck crowds can be yet made. 

I’m just basing it on my experience on the oasis in August 2022 and my experience on the icon on February. Oasis, there was no place to sit on the pool deck on sea days. For years, I’ve been hearing about the oasis class and how spacious it is in the pool decks. Well in August 2022 it was the farthest thing from that.

15 minutes ago, soremekun said:

Very nice.  How did you obtain the Crown's Edge video?   Was it included or an extra cost?

Video included with the $49.99, pictures are extra

On 2/21/2024 at 5:12 PM, JJK2008 said:

Many don't know that they when you book a cruise through a TA, you are NOT the customer of the cruise line, the TA is the customer. You are a customer of the TA. That's why RCCL won't talk to you, you're not their customer. Many here on CC swear by TA. I'm sure there are good ones. But personally, we never use a TA. Prefer to book directly with the cruise line. If an issue does arise, nice to be able to deal direct without a middleman. It works for us but not for everybody. Good Luck.

I feel the same way I want absolute control of my vacation and planning I don’t wanna have to deal with the middleman

26 minutes ago, OCVTSGIRL said:

I've been Diamond for a while and I've never had a bartender ask me if I wanted to use my diamond voucher.  As long as I haven't used all 4 of mine, they always just use it without me telling them to.

Complete opposite with me, they always ask. Diamond+ here

It is on your SeaPass card and they will ask if you would like to use the diamond voucher

Just got back from Icon of the Seas. Here is my opinion on what really got improved upon vs Oasis class.

1. Royal Promenade: So much wider and spacious. True full 2 levels. Ocean views FINALLY in the promenade.

2. Drink Stations: Remember the Lemonade, Fruit Punch, Kiwi Strawberry, etc. juices in Windjammer? Now they are at multiple venues through out the ship. Pearl Cafe, Aquadome Marketplace, Park Cafe, etc....

The Lookout in AquaDome: 2 in 1. Better spot for aqua shows to now utilize all of the surfside area and 2 much better use of the old solarium venue.

I just can't get enough of this place. The views from Dawn til Dusk are amazing and then the transformation at night is just beautiful. I just don't have the words to describe how special this spot is.

Thrill Waterpark: Its open from 9am till 9pm. 6 slides, Flow Rider & Crowns Edge. Every single waterslide is LEGIT. Wwent multiple times through out the cruise. Best of all was going to Thrill Waterpark at night in the middle of the ocean without any lines. Me and my son spent 2 straight hours from 7 till 9pm on the last night. Amazing and really cool at night. This blows away the 3 slides on Oasis Class.

The 2 level Pool Deck: I didn't swim much but what I can attest to is there more than enough loungers in the sun and in the shade, Never ever had an issue finding a spot close to a pool.  Also, never felt crowded, not in the least. In August of 22 the pool decks on oasis felt PACKED.

Oceanviews: Biggest complaint about Oasis class is I dont really feel like I'm on a cruise, Im having a blast but I rarely see the ocean unless on the Jogging track or at the edge of the pool decks, Almost every restaurant and bar has windows to the seas on Icon. The most amazing Oceanview aspect to me? YOU CAN GET OCEANVIEWS FROM CENTRAL PARK!!!! Somehow someway they figured it out. I find that amazing.

Aquadome and Absolute Zero:  You will just have to experience it yourself to understand...

Any questions feel free to ask.

I wish people would look at statistics customer return all those business things because if you did a lot of you who are saying that Roy doesn’t care about the repeat customers you would find how off-base you are with that opinion. And frankly, it’s not that hard to have great meals on 23 cruises over a 30 year timeframe. my apologies for not having any negative opinions on the meals. I’ll be sure to look at the glass half empty next time.

Cheers! I’ll be sure to post about all the food on icon and just over three weeks

PS I’m sure Royal is going to take the millions upon millions of surveys they get at the end of each cruise as their feedback as opposed to a few hundred possibly a few thousand critics on a cruise forum… the majority far far far  outweigh the minority.

if Royal made a decision based on a few people who post in a cruise forum… cmon….

I started in this forumin the early 2000s, lost the account…. this place hasn’t changed since which is a very very very very very very, very, very, very bad thing.  
 

It’s just a place that everyone likes to throw darts at each other

sources do matter that’s why it’s very very hard for me to take anybody on this forum seriously when all they do is nag and complain, and I constantly ask myself why the hell are they still cruising on the cruise line if they hate it so much?

something doesn’t make sense. When I go to a hotel and I had a bad experience, I won’t be back when I buy a product that failed me miserably. I won’t be back when I buy something or go anywhere where I felt the product wasn’t right for the price paid I wouldn’t be back, but yet they keep coming back 

and finally Frankly I find it immature to passively aggressive talk about me without speaking to me directly. 

2 minutes ago, RockHoundTX said:

Completely understand. However, I have been cruising long enough that I have seen the pendulum swing both ways. When enough people vote with their wallet, things change. There was a time in the mid 2010s where food and service also took a nose-dive (2013-2016?) at least on the RCL cruises I was taking at the time (and per the comments here on Cruise Critic for other ships). Then from about 2017-2020 it got much better. Post-COVID, I was on 2 ships (while they were still begging for passengers) where food was fantastic. They had some of the biggest, juiciest prime rib I had ever eaten. That was followed by 3 cruises where the food was absolutely horrid (food poisoning, the whole 9 yards) where both "supply chain" and "crew quarentine" were blamed. Been on 2 cruises since the "belt tightening" happened with the new menus, etc. and for both the food was "OK" but far from great. If this becomes the "new standard", prices will need to fall significantly before the price/quality ratio is again within my budget. I went on cruises since it was "the best bang for the buck" but that is no longer the case. I can fly to an island and sit on a beach for 2 weeks (eating and drinking quite well) for what it costs for my family to do a 7-day cruise these days. 

 

The real question is how many people will vote with their wallet? RCL has done a good job of attracting lots of new customers. RCL really no longer cares about us Diamonds/Diamond+ and likely sees us as a hinderance.  As long as the cabins are getting filled without RCL having to pour a ton of money into advertising, then nothing is really going to change. However, all it takes is one "poop cruise", sinking, or virus to hit the news and go viral for passengers to suddenly dry up. How soon that happens and what the cruise industry does about it (lower fares? better food? more activites?) is the question. I love cruising and have $$ set aside to book if/when quality goes up or prices come down. Just will patiently wait and plan all my other vacations in the mean-time. Lots of other (non-cruise) memories to make.       

I wholeheartedly disagree with your assessment. Agree to disagree

14 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

You base your food rant on a YouTube video???  😄

Wow, I didn’t notice that. I thought this is what they experienced. People really need to stop living through other people and experience it on their own.

like others have said, if I never cruised, and started reading these posts in this forum, I would never cruise ever in my life.
 

Cruises sounds like a living nightmare when you read about it here.

.

Just now, taglovestocruise said:

Love Windjammer, always skip at least one MDR dinner and have a WJ dinner. 

Same here.