RLM77

Looking at a possible booking later in 2025.  We haven’t been on X since shortly after the restart, before the return of cruise-only pricing.  We are also Elite+ which provides discounts on beverage and WiFi packages.  With that in mind, should I even wait for a flash sale on packages or is the Elite+ discount a better deal?  Or are the two discounts combinable?  
 

Also, are you notified of these flash sales via Celebrity’s promotional emails or is it necessary to check your specific cruise each day to see if a sale has started?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Rich

17 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I was disappointed with mine on jubilee. It was way overcooked. The inside of the pastry was black. It just tasted burned. The cheesy potatoes were good though.

 

 

That looks almost exactly like the meal we were served.  Very overcooked, black something or other inside, and tasted burned.  I stand by my original description of "almost inedible."

6 hours ago, Knights on the Beach said:

 

What time were you at Java Blue in the mornings? Maybe it just needed to be restocked. Our son and DIL are on Mardi Gras this week and said they've definitely had fruit & granola there the past two mornings.

 

The reduction in breakfast choices at Java Blue was consistent each day (of a B2B by the way).  The grab and go display case was empty and refrigeration clearly turned off.  I don't believe this was a restocking issue.

I completely agree with you about grabbing a burger or other "lunch" item right before closing.  In fact, I wish they would hold these venues open until around 7 PM on casual nights.  Would probably not be worth their time on elegant nights as far more people want to use the MDR on those nights.

We are just off Mardi Gras (as of May 4) having previously been onboard in mid-January.  Much was just as we remembered it - personal attention from the crew, great service, very good drinks, fantastic music (especially Washboard Joe), very good entertainment at Center Stage.  The Brass Magnolia is far and away my favorite bar at sea, and I've been in my share over the years 😁.  But a couple things have changed, and not for the better.

Food quality in the evenings seems to have taken a significant hit.  The Beef Wellington was almost inedible as was a (new?) eggplant parm entree.  A meat lasagne MDR entree that we both enjoyed in January has disappeared.  My fried catfish was tasty enough but was served in about six tiny pieces rather than one or two larger ones.  Even the everyday chicken breast was smaller and more dried out.

Also on the subject of food, the quick bite breakfast items in Java Blue have been cut back.  No more grab and go fruit and/or granola.  Also fewer breakfast pastries and sandwich choices.  Sure, there are other places to eat in the morning, but if you just want a light bite with your morning latte Java Blue used to be a one-stop choice.

Finally, the A/C in the cabins appears to have been throttled back.  Even on the first and last nights of the cruise when the weather was still somewhat cool we could not cool down the cabin as much as we could in January.  Same at Roatan, which was hot/humid in January and didn't seem much different this time.  The kicker is that it was the exact same cabin (my wife has a disability and we have a favorite ADA cabin).

The pressure to reduce costs has apparently not abated even as fares reach record highs.  There is still much to like about Mardi Gras and we are not currently planning on canceling any of our existing upcoming reservations.  That said, Carnival may no longer be our first choice when considering new reservations.

Rich

1 hour ago, nc762shooter said:

The big difference between port days and sea days for the wife and I is port days we don't need to purchase a bucket of beer or a bottle of wine at dinner to keep our 15 from running out too early LOL. In fact one cruise we were debating on getting Cheers in case my wife was pregnant by the time we sailed, crunching the numbers we could have fairly easily broken even if not still coming out ahead even if she hadn't been able to order alcoholic drinks.

Thanks.  I never bothered with their (or most other) rewards program(s) - I hate being nagged to do stuff that I might be doing - or won’t ever do - anyway.  Guess I’ll have to join for this though.  10% on Cheers over 6-8 weeks per year on CCL ships adds up.  Thanks much for the tip!

18 hours ago, bdeluca03 said:

Use Carnival Gift Cards thru AARP to save 10% when purchasing - but otherwise I haven't seen a deal on the drinks package unless packaged with the cruise fare, etc. in awhile.

Otherwise, use this calculator to see if it makes sense: https://www.cruzely.com/cruise-line-drink-package-calculator/

Can anyone describe how to navigate to the site for the AARP discounted gift cards?  I’ve looked (and searched) all over the AARP site and can’t locate it.  Thanks!

Rich

On an Excel-class ship, has anyone successfully requested a specific waiter for their traditional seating?  How did you go about that?  We know that one of our favorites will be working on our ship in April (he signs back on the same day we embark) and we’d love to have him as our waiter again!

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Rich

Vista is in (or just out of) dry dock right now FWIW.  Personally, I would avoid Port of Miami at all costs - took us nearly 4 hours to get out of the garage and port area last November.  If you are looking for a newer ship that is very similar to Celebration I highly recommend Mardi Gras out of Canaveral.  The itineraries are not as good, but just about everything else is as good or better than Celebration.  Cheaper, easier parking.  Faster embarkation/disembarkation.  Slightly fewer passengers.  And the combination of Brass Magnolia/Fortune Teller is miles ahead of Golden Jubilee/Latitudes.  We have accumulated 630 cruise-nights on seven cruise lines over the past 18 years and Mardi Gras is our current go-to.  If you can deal with the queues (both virtual and physical) you’ll love it.

Rich

1 hour ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

Yes absolutely. Many folks stay up or get up at midnight on the East Coast specifically to make their dining reservations. 8 hours later, it's no surprise the early slots are gone. I believe the second reservation at each venue is only allowed for 7 nights or longer.  We've not sailed the 6 night itinerary so I'm not entirely certain on that one. We're on an 8-night in November and we do have the option to book a venue twice.

 

There will be additional dining slots that are held back from the app to be booked onboard. My suggestion is to go directly to the restaurant of choice when you board to see what availability they have. There will also be walk-up stand by lines as well each evening. Your luck with those will dependin on how popular that particular restaurant is that evening. 

Thanks folks, this is helpful.  The 11/12 cruise is the first of a B2B so I will set my alarm for midnight next week when the second set of reservations opens.  Thanks again!

I need a reality check here.  Our November 12 VL cruise (first one on Virgin!) just opened for dining reservations, presumably at 12:01 AM.  When I went to make reservations at 7:15 AM, less than 8 hours later, I found only Pink Agave, The Wake, and Razzle Dazzle had any open slots before 8:30 PM, any night of the cruise.  Additionally, although the app says I can make two reservations per venue for 6 night cruises I was only allowed to make one per venue.  So I have no reservations at all for three nights as we gave up late dining (anything after 7 PM) many years ago.

Does it sound right that there would be no early dining slots left on any night at Extra Virgin and Gunbae less than 8 hours after reservations opened?  Will the app eventually allow second reservations at the other venues?  Please share your experiences with this.  Thanks.

Rich

On 9/1/2023 at 11:41 AM, Opie100 said:

Thanks all! Great points. I originally favored weekly itineraries that didn't have three days at sea for this reason, but given ninjacat123's good point, the captain might be less hurried with more sea days and perhaps that will help.

 

Rich: Wow, lots of experience already on these ships! Do you favor one of these ships more than the other (for any reasons in particular)? I have a 14 yo and a 19 yo - Holland America's offerings are less expensive but I know my 14 yo would prefer the activities on Celebration.

We definitely prefer the Excel-class ships but prefer them for an unusual reason that won’t impact you.  My wife has a disability and requires an ADA cabin.  We also strongly prefer balconies.  Carnival’s older ships (pre-Vista) have very few ADA balconies; there are more of them on the Vista and Excel classes.

For that reason we are late coming to Carnival and only attained Platinum status last year.  But we really enjoy both the attitude of the crew and the entertainment options.  Mardi Gras in particular has great music on board.  They also mix a great drink😁.  The MDR food is only okay and the long lines can sometimes get annoying, but overall the Excel ships are our current favorite.  Decent value too, compared to RCL and NCL.

Hope that helps some.

Rich

We’ve been on Mardi Gras for 9 cruises and Celebration for two.  Very little motion.  In fact, we’ve commented that we miss the gentle rolling at night - we often sleep better on cruise ships than at home.

Of course, no ship is immune from the effects of rough weather.  But overall I sincerely doubt you/your SO will be bothered by the motion on this class.

Rich

3 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

The shift on vaping was definitely a result of feedback. So was the cookie drama. I think they were flabbergasted by the outrage over a $2 optional cookie. No one screams about the price of gelato, the drinks not covered by a package, the charge for deli sandwiches from Le Grand Bistro (which are delicious) but something about a $2 cookie really caused distress for some people. Structural pricing changes are different since those are undoubtedly coming from higher up the ladder and carry significantly more weight (like dollars in the tens of million). 

 

 

Sheer passenger volume. In 2002 there were approximately 8.6 million cruise passengers globally. In 2019 that was 29.7 million. The projection for 2027 is 39.5 million. And to put it bluntly the amount of able to cruise loyalists that were cruising Celebrity 25-30 are no longer around. That base is shrinking. There has definitely been some attrition as people move to other lines but that is to be expected.

No argument with anything here - you obviously know this business inside and out.  The only item I would take exception to is the “25-30 [years].”  Celebrity offered a product that was at least passable (and sometimes better than that) right up to 2019.  It wasn’t up to the standard once set on Horizon or Zenith, but it held its own with the rest of the industry.  No longer, IMHO.

All that said, if we’re ever on a ship together I’d be glad to buy you a drink.

Rich

I find it interesting that new-to-cruise and new-to-brand bookings have apparently increased.  I wonder if that is because they have managed to chase away some previously loyal customers?  As an example we are Elite+ but have put X on long-term hiatus after some really terrible food in AQ.  I wonder if some of the other X veterans have done the same?

Rich

4 hours ago, Mark_T said:

Sadly I suspect this piece of theatre has more to do with the optics than any real protection for anyone... I totally understand why they want to give people the feeling that the ship is clear of all sources of covid as it does I am sure impact on bookings...

 

However, it makes no sense to just test people at the one point in the whole cruise where they are most likely to have been careful to limit their exposure before traveling, and then not test them 4 days later after they have been most at risk by traveling and queuing in the boarding areas then mixing onboard...

 

I really don't have any objection to a meaningful testing regime, I just have a dislike for processes put in place simply to deliver the illusion of protection.

I agree completely.  Test on Friday, fly with plane changes on Saturday, stay in a hotel Saturday night, embark on Sunday.  The risk of contracting COVID between the time of the test and the time of embarkation seems fairly high.  Theater indeed.

Rich

Does anyone know if Los Lobos is/will be included in the Specialty Dining package on Dawn and Sun?  Or is it a la carte for everyone?  Thanks for any help you can provide.

20 hours ago, sandyzag said:

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaa did I really just read that they were actually enforcing arrival times on embarkation?  My Sept 4th sailing was a free for all and that terminal building was packed to the gills with people who were over 3 hours early.   If this is true, it will make for a much more enjoyable start to my January cruise on her.

They were definitely enforcing arrival times on 9/25.  We had 12:30, arrived at 12:15 and were let through.  But about 100 folks clustered outside with arrival times more than 30 minutes in the future.  Obviously, I can't say if they will enforce consistently going forward.

We disembarked Mardi Gras on Saturday after a B2B – cruise number 45 for us the way we count them (we count B2B’s as a single cruise).  The cruise can be summarized in one word: Wow!  This is not your father’s (or grandfather’s) Carnival – it’s way better!  We liked it so much that we are returning in December for another B2B!

Embarkation was easy, even with the additional vaccination and testing requirements now in effect.  We retired to Florida three years ago; the port is only about a 2.5 hour drive from our condo.  There is a bridge from level 3 of the parking garage to the embarkation level of the terminal – no wrestling luggage on and off elevators!  Our docs were checked, and we were on the ship within 30 minutes of parking.  Note that Carnival is not allowing “cheating” on your stated arrival time.  If you arrive early they will make you wait outside the terminal until the time stated on your boarding pass.

The ship looks great as a new ship should.  Not much in the way of art in the public areas, but a clean, modern look that handles the crowds well.  My favorite feature was Grand Central, a large, three deck high space with a stage that replaces the traditional atrium.  The stage backdrops can be stowed in the floor and ceiling to expose a three-deck high wall of windows looking out to the sea.  Everything is highly automated; projectors can change the look of the stage in an instant. Very professional.

Grand Central also has a dedicated band, the Center Stage Band, (there were actually two complete Center Stage Bands aboard during week 2; a transition must have been taking place) that cranks out several high-energy performances over the course of the cruise.  The band includes a trombone, trumpet, and sax along with the standard guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums.  Outstanding musicians and vocalists by cruise ship standards.  More on entertainment later.

DW has a severe mobility limitation, so we were in a fully accessible ADA balcony cabin.  Although smaller than ADA cabins on many other cruise lines/ships it is functional and well-designed.  We found the bed extremely comfortable; others may find it a bit firm for their taste.  The bathroom is, hands down, the best designed ADA bathroom we’ve ever had on a ship.  The roll-in shower never leaked into the rest of the room.  Lots of counter space and plenty of plugs.  Clothing storage is not generous but is adequate if you pack intelligently.  The only drawback is that there is no chair or couch in the room; a request to the steward quickly addressed that with an extra balcony chair that we used indoors.

Service onboard was knock-your-socks-off good.  Until now we have not been frequent Carnival cruisers, mostly due to a lack of fully accessible ADA balcony cabins on most of their ships (often only two on an entire vessel).  On the three we had previously been on, though, service was mediocre compared to other lines.  More often than not on those previous cruises I had to go to the nearest bar to get drinks in the evening.  Very few, if any, bar servers indoors.  And dining room service was typically just okay.  Not so on Mardi Gras.  Every aspect of the service was top notch.  Restaurant and bar servers knew us by name and quickly learned our preferences.  Cabin service was prompt and efficient.  To be honest, Princess and Celebrity could improve greatly in these areas if they adopted the best practices from this ship.  I realize that the ship was sailing with only 85% of the cabins occupied; it is certainly possible that service quality will decline when conditions return to normal.  But for now, it was absolutely great.

Food was generally better than expected.  Not great (with one exception), but often very good.  And there is certainly no shortage of choices.  So many that we did not eat a single meal in the main dining room.  As has been widely reported, Cucina Del Capitano, Pig & Anchor, and ChiBang are currently complementary on Mardi Gras.  All of these venues were worthwhile and seemed to have more to offer than the dining room.  Cucina and Pig & Anchor also have breakfast and lunch on sea days.  ChiBang has sea day lunches as well.  Among the casual spots on the upper deck, Big Chicken was great.  Their MDE sandwich might give some of the land-based fast food places a run for their money.  Blue Iguana and Guy’s Burger Joint are carryovers from other Carnival ships and are always worthwhile.  Guy’s and Big Chicken are set up to run very efficiently.  While lines are sometimes long, they move surprisingly quickly.  We never made it to Street Eats or the Seafood Shack, so nothing I can report there.

Among the specialty restaurants Rudy’s is the stand-out.  Best seafood we’ve had on a cruise ship and well worth the price.  If you're not dead set on lobster (or surf and turf), the red snapper was excellent.  Conversely, the steakhouse was disappointing.  Although they still claim that their meat is Prime, it simply doesn’t compare with the real deal on land, or with the outstanding quality of Carnival steakhouses in days gone by.

A quick complaint before leaving this topic.  The selection of wines by the glass is quite limited.  There was only one Sauvignon Blanc, for example (and it is not a favorite of ours).  I believe only 1-2 Chardonnays as well.  A few more choices would have been very welcome.

Finally, the entertainment.  Plentiful and generally very good to excellent.  The main theater bunch was pretty much the only disappointment.  Comedy is subjective – we thought just okay but many seemed to love it.  Center Stage Band/Grand Central was great, the blues/rock band in Pig & Anchor fantastic, one of the two solo guitarists among the best we’ve heard on a ship, and the piano bar player quite good.  The best of the music, though, was the jazz ensemble in the French Quarter/Brass Magnolia bar.  They were so good that musicians from other groups onboard were stopping by to jam with them.  Wonderful to see musicians that truly love their art; their dedication showed in the quality of the shows overall.

Disembarkation was as fast and easy as embarkation, except that we did need to use the garage elevators to get from the baggage claim level back to our car. That took a bit of extra time as you might imagine.

In summary, a great cruise.  We haven’t been so pleased with any cruise since our early RCI Oasis-class cruises back in 2010 and 2011.  As things stand today (October 2021) this is a great ship with a great crew.  Will Carnival be able to maintain this level of excellence when the ship starts sailing full?  Time will tell.  For now, though, very highly recommended.  As mentioned, we’ll be back!
 

Thanks everyone!  I may try to rattle a few cages at NCL.  I'm not sure that the revenue teams at the large cruise lines have considered the impact of this pricing on travelers with disabilities.  I'd be (slightly) surprised if it was intentional.   Raising their awareness can't hurt anything.  And who knows?  Once in a while a long-shot pays off.

Rich

Please excuse me in advance if this has already been discussed; I don't often get a chance to visit these boards.

I am concerned by what I see as a newer pricing trend in the cruise industry.  The price gap between a guarantee cabin and a cabin you select yourself appears to be growing significantly wider.  I have noticed this on several cruise lines, but Norwegian appears to be at the forefront.

As a couple struggling with advancing MS we require a cabin with accessibility features when we cruise.  When the price difference between a guarantee and a specific cabin selection was relatively small we were not bothered by paying the extra freight to select our own room.  But now, on some 7-night sailings, that difference is over $500 for a standard balcony cabin.

"Discrimination" is not a word I like to use or hear used.  But it does now seem as if those who require accessibility features are sometimes forced to pay a significant premium (in addition to having to book super-early) in order to enjoy a cruise.  If we were able to buy a guarantee cabin we would.  But that is not possible.

Am I being overly-sensitive about this?  Has anyone else noticed?  Is anyone else concerned?  Your thoughts are certainly appreciated.

Rich

On 10/30/2019 at 10:51 AM, LHT28 said:

Sometimes you have to read between the lines  on reviews

 

Not sure what you mean by "read between the lines" but I (the OP) will try to add a little clarity as to who and what we are.

We are retired professionals with post-graduate degrees.  Before retiring south we would visit Canada once or twice a summer to attend the Stratford [Shakespeare] Festival.  We also contributed to the Festival as one of the charitable/fine arts organizations we support.  This in addition to partaking of our local cultural opportunities.

We can enjoy a production of "King Lear" one week, a concert of baroque music the following week, and a Jimmy Buffet concert the next.  Each has its place; each is enriching in its own way.  In our opinion, you bring Margaritaville on a Caribbean cruise and save Bach, Vivaldi, and Shakespeare for another day.  Additionally, while the socioeconomic distribution on, say, a Carnival or Norwegian ship does not align as closely with our own as that on Insignia, we still usually have a darn good time there.  I wish I could say we had a good time on Oceania, but it was just too sedate for us.  Those who prefer excellent service and an upscale environment will most likely find what they seek on O.  Those who want to let their hair (or what's left of it) down on a cruise will not be happy.  Count us among the latter.

Points of view on food and wine are very subjective.  Everyone has an opinion and all opinions are equally valid.  I stand by the views expressed in my original post.  To us there were more similarities than differences between the food on O and the food on the mass market ships.  Your mileage will vary.

We have spent 473 nights on cruise ships.  Not anywhere near the number as some who are active on this board, but enough to understand what works for us on a tropical cruise vacation.

Forgive me, but I am having trouble seeing what I left "between the lines."  If LHT28 is willing to elaborate then I will try to further fill in the gaps.

Rich

Just off Insignia from an 11-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary.  This was our 44th cruise overall, but first on Oceania.  While there were some things to like on this cruise, we were underwhelmed overall.  We do not plan on cruising on O again, and certainly not on the R-class ships.  Details follow; see near the bottom for comments on accessibility (ADA) features:

The Good:

• Service was very good to excellent, reminding us of what Celebrity used to be like 15 years ago or so.  Many of the wait staff and bar servers knew us by name and also knew our preferences before the cruise was half over.  There were a couple service errors, but the experience was quite impressive on the whole.
• Despite its small size, Insignia rarely felt crowded.  There was plenty of space for everyone in the lounges and the Terrace Cafe.  Oceania also actively polices chair-hogging on the pool deck.  I could head up at 1 PM on a sunny sea day and find an available lounger.  I will miss that on future cruises – on most other cruise lines the pool deck loungers are 100% full with books, towels, beach bags – but no people – by 8:30 AM.  Pool loungers also come with thick padding and armrests.  Towels do not need to be signed out.
• There was a very good selection of wines by the glass, along with dedicated sommeliers to serve them.
• The bed was very comfortable and the pillows were fine.  The oversized sheet was appreciated.  The duvet was much too heavy for a tropical itinerary, but Insignia is not the only ship we’ve been on that has this problem.
• The A/C in the cabin worked very well; this is the first Caribbean cruise I can recall where we did not have it set on maximum cool for the entire cruise.  That said, the cost-saving habit of reducing the A/C in the middle of the night is alive and well on Insignia.  News flash: many older folks don’t sleep as well as they did when younger.  We were up in the middle of the night and felt the lack of cooling.  I’m guessing that we were not the only ones.
• The enrichment lecturer, Sandy Cares, was both entertaining and informative.  One of the best we’ve encountered.

The Not-So-Good:

• Despite the Caribbean itinerary, there was very little fun to be had on this ship.  Let’s face it folks, the Caribbean is not the right part of the world to feature cruises where destination is the primary focus and onboard activities are (very) secondary.  But that is exactly the product that Oceania delivered.
• Entertainment was scarce and mediocre.  There was an adequate string quartet.  There was a pianist who never sang or interacted with the “crowd.”  The Insignia singers were enthusiastic and had their moments, but there was ultimately nothing outstanding or memorable there.  Finally, there was the show band.  Their sets were short and heavily oriented towards jazz or classic dance music (tangos, rumbas, cha-chas, etc.).  There was no island music to be had.  Anywhere.  Jazz sets on the pool deck?  In the middle of the day?  In the Caribbean?  Yep.
• Now we come to the food, one of Oceania’s major selling points.  Some of the food was indeed better than what is available now on Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean, or Carnival.  But the truth is that nothing stood out as all that much better.  The difference was either incremental or nil.  Some of the selections would have been very hard for us to distinguish from food on these other lines.  And, as many frequent cruisers will acknowledge, food quality better than that on the larger cruise lines is a pretty low bar to clear these days.  If we were served the typical fare on Insignia in an upscale land restaurant we would not publicly complain, but we would also not return.

Miscellaneous (neither good nor bad):

• Insignia is the first ship we’ve been on where the Captain did not really fit the stereotype of a suave brand ambassador.  He was much more a working Captain who did not seem entirely comfortable interacting with the passengers.  I don’t believe that there was a Staff Captain on Insignia which may be a partial explanation.
• Similarly, we’ve never been on a ship before where some of the crew had more than one job.  The singers doubled as social-hostesses and assistant cruise directors.  Sommeliers worked as Baristas in the mornings.  And some of the folks serving behind the line at the Terrace Café during breakfast and lunch morphed into waiters or assistant waiters at dinner.  Interesting.

Accessibility:
My wife has long grappled with MS and has reached a point where she requires shower seats, grab bars, and room for her mobility scooter.  Accordingly we always sail in cabins with ADA features.  Our cabin was well-outfitted with such features, including one of the best ADA showers we’ve encountered on a ship.  There was virtually no leakage onto the bathroom floor (which completely floods on many ships) and the seat was positioned in a manner that made the shower controls easily accessible while seated.  Kudos to Oceania for thoroughly thinking these things through.  Unfortunately, the only cabins with these features are insides on Oceania’s version of the R-class.  We would have paid up for a better category had there been a choice.  Plus, this particular cabin was completely decorated in various shades of gray, with no art on the walls to break the monotony.  Overall a depressing experience – like being in a large, dimly lit closet.

Outside the cabin, accessibility fell short.  The elevators were very small and barely accommodated my wife’s scooter.  And the doors to the open decks/pool deck had very high jambs to get over, high enough that my wife was concerned that she would damage her scooter (which we own) by driving over them.  For that reason, she never went on the pool deck, which was a significant limitation.  Yes, the R-ships are quite old by today’s standards.  But reducing the accessibility barriers to the open decks could have been addressed during her recent refurbishment.  The accessible cabins were certainly upgraded at that time.

Conclusions:
Oceania often sails to more unusual or exotic ports.  For those cruises, positioning the ship as an upscale floating hotel makes a certain amount of sense.  For the Caribbean, however, the floating hotel model simply does not work IMO.  You need a floating resort with lively music (and island music!), games, piano bars, etc.  In short, Caribbean cruises need to be fun.  And whatever else this cruise may have been, it cannot be described as “fun.”

If the food had really been head and shoulders above that of the large cruise lines then the combination of food and service might have been enough to save the day.  But alas, the food was either pretty much the same or only slightly better than the offerings available elsewhere at sea.  Although the service onboard was clearly better than on other ships, that in and of itself was not enough to tip the balance for us.  We will return to the larger lines/ships, enjoy the fun, and set our service expectations appropriately for today’s reality.

Thanks to all for your kind words. By way of explanation, my better half is mobility-limited due to MS and we've found that cruising is the best type of vacation for us. Active enough for me; everything just an elevator ride away for her. It's hard to replicate that on a land trip.

We also have some experience with most of the other mass market lines, including Celebrity. Our two favorite cruises of all-time were both on Summit, in 2006 (to Hawaii) and 2007 (end of season Alaska and Pacific Coast Repositioning cruise). Having said that, Celebrity's entertainment quality is just above the bottom of the pack IMHO, and the food is a shadow of what it was back in the day when they had Chef Roux under contract.

Princess gets a solid B on both food and entertainment; they occasionally have a very good band in the Wheelhouse. NCL's entertainment is normally excellent, both their big and small acts. Their specialty restaurants are also uniformly good to very good and until recently were less costly than those on most other lines. Note that they are in the process of adopting an a la carte pricing model (in the specialty restaurants) that will likely raise the total expense. Although somewhat more costly overall than the others, NCL's medium sized ships (Dawn- and Jewel-classes) are our favorites at this time.

I know the least about Carnival. We only have 14 nights on that line, most recently about 2 years ago. At the time there was music available in 2-3 of their lounges each night though the quality of entertainers was inconsistent. Bar service was also inconsistent, but we managed. MDR food is unpretentious but tasty. We enjoyed their pastas. Their steakhouse was incredible on both cruises -- USDA Prime, prepared to perfection.

All-in I think these are the best three lines for us right now. The business is constantly changing; we may well have a different opinion two years from now. I suspect that we will be back on RCI (and Celebrity) some day, but for the next couple years at least it's time for a break.

There is a tinge of sadness when a local restaurant you have patronized for years changes its menu to offerings that are less appealing to you. Or when a favorite local clothing store is sold to a new owner who decides to pursue a different target market and changes out the inventory. Such is the sadness we feel after our most recent RCI cruise. RCI still offers a good product, but it no longer appeals to us as it once did.

We disembarked from Oasis of the Seas on August 29, having completed two weeks on Allure of the Seas and a week on Freedom of the Seas earlier this year. Last week we canceled three additional cruises on both Freedom- and Oasis-classes. As frequent, “mature” cruisers (not yet retirement age but closing in) we have seen a widening gap between RCI’s product and our cruise preferences. While our preferences have doubtless changed over time, it seems to us as if RCI is shifting their product away from us as well.

A pause to set some context: If all goes as planned we will attain our 365th night at sea in March of next year. 112 of those nights are on Royal Caribbean ships: 70 on Oasis-class, 35 on Freedom-class, and 7 on Radiance-class. Because you can only watch “Come Fly With Me” or Tony Tillman so many times (even over five years) we rely on live music to round out our cruise experience. Lounge music is an even bigger deal on the smaller ships where there are fewer “big show” options.

When we first cruised Oasis-class in 2010 we were over the moon. Beautiful ships and spaces, minimal crowding, many food options, and also – importantly – many entertainment selections, both large-scale events and live music. We went on to cruise this class nine additional times, the most recent being an Allure B2B in March and the Oasis cruise near the end of August.

The Allure cruise in March occurred shortly before her recent dry-dock and the cruise was close to our previous experiences. Food and entertainment were similar in quality and quantity to what we have seen in the past. My Time Dining was on Deck 5 and was comfortable. Overall our expectations were met and we were happy.

Freedom came next, over Memorial Day [u.S.]. It had been several years since we were on Freedom-class, but it seemed to us as if there was less live music on the ship than there had been a few years back. Plus, with the exception of the pool band it seemed to start later; there were very few options prior to 9 PM. Finally, although we are far from music critics, the combo in Bolero’s was one of the worst we have ever heard – the lead vocalist could not hold a note to save her soul. The Diamond Club, Sabor (yum!), and our cabin (1400) saved that cruise. We had a decent week but left wishing there had been more (and better) live music.

It was last month’s Oasis cruise that was the real eye-opener. This was our first cruise on the class after the dry-dock and it was a disappointment overall, with one huge exception – “Cats.” Credit where credit is due – “Cats” was absolutely fantastic. It was the same full length show that played Broadway for many years, not at all like some of the heavily abridged musicals that cruise lines stage and market as “Broadway.” And the cast was wonderful. Some of the cast did a couple vocal sets in the Jazz Club and the quality of their voices blew away that of the cast members from “Hairspray” and “Chicago” that we heard in days of yore. Kudos to RCI for staging the full-length show with such a strong cast. If you love Broadway, this performance in and of itself is worth a cruise on Oasis. This is something I could not say of either “Hairspray” or “Chicago” which were significantly shortened and had competent, but not exceptional casts.

Unfortunately, “Cats” and the vocal sets performed by its cast members were the only bright spots in a very disappointing entertainment landscape. The other “big” shows seemed exactly the same as they have been since the ship launched. Tony Tillman was the Headliner and he certainly qualifies as an RCI regular; his show does not change much from cruise to cruise. So we were again looking to the live music as our primary evening entertainment. And this is where we were really let down.

Since the dry-dock, one musical group has been eliminated completely and the hours of other acts have been scaled back. The dropped combo used to perform in the late, lamented Viking Crown and typically performed pop, soft rock, and occasionally standards – all favorites of ours. Rather than finding a different venue for this act, RCI killed it off altogether.

Before the dry-dock there was usually cocktail hour/early evening music in one venue, especially on sea days. On this cruise there was nothing. Before the dry-dock, the band in Dazzles often started at 7:30 or 8:00 PM. This cruise, they only started before 9:00 on one night. Additionally, they took two (or maybe three) nights off completely, more time off than used to be the case. The only music that was consistently available between 7 PM and 9 PM was the classical duo. They were fine, but not really as up-tempo as were looking for. Also, their venue was Central Park. In August. In the Caribbean. Not exactly the most comfortable spot to listen to music, especially on formal nights.

In their defense, RCI did open the Jazz Club earlier than they used to on a couple of nights (but only a couple). And the piano player at the Schooner Bar was very good if you didn’t mind waiting until 9:15 or 9:30 for him to get started. For some of us crossing that 60-year line, though, 10:30 or 11:00 is about all we can manage before bed time. One set and we’re out.

There were a couple other issues with this cruise as well. My Time dining is now on Deck 3 which seems both noisier and more crowded than Deck 5 used to be. And Sabor on Oasis is not nearly the experience as Sabor on Freedom. The menu is considerably smaller and the food, except for the excellent guacamole, is less well-prepared. Food quality, IMO, remains one of RCI’s greatest challenges, but this is nothing new.

We fully understand that we are outside of RCI’s target demographic. And we also understand that our circumstances are somewhat unique. Even after almost six years there likely aren’t all that many folks who have completed ten cruises on Oasis-class. If you’ve not cruised this class before I can heartily recommend it, especially if you are travelling with children or teens. Still, one feels a certain sadness when one recognizes that an experience that one has long enjoyed is no longer as enjoyable. Nothing for it though but to move on down the road. Other than one upcoming cruise on Serenade on which we were able to get an insanely low price, we'll see you on NCL, Princess, or Carnival.

Rich

We saw it on Broadway and loved it.

In fact, we are sailing Oasis in August Specifically see it again! Can't wait.