The Fun Researcher

Sorta to this point, Royal is pretty smart with the loyalty retention once you reach Diamond level. The 4 free drinks and the coffee in the Diamond lounge were a major benefit to us on our Alaskan cruise (our first as Diamond). We didn't need to spend nearly as much on drinks and it really cut that cost down. Can't say much about the MDR and other complimentary dining though. It, without a doubt, has declined in quality since 2021. I'm interested to see how things are on the Celebrity Equinox in December. I know they had major cutbacks in the buffet for dinner, but that doesn't impact us as we "always" eat our dinners in the MDR. NCL prices have really jumped, and I'm not finding them as competitive as they were a couple of years ago or more. Of course, there may always be those gems out there with a good price to dig out.

Royal seems like they want us to forget that a lot of the food cost is already supplemented by our cruise fare. They are pretty much at land prices now. That’s a hefty % increase

One reason I can think of... Many of the "Luxury" lines don't have the vast entertainment and activity options and vibe of a Royal ship. While not "Luxury" per se, we were considering a 7 night cruise on the Celebrity Eclipse next year but chose a 5 night on Liberty instead. LOVE Celebrity Solstice class ships but we'll have our kids onboard and there is very little to do other than just relax, eat and go to evening shows. Things are very sleepy at night. No putt putt, no rock climbing, no ice show, no flowrider, no slides, no escape room, no laser tag... Don't get me wrong, we'll be on the Celebrity Equinox with the kids in December for 5 nights but I think some like all the entertainment and activities on Royal ships along with the overall ship designs which I think Royal wins across all cruise lines.

Oddly enough, the only time we have had any situation like that was also on the oasis in the windjammer way back in 2015. Other than that we have had no issues in our 10 cruises across the voyager, freedom, oasis, and quantum classes. I agree that the Windjammer on the Oasis and probably other oasis class ships is undersized. I would still say that is far from the norm. More of the exception than the rule.

Yeah ships have sailed at capacity for decades with the only exception for a bit after Covid. Fortunately Royal sizes their ships well for the ship passenger capacity. Happy sailing. I need to go check out the '24-'25 options!

Never heard of easyCruise, and dang that’s pretty crazy. No wonder they are long gone. (2005-2010). Charging for MDR and making beds seems like a crazy business model, and history seems to prove that. Didn’t last long.

True. That is really fun. Our group of 14 did roller skating on the Quantum on our Alaskan cruise last month. Although our normally very athletic 20yo niece twisted her knee pretty bad doing it. Made for a difficult next 1/2 of the cruise. Maybe it would have been even worse I’ve skating 😂

Good point. Yes they do. I guess to that point it is a trade off. 270 is a pretty dang nice area on the ship. Had a great band in there for 80’s night and the show on Quantum (Starwater) was excellent. Didn’t care for Pixels on Anthem. I missed the free skate on the Voyager/Freedom/Oasis classes too. It’s trade offs though. BTW our favorite cruise ever was on the Navigator just a few weeks after it was AMPED in March of 2019. 9 night sailing to all three ABC’s and Labadee. Awesome weather, ports, and LOVED the updated ship with Playmakers for great late night food, the escape room, El Loco fresh as another option by the pool as well as grab and go Johnny Rockets. Refreshed rooms and everything. Amazing cruise.

Yes, missed the ice show on both the Anthem and the Quantum this year. Both were the only times we haven't had an Ice show onboard

Your answer seemed to be answering a different question altogether "some Lines are charging to eat more than one entrée in Main Dining" not the original statement 'some Lines are charging to eat in Main Dining". Two very different things. The original statement implied charging something akin to specialty dining just to eat anything in the MDR.

Love it. :-). Can’t wait to see more of your post. Laughing out loud here.

It’s also pretty cool to have a bean counter with a sense of humor. 👍🏼

I agree. Your pictures suck. 😉

I know you know this, and not being snarky or anything but charging for a second or third entrée is way different than simply saying some cruise lines are charging to eat in the main dining room

Varies by ship and waitstaff. On Anthem in March they tended to do one at a time. Quantum in July was all at once…. Like this: (This was “Taste of Asia” with a lot more apps than normal. Too many good apps to turn down)🙂

The dedicated Sorrento’s location yes, but didn’t they start offering the same pizza in places like the Cafe Promenade on Voyager class well before? We’ve never been on a class smaller than Voyager so I don’t know if pizza is offered on Radiance or Vision classes?

The pizza quality is the same as before but I have noticed a significant downturn in the quality of the little sandwiches in the Café Promenade. Used to love the turkey, roast beef, salmon options. All good tasting proteins. The last two cruises (Anthem in March, Quantum in July), the best you are going to get is tuna salad. Lots of vegetable fillings as sandwiches. Mind you, it was a good tuna salad sandwich, but it pales in comparison to offerings prior to 2023. This is a big change to me, as I like the sandwiches more than the pizza to be honest. Hopefully it's temporary.

We sailed allure last summer and it was one of our top cruises to date. Have a great time!!!

We started sailing in 2012. If if I gave the 2012-2022 MDR a 10, I would say now is a 7/10, so about 30% worse.

JR definitely needs to be turned into something else. IMO it’s the most out of place venue (our outdated rather) on the ships. Royal needs more included food venues on their ships, not less (especially evening)

LOVED O-Sheehans. It was amazing to have a complimentary full service restaurant 24 hours! Absolutely awesome. However there were many negatives to NCL... Ship layout (especially pool deck) for one. Terrible. Still enjoyed our cruise. Don't want to derail this thread though...

True, forgot to mention that there are always some dessert options in Cafe Promenade as well. I didn't think of that because I'm not a dessert kind of guy, especially later in the evening. Nothing really in the bars anymore as complimentary snacks. Some of the pubs offer a menu but it's not complimentary. Still, can you imagine just finger sandwiches and some desserts? Ludicrous.

A single shot of Captain is currently $10.99+ gratuity on Freedom. I don't think they charge extra for the mix of coke and captains. Dan

Thinking about the this… Once the buffet closes (which isn’t very late) many Royal ships ONLY have the complementary pizza and finger sandwiches to offer went out and about around the ship. Can you imagine having the only complementary offering being finger sandwiches in Cafe Promenade? The whole idea of this is ludicrous when you really think about what it would be like.

Unless it's differing cruise by cruise, or by region, it seems that Royal may have made the change sometime in spring. My March cruise on the Anthem did not have the extras (at least not that I can remember). I'm 100% certain that they weren't there on the Quantum in July this year. Hopefully it's temporary... we'll see I guess