The Fun Researcher

Amen to that! Ah the good 'ol days! Thanks for the blast from the past. -Dan

I once brought a small portable speaker onto the Celebrity Equinox summer of 2017. I played it a couple of times on our balcony fairly loudly(Dance pop music like Pitbull), so that our friends next door could hear it while we were all getting ready for dinner. The speaker fit under the balcony divider and our balcony doors were open. If I offended anyone next to us I'm sorry about that. This thread did a good job reminding me that we weren't being considerate to our neighbors in a couple of cases. Hopefully it didn't end up bothering anyone. This is especially important because I'd probably be one of those people who WOULD confront someone else being obnoxious in a common area dominating the scene with their choice of music with a portable speaker. ☮️

Frankly, the cost of the drink package has been too high for us ever since we started sailing in 2012. But... what has drastically changed even more so has been the individual drink cost. Up through 2014 or so, I used to get a rum and coke or any other simple drink for $6. Now it's what, around $11? I have to think that they raised the per drink cost to make the drink package package look more attractive. When you purchase the package you are locked into that cost per day, which means Royal has a guaranteed margin from that. Either way though, there is no way I'm going to spend as much for a drink package as I am for the cruise itself, which in many cases is close to where the cost is now.

We use our Citi doublecash card for as many purchases as we can. 2% cash back on all purchases with no limitation. Of course, we do pay off our balance in full each month otherwise I wouldn't be using a credit card. I refuse to a debit card because 1) I don't get any financial reward for doing so, and 2) it just makes balancing my checkbook more complicated.

BTW, maybe it's my connection or something but your photos aren't showing up now.

Way to go! Happy for you all. Dan

First, your family is adorable. Second, your photos are great. Third, thanks for allowing us to follow along for the ride! Loved your review. Always fun to read ones like this! Freedom was the first to ship we ever sailed on back in 2012. Still love that class as well as the voyager class. May be still our favorite classes especially if they have been AMPED like the Freedom and Navigator…

After all these cruises I never knew there were curfews. All I knew were the restrictions for places like the Solarium. Our kids first cruise was at ages 13, 10 and 7, but now 21, 18 and 15. How time flies. I can’t remember a time that kids have caused us any real issue for us other than hogging hot tubs later at night, but that’s within the rules as that’s normally been before 1am. Dan

All I can say is it’s about time. The only thing we’ll need to figure out is how to get my iPhone to vibrate or ding when I am getting a message

This new policy doesn’t really change that though right since it goes to 5 AM that last night? I guess the difference is you only have the vouchers from the seventh night and not debarkation day after midnight?

Yeah, no arguments. However I believe Celebrity’s classic packages similar to Royals drink package. The premium gets you high end liquors that are more pricey than royal’s per drink $ allowance for their standard drink package. I could be wrong about that. Sure the WiFi may not be the fast package, but allowing me to text others in our party or keep in touch with those at home is all I need.

Love the change. Not major, but it's nice to see them listening to guests and making some adjustments. Once we're D in March, those vouchers will certainly help keep us coming back making the decision to cruise other lines more difficult. It will always come down to the itinerary, ship and value though. Dan

Things they do right: Here's a few, in my opinion. Basically what keeps us coming back: 1) Their innovation with ship layout, design, and venues. IMO they are the industry leader here by a significant margin. 2) MDR space (but maybe not Quantum class) and quality of MDR food 3) Pool Deck design and layout 4) Evening Entertainment 5) Connecting inside cabins (2-3, 2-4, 3-3, 4-4) Even though it's still costly, this has allowed our family of 5 to have an option that offers more affordability to cruise. Dan

I wouldn't lose much hope. I don't see the cruise industry changing much for the worse. There's always something that may go away, but there are also new things that show up with all these amazing new cruise ships. I'm praying that the cruise industry is going just as strong, or more, by the time I retire. God willing that will be about another 8-10 years and then our hope is to cruise A LOT, making use of those off season prices and just soaking it all in. We'll be D after our March cruise, which for us is our major milestone with Royal. It isn't for the status, but rather the drink package perks, and some of the others like the coffee in the D lounge, wifi, etc... We'll certainly make use of the 4 drinks per day, but that's about our norm so we won't need to purchase too many more unless we decide to go off the rails a day or two. (Hey, it's a cruise and we're on vacation after all). Cheers, Dan

Yes

Yes I believe so but you may want to confirm. For instance, we have a five night booked on the Equinox for December 2023. My wife and I have a balcony cabin and the up charge for the “all in” package (total, not each) was $480. $175 of that pays the gratuities for the two of us leaving $305 total for the both of us for Wi-Fi and unlimited drinks. I would have to price out what the drink package will be on Royal for a five night cruise for two people. I know it’s way more than $305 (and don’t forget that includes unlimited Wi-Fi throughout the cruise as well for both of us) Dan

Thanks for that. Wow, exactly one occurrence each of more interesting itineraries. Otherwise Nassau, Coco-Cay, Cape Canaveral. Spit rinse repeat. Boring. Oh well Dan

My family eats a lot of French onion soup at various locations and multiple cruise lines and LOVE RCCL's. Go figure. Dan

Escargot have been on the menu every single night of every Royal Caribbean cruise we've done going all the way back to 2012. Dan

You might be a good candidate for Celebrity.(if you haven't tried them already) Their upcharge for the "all in" package that includes unlimited drinks, paid gratuities, and wifi, is significantly less than the price of Royal's drink package alone. Dan

I do think it's time for RCCL to break their ties with Johnny Rockets. They can do so much better. It's tired and just isn't competitive with other cruise lines. Having to pay for what's on the JR menu just baffles me. Dan

Given a choice of the two, I much prefer table cloths. I respect your opinion. Can't argue that.

Not to derail the thread but I've complained about the lack of good late night food options with Royal ever since our second cruise. (The first cruise on the Freedom in 2010 at least had really good paninis every night as well.) Finger sandwiches and pizza are very lackluster especially by about day 3 or 4 of the same dang thing. I love the AMPED ships with Playmakers now. I'm willing to pay a few dollars for some good gastropub type fare. Other lines like NCL kill it with O'Sheehans though. Wide menu, 24 hours, full service, complimentary. All lines have their plusses and minuses though Dan

I don't think those tables look nearly as nice as the MDR tables with the white cotton table clothes. Maybe it's just me, but looks cold. Dishes clanking on the table surface, surface cold to the touch... I'm being picky but it is a significant difference to me Dan