snowdayz

We are considering taking a cruise for Christmas..... It would be 6 of us--hubby and I, my parents and our kids.

On the one hand, we could go on the Anthem. The pros, I imagine, include the lack of flying as we can drive there. I like the idea of boarding on the 23rd in the cold, having two days at sea (24th/25th) while still dealing with winter weather and exploring the ship and having the whole Christmas experience. We would then wake up in Labadee on the 26th. The cons are--well the cold weather I said I liked above, but also the 6 days at sea going there and back. I also worry 10 days may be "too much" family togetherness.....or that my teens might get bored on the days when the weather is iffy. The reviews on the Anthem are nota s great as I would have expected, also. Thoughts?

The Harmony seems amazing. We have done the Oasis and the Allure before so we know what to expect--althout Harmony seems even better than that. The only downside would be the flights...... but we have miles so it nets out to just being a hassle but not that much of an added expense when you factor in parking in NJ. It's a shorter cruise (7 days, I think) and therefore cheaper. Less novelty but more of a sure thing.

Any advice, insights or experiences sailing at Christmas (and being Christian and actually celebrating the holiday) would be appreciated. We have many Jewish friends who often take cruises that week-but as Christians who celebrate, this would be a first for us. We'd be celebrating my parent's 50th anniversary so we are looking to do something truly memorable for the family....but I don't want to find I feel like I missed Christmas. We have two teenagers and they are excited about the idea of vacation but concerned that they will miss

"Christmas" which they enjoy so much.

Thank you in advance!

We are considering taking a cruise for Christmas..... It would be 6 of us--hubby and I, my parents and our kids.

On the one hand, we could go on the Anthem. The pros, I imagine, include the lack of flying as we can drive there. I like the idea of boarding on the 23rd in the cold, having two days at sea (24th/25th) while still dealing with winter weather and exploring the ship and having the whole Christmas experience. We would then wake up in Labadee on the 26th. The cons are--well the cold weather I said I liked above, but also the 6 days at sea going there and back. I also worry 10 days may be "too much" family togetherness.....or that my teens might get bored on the days when the weather is iffy. The reviews on the Anthem are nota s great as I would have expected, also. Thoughts?

The Harmony seems amazing. We have done the Oasis and the Allure before so we know what to expect--althout Harmony seems even better than that. The only downside would be the flights...... but we have miles so it nets out to just being a hassle but not that much of an added expense when you factor in parking in NJ. It's a shorter cruise (7 days, I think) and therefore cheaper. Less novelty but more of a sure thing.

Any advice, insights or experiences sailing at Christmas (and being Christian and actually celebrating the holiday) would be appreciated. We have many Jewish friends who often take cruises that week--this would be a first for us. We'd be celebrating my parent's 50th anniversary so we are looking to do something truly memorable for the family....but I don't want to find I feel like I missed Christmas. We have two teenagers and they are excited about the idea of vacation but concerned that they will miss

"Christmas" which they enjoy so much.

Thank you in advance!

Well we are doing the AOTS for the first time, the first part of April. Normally I would be doing a "Carnival" cruise, but since the itinerary I wanted to do (St. Lucia) wasn't until the end of April, that is why we are doing this ship. I guess it won't be going into dry dock (October??) until we get off, so we'll see.

 

It was mentioned the "hard beds." Well I don't know if you know or not, but to me, Carnival has the BEST beds to sleep on, but if you cannot do Carnival, for a good nights sleep, as your room servant/s for an egg crate, and that should help some.

 

I am enjoying reading the postings of "current" people that just got off this ship, and what their (yes I know it is their opinion) opinions are. I am not a nit picky person, but I'll try to write a review on this ship when I get back.

So i had not noticed the hard beds were a "thing" but that's concerning. Is the policy of no egg crate ONLY on the AOS or is this a RC thing? Honestly, THAT would seriously get me to rethink RC. We had bad backs for a week afterwards.....and for me, sleeping is usually the one of the best parts of a cruise. Love the comfy beds and the sway of the ocean.

A transatlantic on the Oasis after dry dock, they gave everyone a 20& coupon. No one cruise is the best all have been GREAT, favorites, Navigator, from LA to RIO, Serenade Quebec to Ft Lauderdale, Legend, Singapore to Dubai, Brilliance Barcelona to Barcelona with Egypt and Malta. Wife like the Baltic on the Jewel. Most of these reflect the itineraries more than the ship.

When I grow up, I want to be you.

:-)

Yes please - inquiring minds want to know.

 

I realize the OP is new to CC and this post was labeled in part as a rant so their return may be questionable. But I hope they return to explain the "no ice show" comment.

I am here......

I cannot testify on a stack of Bible about the ice show..... I just simply remember not seeing it advertised. It was the week of Thanksgiving so maybe somebody from RC can confirm/deny. Happy to hear it may have been a one week thing and happy to accept if I made a mistake and we missed it....... The ice shows are always a real highlight--loved it on Oasis and Allure.

Sorry if I riled you folks up, not my intent. However, I stand by my rant and my plea to RC to have a certain level of consistency from boat to boat but also from year to year.......

We still had fun.

It was still a cruise.

.....and these are first world problems.

HOWEVER--we spend a lot of money on these things, don't you wan to know if something does;t work up front?

About the only thing I would say is this: if you are sailing on the AOS and your bed is not comfortable from day one, ASK FOR SOMETHING TO BE DONE ABOUT IT. My back hurt for a week aftwards and so did my husband's.

Please explain the "no ice show" comment.

I might have been wrong on this but we looked for ice show and never saw it. We saw people ice skating but that was it.... It was Thanksgiving week, not sure if that makes a difference.

We're on the Adventure the week before dry dock... kind of has me concerned now. Ironically, we're on the liberty the 2nd week after dry dock. :D

Nah, don't be concerned, it's still cruise!!!

Ports were great, the boat was fine, just not up to typical RC standard, but we still had a great vacation. At the end of the day, a cruise is a cruise.

It appears yours is a much more "real" view than the original post.

 

The highlighted portion is particularly relevant...as having just an alternative view in and of itself isn't either unusual or wrong.

 

However...with such a post being the first one...this appears to be a "drive by" or "hit and run post".

 

Clearly they are not happy...but then...there are plenty of people seeing a half-empty world and not happy. That's just the way things are unfortunately.

I am not hit and run. Jeez.

But I was disappointed and what resonated was the post about the Oasis and the face painting. Just because we love our Royal Caribbean and have come to expect certain standards doesn't make me a hit and run. Just sharing my very real observations because it was a STARK difference from our other experiences. You can agree or disagree but you can't invalidate what i experienced or malign my personality for sharing it. That's not fair. The paint was ABSOLUTELY peeling on the door of the adjoing room, and not a little bit either. The bed was so hard and when do you ever get a hard bed on a cruise?? The room smelled. Sorry but it did. The food was ok.

Is this your typical experience with RC?

Mine either.

Wouldnt you want to know that before booking? I know I would. May be first time posting, but I have read and reread threads, looked up cabin numbers etc plenty of times prior to cruising.

And I agree it's subjective and I also said, and will say it again, that complainig about a cruise ship is a first world problem. It certainly feels that way compared to the folks that work on the ships. However, when you fork over tens of thousand of dollars for your extended family, you expect to find at least the SAME EXPERIENCE that we had the other two times we sailed the Adventure.

My opinion might have been subjective but it was based on a comparison to two other times I have sailed on the Adventure and the many, many times I have sailed on other RC boats as you can see below. Putting it another way, my 2015 Adventuyre of the Seas cruise had more in common with my 2000 Norwegian Dawn sailing than any other cruise since then. IF that's not worth sharing, then I am not sure why this forum exists. Buyer beware....

I do think cb at sea has a good point though, never again will I so enthusiastically endorse a vacation to others....

This is why you should NEVER "talk up" a vacation to 1st timers! Had you not told them how wonderful it was, they probably would have been MORE than satisfied!

 

I swear, the more you rave about something, the less fun newcomers will have....it's the truth!

Excellent point!!!!!!!!! Now I know for next time. You are so right!

I was complaining about my recent adventures on the Adventure :-)--not the best.

However.

We sailed on the Allure a year ago on one of the Loft suites. Best trip ever!!!!

You?

I believe RC is leaving money on the table by not taking care of the old charms. Hey, RC - make it difficult for me to choose which ship to sail - otherwise it'll make it easy for me who I won't sail with! I love RC but I also love my vacations.

That's what prompted me to write..... We are a "sure thing"--we love cruising. However, the group we persuaded to join us were all first timers and they could not figure out what the fuss was about. So now look, I knew it was not going to be the Oasis etc but I did not expect a LESSER experience than my other two trips on the Adventure. We PICKED the boat because we thought we knew it.

You know what else really bothered me? The bed was not comfortable. Now you are all cruisers--when have you ever complained about sleeping on a cruise? It's my absolute favorite sleep ever, usually. On the Adventure, the mattress was HARD. Whatever soft thing they usually put on top of the bed was gone. SO laying there, with my back complaining staring at the peeling door frame--that's when I began to imagine writing this post. :-(

Welcome to Cruise Critic!:)

Good point--the point is to "CRITICize"

:-)

But cruising is still the best, right!

We are loyal, rabid Royal Caribbean-ers. We love cruising and have been on the Oasis, Allure, Independence, Adventure (3x), Freedom etc. No Anthem yet, but maybe next year.

Maybe.

Why a maybe? Because we convinced our extended family to join us on a cruise after raving about how amazing they were. We chose the Adventure because we have been on there twice before and we knew it to be a good ship.

Bleagh. Mistake.

From peeling paint, to lackluster entertainment--it was not up the standards we have come to expect. No ice show. Smelly cabin. Entertainment was subpar. What would have served as tertiary entertainment on the same cruise years ago, the comedy show, was the headliner.

I understand it's no longer the new shiny thing, but is it too much to expect it to remain at the same level we left it?

What prompted me to write this was a headline I saw on another thread about cutting the face painter/balloon guy from the Oasis. Timely as I just saw some old pictures including my daughter and her friends with octopuses painted over their faces like a mask.

Royal Caribbean: If you are reading this--IT IS THE LITTLE THINGS.

Because you chose to cut corners on the Adventure, I do not think we will ever be able to persuade the rest of our extended clan of over 20 to cruise with us again. No matter how much we rave about the Oasis or Allure.

Then again, we might be more careful to rave in the future knowing the minute you move on to your next class of ships, you begin to cannibalize the older ones. Why not instead see them as entry level trips for people who ultimately may become cruisers? Our family was "meh" on cruising and I can understand why when there are so many other options for vacations!

Rant over and feeling better--especially since, you know, first world problems to be complaining about peeling paint and face painters, right?

It's still vacation. :-)