dfishner

I feel the OPs frustration I know I would be frustrated as well. We have made it a practice never go on a brand new ship until it is broken in, never go on a ship that is going into dry dock or just coming out..To many things can happen or in the OPs case not happen. It is disappointing.

Make WJ a little larger, maybe a different concept for the Solarium bistro at night as well as changing the concept for the seafood shack and Rita's I think a upgraded fish house would be a nice touch in its place, agree making CP a little larger. I like the Boardwalk concept but felt it was not as defined as CP feel the space could be better utilized. Larger Comedy club. RCL nailed CP it was our favorite place on the ship.

We are looking forward to Saturday night fever. On oasis we saw hairspray and really enjoyed it.

 

We were just on Liberty and Saturday Night Fever was the highlight of our cruise it was great and very entertaining.

We have dined at Portofino a few times not my cup of tea but we did enjoy the wine and dine dinner at Portofino it was great, We tried Giovanni on Oasis and we both enjoyed it and liked it better then Portofino.

Its a buffet period and there have been some WJ on RCL ships that do it better then other(Radiance class does a very good job from what I remember). As soon as that food hits the steam table it will continue to cook and cook unless they batch cook where the change out the pans more often to offer fresher quality. I never had a problem with the WJ it is what it is.

I would agree that cruising in years past was more elegant but times have changed. I know for ourselves we no longer bring formal wear, avoid formal nights love MTD, enjoy the specialty restaurants, the shows as well as the activities. Our society has changed and the cruise lines have changed with the times. Even some of the luxury lines have moved away from formal evening dress to more relaxed dress code. We have become less formal as a society and that is neither good or bad it just depends upon who you ask.

 

We have been cruising RCL off and on since 2006 and when we first started cruising on them there was so many posts on here on how bad the food was that we almost did not go. Some things never seem to change LOL. Is the food great no but we have never left hungry on any of our cruises. We are paying less now for our cruises then when we first started to cruise and for us it is still a great value and we enjoy the on board experience.

 

There are cruise lines out there like Cunard that offer the experience you are describing maybe you should give them a try. I actually enjoy what cruising is today. I still believe the cruise lines offer a great way to vacation.

I can think of many reasons not to cruise on a certain line, bad service, horrible food, lack of activities but not having a diamond lounge is not one of them. If a ship does not have a diamond lounge what were you expecting then and what did you want RCL to do? a little research prior to your cruise would of made you realize NOS does not have one.

We cruise for the on board experience yes having a diamond lounge makes the experience a bit more enjoyable but it is not the end all if a ship does not have one. And as many other posters have wrote RCL is adding them to all their ships except Majesty so that problem will be solved. I am having a hard time understanding what your issue is or am I missing something?

Our cruise from 12/12 just posted today not sure what the slow down was but am glad it is now done.

Same here LOS 12/12 not posted as of today

From reading these posts it does seem hit and miss with some of the Azamara evenings, we have taken two Azamara cruises one in the west indies before the Azamara evening started and my thoughts are doing almost anything in the Caribbean in the evening is probably a waste of time and maybe those rates for those cruises should be adjusted back and not have an evening. It probably does not work in some ports and instead of forcing a square peg in a round hole it might be better just to not do it on these cruises and adjust their pricing and doing another venue on board does not cut it. White party is enough.

 

On our second cruise with the evening we were in Spain and our evening was in St Michaels Cave and it was an incredible experience and one I will not forget. The whole evening was flawless from start to finish including the fireworks at the end of the evening on the ship. This was on the Quest and have to say when it is done right it is an incredible experience.

 

We no longer cruise on Azamara because of being priced out which saddens me. We did have two excellent cruises and am glad we had the opportunity to cruise on both ships but I will take Azamara before all the changes and price hike any day.

John, I have been following this thread for a long time and was amazed how detail you were on the building of the ship it is incredible. I hope you send pictures to RCL I believe they would be impressed with your craftsmanship. What a fantastic work and great pictures along the way.

We were on Liberty on 12/12 and it was late boarding we did not get on until 12:30 we were at the port at 11

 

Total wine and beverages opens at 9 AM it is located close to the port in the Harbor shop plaza right off of the 17th causeway

 

Sorry did not see the post above mine had the same info

If it is Gourmet Southwestern Cuisine it might be worth $25. In Fort Lauderdale, Eduardo de san Angel and Canyon would be in that category and they are always busy. Dinner for 2 is over $100.

 

Rita's is so mediocre that it would seem a mistake to try to repeat anything Mexican for an upcharge.

 

We must of had a mind meld LOL I was thinking of those two restaurants when reading this both restaurants are higher price and the cuisine is amazing. If Royal is going to do something like that then it is worth the money.

My next cruise isn't until May 2014 on the explorer of the seas, but I find myself thinking about what I'm going to do on my cruise several times a week. Whether I'm at work, home, with my wife and kids etc! I find myself checking my reservation online for no reason at all and also looking at YouTube videos that other travelers made onboard explorer. Am I crazy or do I just need a cruise fix?? Have been going on a cruise once a year for the past 8 years.

Yep you have the disease that no one can cure and my friend you are now an addict so welcome to the club.

Having not succeeded in updating the webcam electronically last week, this Monday the custodial staff resort to brute strength...

 

 

 

That is way to funny!!

Finally I can look at something I can recognize LOL thanks for posting the picture.

I hope they do not discontinue the Azamara evening and just bring it on the ship. We were in Spain and did St Michael cave was not sure I wanted to go but did, have to say it was the highlight of our cruise. Watching the logistics of how Azamara pulled this off flawlessly was just as amazing as the show in the cave. We still talk about it how great it was.

We have been on many cruise ships but Oasis made out jaw drop it was our favorite cruise.

Great pictures thanks for posting them.

On our recent cruise on Liberty we were sitting in the diamond lounge with some really nice people when this couple joined us and instead of introducing themselves they started off with we are diamond plus what are you that was there introduction to us. I could not resist so I asked them why was it important for them to know what level I am? LOL you should of seen their expressions after I said that. Needless to say they left quickly and our group just cracked up laughing. I never understood why flashing your C&A level at someone makes you more important. News flash it doesn't.

To me I thought Princess reminded me of RCL in some of the areas, we were on the Caribbean Princess and we really had a nice time and would do another Princess cruise again. I thought the food was better on Princess, entertainment is better on RCL. I find the activities more to my liking on Princess and the cabins are more lively on RCL. but for the total on board experience I like RCL more. Princess did impress us

We were on the liberty on 12/12 and was surprised that the windjammer food was better then on other cruises we have been on there was a nice selection, evertyhing we had was at the correct doneness. We do not normally go to the WJ but did not want to hassle with the MDR and enjoyed it the one night we dined there.

Diamond lounge on RCL is better for cocktails more offerings

Appetizers on X far superior to what is offered on RCL as far as taste goes

 

I call it a draw both are great!!

Century was on our first ship with X and on the strength of our two cruises on her we decided to take the Solstice. I still find that Murano on Century is one of the best restaurants we ever dined out. I respect your opinion that you do not like the ship for the various reasons you listed but it was not our experience thought the ship was great. I will be saddened to see her go which looks like it might happen but if she does we will have fond memories of her.

Hmmm now who can I re gift this to?