mac_tlc

That is true for Royal ( bookings made after 6/1/22) not for Celebrity —- yet. mac_tlc

We are also looking at O, but frankly have not found any huge price difference yet. The food seems better, but the relative lack of activities we enjoy is a minus. Their itineraries also have a lot of port stops — one 11 day one on Vista has seven straight ports. That's not for us. Some mobility challenges make that no fun. Stay on ship? Sure but some facilities are closed in port. In two weeks we will be on the Beyond and see for ourselves. Then we will decide. These multiple threads are interesting to read but frankly, comparisons to Golden Corral and Applebees seem a bit much. I’ll experience it myself, then figure out our future cruising path. mac_tlc

They are test menus no more. They will supposedly be fleet wide by the end of February. The new menus no longer have the “classics” section and overall have fewer choices. For anyone interested in what the sister is up to, here are the first 7 new Royal MDR menus.

TA site still has Brilliance Down Under in Feb 2024. Here is a link to the fleet deployment that also shows that. https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2023_2024/2023-24_Deployment_Summary_Guide mac_tlc

One site is www.resortpass.com Looks pretty nice. Cabana is the way to go ! mac_tlc

And the food comes out hot if it’s suppose to be hot.

Oasis was originally Hairspray, changed to Cats at 5 year mark and did not change at 10 year mark. Allure was originally Chicago, changed to Mama Mia at 5 years. mac_tlc

Same for us. On Beyond in a couple weeks and do not plan on getting off the ship in GC. ac_tlc

Maybe they thought they were in Grand Canada instead of Grand Cayman? mac_tlc

Got our 5 .... With the GoGreen option on our upcoming Beyond cruise, we will make E+, where we will reside for the rest of time 🤣 mac_tlc

Sorry for your loss 😔. Here’s to hoping you continue the tradition. mac_tlc

Also interested in the comparison of the two. Like many others. We are looking into the YC. Celebrity suite prices are just too much. I did a quick comparison for Fall 2024 and Apex was about $9K, Seashore was $5.5K. mac_tlc

We need @BennyBrun to go on a Celebrity cruise ASAP. Nobody does a better job of photographing the buffet!! BTW, if you want to know what it “used to be”, find one of his live reviews from Apex last year. mac_tlc

Interesting, one of the things we disliked about Edge retest was the lack of shade😂. Appreciated the bit more on Apex but still tough to find shade unless you get there early. mac_tlc

Don’t book with their sister line then. You lose the whole $500 for a cancellation. mac_tlc

Other than the cheapening of the beef dishes, my biggest complaint is the lack of Classics appetizers every night. That was our go to section. This is a typical “ to enhance your experience “ cut. Pre-pandemic they could serve an Oasis-size ship every night. Efficiently and in a timely manner. Someone lost that playbook, I guess. The cuts are one thing, but don’t mischaracterize why you are doing it. It does nothing to “enhance my experience”. Their “sister” is doing similar things —- the Celebrity board first page is almost all complaints about room service charges and severely limited buffet for dinner. mac_tlc

We agree, Raj was fabulous and definitely a great multi-tasker. mac_tlc

Following along, interested in the bourbon debacle. mac_tlc

That is my plan when we are on Beyond later this month.

My connection to NCL was the financial connection, not any onboard similarity . mac_tlc

I don’t disagree that at some point everyone should look elsewhere, but there is no cruise line that is immune to this problem. Oceania is under the NCL umbrella. Every single cruise line forum has the same posts, Changes , cuts, nickel-and-diming. Unfortunately, the cruise lines are on the airline path —- less for more. mac_tlc

We board on 1/29. Looking forward to your review. We will also be doing a LIVE thread. Enjoy! mac_tlc

We are on the Beyond on 1/29 and will report back also. Plan on doing a LIVE thread so get your questions ready 😜. mac_tlc

I surmise they will look a lot more like the scaled down Symphony menus than what preceded them. Taking away my onion soup is fighting words…… mac_tlc

While price is only one factor, I took a look at Royal, Celebrity, MSC and Oceania for the Oct/Nov-ish 2024 period. Here is what I found. YMMV. All values are for two adults and include any discounts that a D+ on Royal or E on Celebrity may bring. No air included . Royal Wonder of the Seas - 11/10/2024- 7 nt Eastern Caribbean - Grand Suite - $8,940, Junior Suite - $4,896 Icon of the Seas - 11/9/2024 - 7 nt Caribbean - Grand Suite $12,617, Surfside Fam. Suite - $6,581 Harmony of the Seas - 11/9/2024 - 7nt Western - Grand Suite - $5,269 On Royal, the Grand Suites above would get free internet. As a D+ we would get 5 drinks a day. No grats included. No OBC Celebrity Apex - 11/16/2024 - 7nt Eastern - S1 Sky Suite - $9,043, $800 OBC, PBP, WiFi, Grats included Beyond - 11/15/2024 - 10nt Southern - S1 - $12,921, $1200 OBC, PBP, WiFi, Grats included Ascent - 11/8/2024 - 9n Southern - S1 - $10,099, $800 OBC, PBP, WiFi, Grats included MSC Seashore - 10/27/2024 - 7nt Western - Yacht Club deluxe suite - $5,260, PBP, WiFi, Oceania Marina - 11/27/2024 - 10N Southern, PH3 - $7,598, House Select Bev. Pkg Vista - 12/5/2024 - 12N Eastern - PH3 - $10,598, House Select Bev Pkg I would have liked to include Princess and HAL, but their deployments aren't out that far for a comparable itinerary. The transatlantics are different for each line so getting an exact week comparison was not possible. These may not be 100% comparable, but they are what we would be looking at to make a value decision. I can tell you by looking at the above that the Wonder and Icon are a big no-go. MSC is one we have wanted to try -- Yacht Club only from what I have heard. To me, on a comparable basis, O and X seem close. More food for thought ---- mac_tlc