I am cruising

like most people have said, I think they are both very similar... for teens and kids Royal is probably better as more choice during day especially to do but NCL is fine too...just we prefer Royal for day entertainment however NCL we felt was more variety of entertainment at night that we enjoyed. Food similar standard ... royal probably just beats it for me but my husband preferred NCL food. Service on NCL was great , royal was too in beginning but I did notice it declined from when we first started cruising but not to a terrible standard just the little things like choc on pillows etc stopped but they were just a wee nicety but hey ho it doesn't bother me that I dont get a choc on my pillow no more. RCI is probably more dressy but it can be casual too but for me I felt NCL was more casual ... but this is not a negative. You will enjoy your cruise im sure.... have a great holiday

3 hours ago, BSocial said:

The real question is - how long before all these restrictions just go away ?

 

Royal’s Galveston sailings link in the Healthy Sail section originally required vaccinations, for those of legal age, up through October 31 (original planned end of CSO).    As Florida’s court battle looked more favorable against the CDC, Royal quietly updated Galveston’s vaccine requirement to August only.   
 

What will happen on July 18 if CSO remains as is -the requirements will revert to recommendations only. That frees up cruise lines to welcome all, with no restrictions on board.  I don’t see the cruise lines separating  vax vs unvaxed after that point. 
 

here's hoping that will be the case and get back to normal 

On 6/8/2021 at 5:53 PM, Huntingdon1701 said:

Insane, given the ability to drive across the border. If they do bus passengers to Liverpool, it would really show up the Government as fools. 

yep people can travel by rail, plane or car in uk but a cruise ship can't get in ... absolutely bonkers

On 6/18/2021 at 9:02 PM, pasodancer said:

Question - our large family traveling party has 1 child (age 4).  All adults are fully vaccinated but the little guy isn't.  Would that mean we would be restricted to only eating in the "unvaccinated dining area" with him, and all of our activities would be limited also?  

Hi 

I contacted Royal Carribean about this and mentioned that both my husband and I are vaccinated but our teen daughter isn't (under 16) and asked if we would not be able to use my time dining and the response was. "My time dining is open to all guests that is a bit of miss information" 

there no elaboration but I didn't ask anything else  

30 minutes ago, vpearlkc said:

I think Royal Caribbean has found a brilliant way to sail safely from Florida. Provide a miserable cruise experience for the unvaccinated and charge them more for the privilege.

 

Being segregated in a special dining hall, not being able to go to shows and having to wear a mask  indoors while 90% are are walking around maskless would not be fun.

 

If I were unvaccinated and offered a full refund to not sail, as Royal Caribbean has done, I would take it.

 

  

 

 

I think it is getting ridiculous now.... people dont know what is happening as changing constantly.. but certainly doesnt seem a great experience so we have decided not to bother cruising right now.... had been thinking about it but no more.... we are both vaccinated but out daughter isn't and won't be so not wasting our money

16 hours ago, dulcemariamar said:

What will happens for unvaccinated kids? Will they have to wear masks all the time and not be allowed in some events and venues? 

you would be as well asking royal carribean yourself rather than taking what people say on here

im interested in your question also so ill need to check it out too 

We dont have any cruises book due to uncertainty about quarantine etc but if we did, we would NOT cancel 

However if masks and restrictions were in place we would then cancel

7 hours ago, SarahASL said:

🛳️ to arrive at port the day before and see cruise ships again for the first time in years

🛄 to drop my bags off in the terminal and walk across to the ship
🍲 to grab some food at Windjammer, get a table with a view, and enjoy the fact that it's really happening! 

🍹 to get a drink and watch sail away from the balcony

🗓️ to have no idea what day of the week it is until I look down in the elevator

haha the days of the week in the elevator ... love it.. totally forgot about that

I can't wait.... to get the cruise experience back to what we know and love

for me and my family to get a cruise holiday ... to relax and unwind

getting on board the ship and hearing the buzz sound  of the card

to go to windjammer... and get a cold glass of wine... my hubby a nice cold beer

To go wander around the ship and take it all in again 

to be out in the ocean and have a delicious frozen cocktail

getting dressed up to go to watch a show

to meet people and chat

sit by the pool while our daughter goes in and out the pool

hearing the children laughing, making a noise and having fun at the pool

giovanni's table and windjammer buffet

I wish I knew when it would happen

On 6/11/2021 at 1:00 AM, cruzeluver said:

• Dinner at Giovanni's Table. Oh that filet!!!
• Strolling through Central park.
• Settling into a seat in the theater for the first show
• Waking up on that first sea day and stepping out on our balcony (there may be tears)

Giovanni's table .... awesome 

On 4/30/2021 at 11:28 AM, tallnthensome said:

Too many anti-vaxxers will lie and say they can’t take the vaccine due to medical reasons. Sorry but these people should not be let on board truth or not . They should vacation elsewhere on land. 

Well if they are able to vacation on land (as I assume they would be going places) then I think they should be able to cruise.

I honestly think it has all gone over the top now. Most people have the vaccinations ( myself included)  so it should be safe. Then no one would lie about it 

On 6/6/2021 at 3:17 AM, Heymarco said:

Several people were saying those who don’t want a vaccine don’t have to cruise and can wait. It’s funny seeing the sides now reversed. Sadly, still no empathy. Wish would could just respect each other’s decisions, understand life always carries some risk, and move on.

 

-Vaxed but believe it should remain an unrestricted choice.

absolutely 

On 6/6/2021 at 1:37 AM, Justmekaren918 said:

I didn't realize Royal is such a chicken! I'm throughly disgusted Royal caved & I want my full money back for my Jewel sailing! It was booked with the fact the whole ship would be 97% Vax! Anyone called yet? 

I dont think Royal are "chickens"  I think they were brave to be the ones to do what makes sense. we can't keep living our lives in fear. They are a business and they are trying to make ends meet and I think they are correct to give everyone a chance to go on a cruise should they wish. 

On 6/5/2021 at 9:11 PM, wingatesl said:

The vaccination status of others will not affect my choice to cruise. The only reason the coronavirus affected it is because they were shut down. 

exactly.... when I am on a cruise I am there to enjoy every minute of it... why would I be thinking about whether someone has the vaccine or not....

I definitely think the majority of people will have the vaccination anyway as most adults have but there will be ones who don't have it.... and my family and I are 100% cool with it.

What we would not be cool with is still having to socialising distance and wear masks. getting the vaccine should mean we don't need to do those things. Children shouldn't need to get the vaccine so I really am pleased if Royal Caribbean stick with this.

I do believe other cruise lines will now follow with this.  there just needed to be the one to start it. Bring on the cruise experience we all know and love

8 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

First of it all, welcome aboard the MSC forum!...

 

Well: As you can see you're not the first one asking this, I recommend you to see on the first 4 or 5 pages. There is at least another quite recent thread on this. Fell free to read and ask away if you have any question on those or any other threads!... Our forum is usually a nice place to stay with lots of helpful individuals to talk about!...

 

As for your question, been there done that on the 2 lines. Really it depends on what you're looking for: If what you're looking for is on such a full day of extravagant activities, then MSC might not to be for you. Even though the newer ships, like the Virtuosa currently on the UK, are full of Bells & Whistles, really an MSC cruise remains mostly something like to have a nice hotel ship that will safely to transport you from one port to the other... One can to see MSC as a low key company with an Italian flavor.

 

Service and experience wise I found RCI to be a little notch above MSC, but bear in mind that I was on an Oasis class cruise, and Oasis is a class of its own by default!... Removing that Oasis class WOW factor, the difference won't probably to be so big, if any. Service on MSC is less on your face than RCI. Employees will have what I can call such a reserved professionalism. They'll pick your orders and deliver. Just that with barely no add-on conversations. Usually they try to listen and are helpful though.

 

Food is relative, I found the RCI buffets far superior to the MSC ones, but the MDR food seemed for me a little bit more consistent on MSC. Maybe, it's that I just to prefer those quite smaller portion Italian inspired dinner plates on MSC compared with the more American huge portion ones on RCI... Desserts are definitely better on MSC.

 

Entertainment is far better on RCI, but again: That is really for what the Oasis class was really made to!... Mamma Mia, Aqua show, Ice show... You can't really to compare!... 🙂 MSC entertainment is not bad. In fact they have very enjoyable shows with lots of music, acrobatics, circus performances and dancing... Simply, the Oasis class runs on another entirely different league!... Lounge music was better on MSC but, again, considering that on my sailing a large part of the music offered on RCI seemed to be directed to such a big specific charter group that was aboard which doesn't interest me the most, I might no to be quite assertive with what their regular offering is about.

 

As far as daily activities you'll find most of the usual suspects on both lines. Simply MSC tends to concentrate all the activities on one point of the ship at a time while RCI will spread it out everywhere else possible, and the MSC variants will to be more subdued or low key if you want. On a typical summer day you'll have all the activities at the pool deck. If you want to just read a good book there will be lots of inside space available at the bars for you to sit in.

 

Design and safety wise the MSC ships felt for me better fit, better maintained and with a better general safety sense inside them than RCI. Well, that might to reflect the fact that MSC is a large multi century cargo naval group with a quite recent cruise division topped in.

 

Shore excursions will to be the same, once they come from the same providers used by everyone else in the industry. In fact companies rely on the local ports authorities signed operators... MSC shore excursions tend to be a little bit better priced though.

 

Hope to have helped a little bit, and don't let the naysayers to deter you from going aboard. MSC is definitely different from the American lines, but it is not necessarily worse than them.

 

Have a nice day!...

thanks so much for providing me with all that information from your experiences .... I really appreciate it. and yes I know what you mean about rci entertainment as the shows, aqua shows ice shows etc are amazing .... I think ive made my decision..... it just a wee bit risky when you have enjoyed certain cruise lines if you have a doubt ....cos it too much money and well looked forward holiday ....for it to be not what we want... so I will leave MSC for now...

what I am meaning is how does it compare to Royal Caribbean and Norweigan Cruises 

We have only done Royal and Norwegian to compare....

Food wise I reckon Royal beats Norwegian slightly .... my husband says Norwegian...but they are roughly the same.  I think Royal had more choice especially with buffet .... We love the buffet.... so much variety and quality food at the buffet.  we eat in MDR at least once and have tried speciality restaurants on Royal and do feel they are much better than MDR...however we dont always do speciality dining on every cruise. Years ago the MDR in royal was great but we definitely think the quality has gone down hill in recent years. 

Like on my other post Norwegian has better entertainment for adults and more varied entertainment  however Royal beats them for during the day and for their pools etc royal beats Norwegian

however I would definitely say Norwegian and Royal are on par. 

Norwegian I would say is slightly more casual than Royal .... but you can basically wear what you want on both lines ..

On 5/25/2021 at 8:28 PM, George C said:

Entertainment is what always brings us back to rccl, although we do cruise other lines.

Us too....the entertainment is what we must have on a cruise  .... Royal has loads going on during day and night it is varied 

Norwegian however I feel has more varied and loads more entertainment than Royal at night.... well we preferred it. We felt there was never a moment when we didn't have somewhere to go to watch see and do however for during day royal beats them with more stuff going on during the day.

I would cruise with both for sure.... however as we have a teen I would first check what Royal had on offer due to activities in the day and both have great teen clubs although it was generally for our teen to meet up with people and she did her own thing after dinner with her friends.

Hi there 

Possibly looking at MSC cruise - British Isles this summer and wanted to here what they are like entertainment wise for adults and teens

and overall service so we can make our decision. we would usually go Royal Caribbean 

thanks

On 5/24/2021 at 1:13 AM, Treasure Hunter said:

Princess is our favorite cruise line and we took our kids with us many times over the years but our grandkids (specifically the 14 and 16 year olds) prefer Royal Caribbean or NCL big new ships for a Caribbean cruise. They love all the toys. We had a great time on the Pacific Princess in Iceland and Norway on the tours with them. And Princess in Alaska is the best by far. But Sea days in the Caribbean were boring and the Princess private islands are poor in comparison to Royal Caribbean and NCL.

im getting from here majority prefer Royal Caribbean for teens.... I had thought that....but had thought about trying another line to see... but we will probably just stick with royal for now

On 5/23/2021 at 11:11 PM, CruiseMrB said:

Maybe not. Post reply is unclear. Personally, I think that kids and teens are Royal Caribbean's bread-and-butter, and their newer megaships are theme-parks. So is their private island Coco Cay - literally. The OP would be well served to consider that. 

 

Princess is great , don't get me wrong. And you can do fine on Princess with kids & teens. But it's not in the same kids & teens league as Royal Caribbean or Disney or even standard Carnival. And Princess isn't trying to be. That fine, too. 

royal Caribbean I agree are fantastic for the  activities for teens and children. during the day too there is so much to do and for us that is what we need. We will probably just stick with Royal Caribbean... its what we know....

On 5/23/2021 at 1:30 PM, skynight said:

Princess has very good age related youth centers. Princess' entertainment is all family suitable. There may be some special events for those in the youth centers. Older teens tend to form their own groups and join in at some regular events, such as karaoke, deck parties and so on. In the past entertainment included production shows, guest entertainers such as singers, musicians, comedy, magic. There are live musician sets in mostly every venue each evening including pop/rock, easy listening/ballroom, piano/singer entertainer, jazz, classical, background piano, big band. Tropical cruises have an island group. Hawaii cruises have the Hawaiian Ambassador program. Longer cruises have real, not sales, lectures. There is trivia twice a day mostly every port and sea day. There are other game shows and cruise director activities going on every day. Very few or no pool games. All of this may be adjusted near term during the re-start, but I imagine at some point it will return to mostly the way it was pre-pandemic. The Caribbean Princess has a really nice younger child play pool and lounging area. If you are thinking Alaska Princess runs a top notch Alaska program and cruise.

Princess does not have slides, wave pools, bumper cars, rock walls, or any of that kind of hard scape like you will find at R.C. If that is what you are looking for go with RC. Here is some information to look at:

https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/Onboard_Experience/Teen_Guidelines_Registration.pdf

https://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/youth.jsp

thanks so much for the information.... much appreciated and I will have a look at the links attached

Just wondering how Princess Cruises compare with Royal Carribean?  Never been with Princess but I have heard good things about them 

Just wondered what their entertainment is like for adults and also teens - for day and night 

What is the best ship for teens?

thanks

4 minutes ago, CaroleSS said:

I'm not sure how old you are, but back in the 50s polio was a huge issue. Research had been done, but wasn't a priority until Salk came along and pushed it. The vaccine was relatively quick in development and roll-out. Yes, it had some hiccups along the way, but people clamored to get it......so it could possibly be that your own parents, wanting what was best for their children would have gotten it for you without making sure it had been around for sometime.

I love the 50's era

but seriously, no I wasn't born in the 50s. 

I am in 2021 and I will not let our children get vaccines that are not necessary....I want the best for our children as does my husband and I dont think the covid vaccine is necessary for children ...but that is just my opinion and I know other people have other opinions and respect their decisions