Cruising89143

Coming off the NV this morning. First time back on this ship and RCI in a year. We haven’t had dinner in the MDR in fourteen years so no comment but we found specialty dining to be a mixed bag. Chops on the first night was just okay but at over $130.00 for two people not including cocktails or wine, the food should be of higher quality since we’re also not dining in the other included venues such as the MDR or WJ. The server failed to bring bread. When asked he stated that he didn’t want us to fill up on bread. A head scratcher and total BS……Filets were good. Cooked to order and tender. Sides of Tater Tots, Creamed Spinach and Mac & Cheese all were totally tasteless. The Red Velvet cake was once again different than the previous version but it least it wasn’t dry like a sponge which was the case the last few times. Service here was lacking. It think it was a training issue. 
 

I booked Jamie’s for lunch and dinner the following/same day by not paying attention but we left it. We both ordered just the chicken sandwich and the Limencello cheesecake. The chicken sandwich was nothing near what was written in the description including the fries. Not good at all. RCI has changed the cheesecake where it now includes gelatin. I asked our server about it and he stated that it was changed back in August. It was rubbery and gelatinous. Used to be creamy. Disappointed with this meal. Dinner that evening was a little better but the chicken parm looked and tasted like something that one might find in the MDR. Very low quality. Service here for lunch and dinner was very good. 
 

Izumi was spot on. Great food and service all evening. 
 

I don’t blame the crew. They can only do so much with what they’re given to work with but Royal continues to raise the price of specialty dining but lowers the quality. Personally I would like to see Jason Liberty stop taking victory laps after the quarterly earnings reports and put some emphasis on bringing back some of the quality that has been removed. 
 

Does this turn us off cruising with RCI? Probably not but it also doesn’t keep one loyal. We have more cruises booked with Royal in the coming months but we will now go back and visit where we book specialty dining. I might add that we dined one evening in the WJ. The food was good. We targeted the Indian section as we know it’s usually very good. It did not disappoint. Playmakers also had a much better chicken sandwich than Jamie’s for lunch and for much less. 
 

For the one that would like to see the food that we eat at home, I will show you. Some of us prefer quality over quantity. Other than the slide in specialty dining, this was a very good cruise. The crew on board was great as always. The ship looks great. 

We always plan on sending a few items down for dry cleaning/laundry on longer cruises. I don’t want to spend my time doing laundry. To each their own I guess.  

Just a guess which is all we can do until/if RCG reveals more is that this new ship will be based off the Edge class design and will come in somewhere between the Voyager and Freedom in size. I just don’t see RCG building something smaller to match the Radiance/Vision class. NCL “tried” to build smaller with their Leonardo/Prima class and now they’re slowly being upsized 2x2.

5 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

No laundry rooms on ncl.

And Carnival has removed them from their new Excel class ships as well.

19 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Possibly, but you still have the 7th Oasis class ship coming plus Star and the 3rd Icon class ship. Just my two cents opinion, and probably not worth that much, but I think the majority of RCI cruisers won’t get excited about a new, smaller class ship (if/when it happens). 

I’m currently board the Navigator. My favorite ship in the RCI fleet. This is cruise #13 on this ship with three more planned over the next few months before we board the Odyssey for the TA. No longer interested in the Oasis class and no interest at all in Icon. Some of us enjoy the smaller ships and RCI knows this. While we also like X, RCI has its advantages as well. 

I like the older names. Have no issue at all with using them again. Sovereign, Majesty, Monarch, Empress, Legend and Splendour. Any of those work for me. 

I just checked the app for the Navigator and they have two Ramen dishes for both lunch and dinner. They were listed under Large Plates: Bowls & More.

1 hour ago, mets123 said:

I assume El Loco Fresh replaced JR's and Playmakers replaced the Pub next to Sorrento's.

Playmakers is located up in the sportsplex on the second level.

2 minutes ago, BillOh said:

I just came into this thread just to read as next year we may do the reverse. I now get promotional email that shows me as ELITE (I was Diamond then, but about to make my first cruise as Diamond Plus next week, if there a level above Elite with X?

There is but they only match up to Diamond/Elite between both lines. In order to move up to Elite Plus, you have to earn points for each cruise taken. 

Give Royal your Captain’s Club number and they will handle. You will be Diamond on RCI.

It can vary by ship and port of departure. We cruised on the Symphony out of Miami during Halloween 2022 and the ship was sold out and packed. Don’t recall the number of kids due to the sheer amount of passengers. 

10 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Totally agree.  Two tags per bag.  Learned the hard way years ago!  😮  

 

IMHO...I love my reusable plastic sleeve tags I buy from Amazon, and like you...use those indestructible zip ties.  🙂   I also just reload them with my disembarkation tags when it is time to leave.  

We have been using the plastic sleeves for years. They’re great. 

We cruised on the Solstice last April from San Pedro for a seven night California coastal cruise. We had an overnight in SFO with stops in Santa Barbara, San Diego and Ensenada. The ship was about 3/4 full. Prices were cheap. 

When comparing the two, NCL wins out by far IMHO. The Haven is a true ship within ship concept. Now after that once you leave the Haven it’s more of a zoo. I put it on comparison with MSC and Carnival. NCL used to have very good entertainment but it’s my understanding that they have made cuts here to save money. I suggest trying it for yourself. We did it once but it would take a very good price to try it again. 

Stumbled upon this review and am absolutely enjoying it. It’s refreshing to read a review where even though everything might not be perfect, you’re able to overlook the little things and enjoy your cruise. The photos are beautiful. Thanks for taking the time to share. 

On 3/25/2024 at 5:37 PM, mcatmcat said:

I was the loyal to royal team.

I have the credit card and a cruiseaway to be diamond

like 2 years ago I tried celebrity bc royal was 2 expensive and I loved it.

I know celebrity is not the same , it can be more boring for millennial but overall way better than royal.

my upcoming cruises are with celebrity for 2024 and probably 2025

We still go back and forth. Like both cruise lines but Celebrity is definitely a better overall product. 

There is nothing wrong with the Navigator. She was refurbished in 2019. Looks great. 

OP is confused. Luminae was not open on port days. 

35 minutes ago, Phamer55 said:

I assume this will be free like Labadee and Coco Cay, but with special areas and excursions with significant upcharges.  I'm fine if this is the case, if I can get a free lounger and lunch, I'd be very happy to do this in Cozumel.  Looking forward to hearing more about this!

If it’s like the new yet to be built beach club on Paradise Island in Nassau then it will be an extra cost. It will not be included in the cruise fare like Labadee or Coco Cay. The new beach club at Paradise Island has a certain amount of spaces available and have to be reserved ($$$$$). 

Did not see this previously posted.

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/03/royal-caribbean-announces-new-beach-club-in-cozumel/

I have been reading this same complaint for years here on CC. Nothing has changed. I look at it as what if it worked the opposite way and a cruise line could raise your fee as the ship started to meet full capacity? After I make final payment, I never check the current prices. This is not a rip off. You agreed to the price when you booked. 

Lois, we personally do not see a lot of changes that are negative. We look at being healthy and having the resources to cruise as a good thing and don’t worry about the little things. With having a suite, your room service will be included. Welcome back to X.

We like them and plan to use them in the fall for our TA. We don’t find them overpriced. We do our homework to make sure that we book with the right company. 

We cruise both Celebrity and Royal. Since most of your questions have been answered I will give you my two cents on specialty dining on Royal. We enjoy it. We do everything possible to avoid the MDR. We have found it loud and rushed. Again, our experience. We prefer the relaxed quiet atmosphere of specialty dining. If we’re not using specialty dining, we move to the Windjammer.

We currently have three four night cruises on the Navigator and one three night that bumps up to one of the four nighters. The four night cruises have been tame compared to some of the seven night cruises that we have taken. The ship is in driving distance for us as mentioned above, I’m not flying to board a ship for less than seven nights. We do have a fourteen night TA booked on the Odyssey later this year.