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8 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

So the cruise lines will have to keep building muti billion dollar cruise ships with shorter life spans in order to keep the fleet fresh. All the while further limiting the number of ports that can accommodate their behemoth size. RCI will continually have to also be upgrading their private islands. How many times will this new generation want to go to Labadee or Coco Cay before staleness sets in? 

 

I may be well off the mark but this sounds like a recipe for disaster.... except maybe for the foreign ship yards.

I don't think this is what I suggested at all...in fact, quite the opposite.  This whole discussion evolved from a suggestion RCCL could do a better job of more regularly refreshing their Wonderland menu's.  I don't think they need to constantly be building new ships...but they may consider ways to refresh the product more regularly on existing ships.

Further, I explicitly said 
"The main point of my argument was that RCCL doesn't need a massive new ship design to implement some of these changes more regularly."

11 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I understand your point and agree with it to a degree, but I don’t know if it applies to new cruisers. I cruise at least once a month and one thing that has really stood out to me at Top Tier events is how many new cruisers are on the current cruise (technically they are new cruisers to RCI). I would argue these new cruisers don’t have expectations on what a cruise should entail because they haven’t cruised for a long time like most posters on this site. So while I can go on a cruise and easily identify multiple cuts over the years, a new cruiser can’t do that because they have nothing to compare it to (if that makes sense). 
 

EDIT: I would also argue the higher fare prices, especially on Icon, are being driven by new cruisers. The 20 or so people I cruise with often (not all at the same time) have no interest in booking Icon right now because the current prices are ridiculous. But someone new to cruising is likely to pay higher fares because they have nothing to compare it to in the past. 

Absolutely agree, however, I don't think RCCL will retain those new people as "repeat" cruisers unless they continue to evolve the product.

10 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

RCI should court those of us who will sail the same ships to the same islands over and over again and  never feel like it is stale. 

 

That's a fair point, but I don't think that fits within the current trajectory of RCCL.  There simply aren't enough people like you to support the growth they want ...and to be honest, there might not be enough to keep the company viable (with NO new ships) given the amount of debt they had to take on during COVID.  Someone has got to facilitate RCCL being able to continue to pay on those debts (which go much beyond the cost of Icon). 

10 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

From the sound of it you'd think some people only dine in 4-star Michelin restaurants. They take food snobbery to the next level! There are some upscale foodie cruises out there where you can put on your bougie, but cruising on RCI is not one of them.  Personally, I cruise for other aspects altogether but I guess food is paramount for some. 

To be clear, I don't find the food inedible.  However, I also don't go on vacation to be crossing my fingers that every meal is at least "average".  Yes, we do want to have some exception and special meals when we travel.  A decade ago we could get that on many nights in the MDR (not always) and splurge on an occasional specialty dining meal.  In the past two years, this doesn't feel the case for us.  We have more and more relied on specialty dining (and the UDP) which we are personally happy and fortunate enough to be able to pay for....but are now even seeing cuts to these dining options.

10 hours ago, nferr said:

 

Try other lines and see if the quality more meets your expectations. 

We have definitely done so and do have other options, but there are many other things that RCCL does really good (and better than other lines) that we'd like to continue to enjoy.

43 minutes ago, nferr said:

 

Have you seen the cost of beef in your local supermarket? 

Agreed...but RCCL needs to be careful about getting wrapped up in a race to the bottom.  I'd prefer they keep the standard up and raise pricing if need be.  For us, the strategy has been to buy the UDP....but diversity is starting to lack there AND were seeing quality start to drop there as well.  I'd gate to reach a point where we feel we can't even "buy" the quality of food we'd like on RCCL.

Thanks all on the VOOM thoughts.  The interplay of the free D and D+ days was one I was wondering about.  

Separate question related to the actual OP topic - is there any use or benefit to having a casino booking moved over to a travel agent.  We have always booked all our cruises with one of two agents who typically get us great OBC offers....I'm assuming with a casino booking, there's no "double dipping" or other advantage to moving the booking to an agent (even if possible)?

7 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I think one of the reasons people continue to cruise on RCI is because they like the product. I understand your point about keeping things fresh, but at the same time you don’t want to make too many changes to a product that is obviously working well. Like you stated, even some of the changes on Icon aren’t really changes. With people paying more to cruise on Icon than several luxury cruise lines, it would be foolish for RCI to make any significant changes with their current product in my opinion. 

I understand the logic, but I have two thoughts:

1) from my observation on these and other travel forums as well as interaction with other cruisers, the food on RCCL is the least cited reason people return.  I rarely hear that people are coming back because they just can't wait to get into Windjammer or because they had an amazing meal in the MDR.  Even including the specialty dining, other than Chops or Central Park 150, I rarely hear exultations of the food offerings.... until Icon Launched.

2) the "next generation" cruiser that RCCL is trying to court is much more fickle, "experience" focused (even when it comes to food) and with a shorter attention span.  Things that become "stale" will suffer with this demographic.  I also think they are more accustomed to fresher, more exotic and more sustainable ingredients than one generation older.  Simply a result of wider availability of these sorts of products compared to 20+ years ago.

Like I mentioned, I'm not advocating "drastic" changes...simply more "innovation" and "evolution" like what we have seen on Icon.  The main point if my argument was that RCCL doesn't need a massive new ship design to implement some of these changes more regularly.

On 4/22/2024 at 5:02 PM, RFerrington said:

No.  The discount is off the full onboard price so you must wait until after you board to apply for the discount.

...and so for those with experience, does it ever make sense to wait to book on-board given the online discounts?  It seems you can regularly get at least 25% off booking ahead of time (and often more if you stalk their "sales")?

I enjoy Wonderland, but would like to see them switch up the menu occasionally as the whole point of the experience is "novelty" which is lost after you've done it a couple of times.  

In general I don't think RCCL refreshes their menu's as much as they should.  There is clearly a very committed and installed repeat customer base. I think they would further entrench that base if they kept things "fresh", at least at the specialty restaurants.

Look at the response to some of the new things on the Icon - none of these are radical departures but the slightly new offerings draw enormous response.  For example, very little in the Aquadome market is completely "new" - the sandwich station offers a slight variation of things seen in the Park Cafe and Café Promenade, the Mac&Chesse and Asian stations are repackaged Windjammer offerings and the crepe station has existed in the Windjammer at select times. 

I'd like to see more of this type of "innovation" from RCCL.

1 minute ago, Defender1158 said:

I just checked, and this is now showing on my UDP starting a week from today.  It was not there when I purchased it over a year ago.

 

The actual text of the change says "Wonderland by DaDong".  Is this the usual Wonderland restaurant or something particular to Asian venues?

Wonderland by DaDong is only found on Spectrum of the Seas (sailing in Asia) so it is indeed a separate experience....hoping they're not trying to upcharge for regular Wonderland now.

On 4/25/2024 at 3:31 AM, laurieal said:

 

A little girl approached me and asked what was wrong with me. I told her I was struggling with being confronted with my parents’ mortality and that I fear it will be just me caring for them eventually. She seemed confused. 

I had a really good laugh when I read this (thinking about the poor puzzled girl, knowing this was just what you were thinking and not what you actually said).

....then I read it again and had an anxiety attack thinking about my recently retired parents and my useless brother.  😱  There is now a good chance I will have a panic attack every time I see a cruise ship mini golf course. 🤣

Thanks all for the replies.  Sounds like for the most part things have continued smoothly and some of the upgraded items have remained.

Any reports on how busy (or not busy) the Hideaway (adults only area) is?  Looks like the sort of place we'd like to hang, but concerned it's fairly small for such a big ship.  What about the Overlook (up front on deck 14).  This is another area that looks like a nice place to relax.

Finally, any more reports on Pearl Cafe?  Some of the food/snack offerings there looked so good on the inaugural cruise (and the cynic in me keeps thinking they're going to cut these or start charging).

Has anyone seen any post inaugural update YouTube's or in-depth reports since the Icon inaugural?  I've skimmed through the threads here and there are some post-inaugural posts on very specific topics, but I haven't seen many general reviews or YouTube videos posted (even some of the more recently posted YouTube content seems to actually be from the inaugural).  Very curious how things are going....it seemed many reported the first few weeks of cruising offered lots of "special" offerings (like lobster in the buffet) and capacity was capped.  Curious now that Icon is (I would guess) on a "normal" schedule and full capacity how things are going.

Also, I asked before and had a few responses, but any changes to the UDP offerings on Icon?  There were some venues where it was a bit unclear what UDP offered that I am wondering if any changes have been made.

We cruise Royal without kids and have found it to be very enjoyable; we do generally avoid the school holidays.

As mentioned, the outdoor adults only pool is unique to Icon at this stage (and in fact, was a last minute switch if I understand correctly). We are looking forward to experiencing it in May.  As also mentioned, that leaves you with Icon or the soon to launch Star on the assumption this holds true on all Icon class ships.

For the Oasis class ships, as also mentioned, that leaves you with only the Solarium for adults only pool areas.  I will say we generally do not like "indoor" pools either, but while the Solarium is "mostly" closed but it's not entirely closed such that it provides sufficient airflow and openings not to feel claustrophobic like other closed pool areas.

You could also take a look at the Voyager or Freedom class ships which have an open air solarium.

On 3/17/2024 at 8:47 AM, Preziosa said:

Have you seen a headwaiter from Ukraine called Vitali in Yacht Club restaurant.

Is the buffet outdoor Open for breakfast and lunch in the Yacht Club area.

Have a fantastic stay in Hamburg.

Vitali is amazing.  We had him on his last cruise on the World Europa (the Dubai to Europe leg).  He got off in Genoa and had a short break before heading to the Euribia.  Definitely top notch service!

On 3/16/2024 at 12:13 AM, Best Cat Mom said:

We always bring up our choices when we meet our butler for the first time. No need to wait for them to ask you -- tell them what pillow you desire and which bottle(s) you'd prefer. Usually we are asked at boarding about the newspaper. If not, stop by the concierge desk or ask the butler. (The concierge desk is where the paper originates each day so it's easier to go right to them vs. having the butler be your go between.)

One of the best suggestions I ever read on this Board was to print a small note with all your preferences before you leave (including all the items known/mentioned here as well as anything else critical for your cruise enjoyment - such as being clear if you want ice refreshed twice a day or need an extra blanket...etc).  We then give this to our butler on day one when we meet....we have never been disappointed.  I think the butlers are all very eager to please, but they all have different styles (some don't think to ask some of these questions), they support a variety of cabins (not always easy to remember if you've already asked these questions with all the boarding madness going on) and they rely to varying degrees on the assistant butler (hint, we print TWO of these notes and give one to each of our butler and assistance butler).  Making your (reasonable) expectations clear up front is a recipe for success.

Some questions from me:

Would love a general review of the concierge services.  Were they able to get you any reservations (show or restaurants) that you wanted on the days/times you wanted?

How are the reserved areas for the shows?  How far in advance did you feel you needed to arrive to still get a good seat?

Review of dining in the signature restaurant and post any menus.

3 minutes ago, CruisematicVA said:

With that said, I agree... For a ship this big, I'm very surprised there aren't more specialty dining options. I know it's a game of tradeoffs for RCCL when deciding what to do with the space onboard, but there aren't as many options as you would expect given the size.

For us, the loss of Central Park 150 is a big negative as this has been our favorite UDP location and we almost always spent two nights there.  Our Chops experiences have never been as good as Central Park 150.  Effectively you've lost Central Park 150 and Wonderland (plus the Mason Jar on Wonder) with the only (dinner) additions on Icon being either FREE or not covered by the UDP.

A few observations from me:

1) as to the original question, when we buy the UDP we do not visit the MDR at all.  Has nothing to do with food quality or comparing the two; simply, we cruise RCCL enough that when we have the UDP we want to make the most of the UDP options.  The RCCL MDR menus are fairly static across the fleet, so we know we'll get to enjoy the MDR food on a cruise when we don't buy the UDP.  We used to look at the MDR menu's for the week and were occasionally tempted to skip a UDPrestaurant when there was a menu we particularly liked (but in the end, always concluded we'd get whatever it was on our next cruise). Now there is virtually no rotation in menu for the MDR, so even less incentive to skip a UDP option (in our minds);

2) agee with the assessment that UDP on the Icon doesn't make as much sense as the Oasis class ships where there are BOTH more UDP options and fewer interesting alternatives.  For a first time Icon cruise, I'd feel like I was missing out if we dedicated ourselves to the UDP given all the new and interesting non-UDP options.  It's a strange dynamic and we're watching UDP adjustments for the Icon closely as I suspect RCCL will have to tweak things here or they're going to see much lower UDP yields on this ship.

3) as to your idea to make individual reservations ahead of time and cancel on-board, this is a long standing strategy many Cruise Critic folks have employed.  As mentioned above, effectively when you cancel on-board, it get's credited to your on-board account and can be refunded at the end of the cruise if you still have a balance.  HOWEVER, I will note that there have been several reports lately of a) people being hassled about cancelling their reservations on-board and b) a refusal to let them keep their reservation times for use with the UDP.  This is a mess of RCCL's creation and they had committed to permitting pre-cruise reservations with the UDP, but it's yet to be seen.  We have never had trouble getting some sort of reservations, but have faced some complexity trying to weave it in with entertainment bookings.

In May, my sailing is showing it at 212.99 regular price, offered at 169.99 with 20% discount (but showing sold out - no idea why they list it with a discount when it's sold out). 

We were considering getting it for the following:

1) It gives us internet, so we're only looking at the incremental cost over a 2 device internet package;

2) We thought early boarding would be nice on such a big ship - is that not the case?

3) We also thought that it would be nice to have a reserved seating area for the shows - not necessary?

4) We'd likely book a couple of specialty restaurants to use the 10% off to further defray the costs. 

However, if 2 and 3 not particularly valuable on the Icon, we may drop it (we weren't particularly focused on the special lunch).....thoughts? 

Any updates on where the UDP credit is valid?

On 2/3/2024 at 10:48 PM, Pinballs83 said:

Deck 14.  I think port and starboard have a similar setup.  Below me looks like a big suite, so I don't think they have that hallway, but I can check later on.

Speaking of signage.  There is an error on the stateroom safe overlay.  They reversed the text for enter and cancel... whoops.  When you push cancel, it is enter.
 

 

Thanks so much for the video.  We have this exact room in May...can't wait.  Any noise from the deck above?  This was the only potential concern we had....but we absolutely love an "aft" balcony view...and these balconies looks like a great size!

19 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

The ala carte places included are Izumi Sushi (not Izumi in the Park), Basecamp upcharges and Pier 7. Giovannis Wine Bar snacks and Trellis Bar snacks are not included.

How is a la carte working now with the UDP.  Is it $20/day total or just per venue?

I have been watching the reports from the first cruises and am I missing something or is there little value in the UDP for this ship?  It looks like unless you want to repeat the few specialties included multiple nights (only Chops, Izumi Sushi, Giovanni's and Hooked appear to be included) that you will struggle to get value.  There is a discount for the Supper Club and Izumi Hibachi, but by the time you add the up charges, I'm struggling to see the value vs the Quantum class ships. No Central Park, no Wonderland and no Mason Jar (I know that's only on Wonder).  Combine that with all the extra free options added to this ship (which you'd have to skip in favor of repeating the above) and it seems like a big miss to me.

Am I missing something?  Have they perhaps added more a la carte credits (beyond Playmakers) for Icon?

16 hours ago, GPPhilly said:

 My response was that the OP should not ask as the answer would be no and that would put the staff and the OP in an uncomfortable position. 

Interesting topic.  We sailed the World Europa Repositioning cruise from Dubai to Genoa this year in the YC.  About a month before sailing we realized a colleague would also be on board but not in YC.  We met them several times for drinks in the main portion of the ship.  Come to find out they are very regular MSC cruisers but had never sailed in the YC, not knowing if it was really worth the extra cost.  We asked our Butler if they could join us for dinner in the YC restaurant one night.  The butler informed us this was possible, subject to the YC Hotel Director confirming it would not be too busy on the night we selected and that there would be a EUR 70 fee (if I remember correctly).  She then suggested that it would also be possible to invite them for a drink in the YC lounge if we paid for their drinks.  Finally, she said in any case she could arrange a "tour" of the YC spaces for them.  We opted to have them into the lounge for a couple of drinks, after which we went down to the speakeasy.

I add to this conversation as our Butler seemed to treat this as a quite appropriate request which had been thought about and a contemplated response.