Sigyn

I'm completely new to Royal Caribbean and I've booked my first cruise. I have no idea how the dining package works. I'm considering the three-night dining package and I'm not sure what it includes. Are all of the restaurants an option, or are some not included? The description is a bit confusing since it says a la carte restaurants are a $20 food credit but can only be used once per day, etc., another has a $49.99 surcharge (so that means in addition to the fee I pay for the dining package?) What's the $34.99 food credit? What is the courtesy reservation they refer to that will be made for me and do I see what restaurant that is and can I change it myself if I don't like where they make it for? Here's what I am seeing: Dinner at three specialty dining venues. For restaurants with a la carte pricing, you’ll receive a $20 food credit, which can only be used once a day. For ships with this venue, Izumi Sushi is a prix fixe menu or $34.99 food credit. For ships with these venues, Teppanyaki/Izumi Hibachi is included, with a $15 surcharge, and Chef's Table is included, with a $49.99 surcharge. These will be charged once onboard.

Cruise is booked! I opted for Harmony of the Seas. For just a moment this afternoon I looked at MSC and thought, oh, it's cheaper. But then I watched videos of Harmony of the Seas and realized it's really the ship for us. I opted for a Guaranteed Balcony and it was just $2,900 with a promo code, so a great deal all in all. Thanks for everyone's input!

I'm trying to pick a cruise for spring break for myself and my 15-year-old son. Looking at all different cruise lines. There are two MSC cruises to consider. One on the Seascape and one on the Meraviglia. Has anyone taken their teenager on either of these ships and, if so, what was it like for them?

helpful info from everyone, thanks! 🙂

We would just go to the bathroom to change. But when we were in the cabin with three of us in December and someone was in the bathroom, he just goes behind the closet door, or says, "mom, look the other way." I'm mom. he doesn't freak out. 🙂🙂

I bring towel clips because they double as clothes pins to dry things on the chairs on the balcony without them blowing off in the wind.

Not taking binoculars! Thanks for the warning. 🙂 He nearly passed out several times on our December cruise. He'd just turned 15 the month before, and teenaged girls and young women would get on the elevator and he'd go silent. Then they'd step off the elevator, and he'd say, "MOM! Did you see those baddies?!" (Baddies is the new slang for "hot" for those not in the know!) I would say something like, "Well, I saw that there were girls on the elevator, but I didn't really notice their appearance. As a 55-year-old mom, it doesn't hit me quite the same way as it does you, son." 😂

I like historical sites, he likes the beach and beach activities, like most teenagers. Good call on that one. He loved the shows on NCL's Prima on our cruise this past Christmas, so he'll enjoy the Royal Caribbean versions which are much bigger. Sounds good. My son loves to dance and music is huge to him, and he really has enjoyed the Broadway shows we've taken him to since he was little. I probably won't hang out at all in the Solarium without my husband since my son will want to be able to find me. Maybe I'm wrong tho and he won't care. I like that he still wants to hang with mom, tho. On occasion. When his friends aren't around. Good point. We flew into Melbourne and cruised out of Port Canaveral in December, so I'm quite familiar with those costs. Galveston is the cheapest airport, but the cost of getting to the port is pricey. I opted against the cruises out of that one, tho. Orlando is the second cheapest, by a couple hundred bucks per ticket. Then Miami. I have 90,000 frequent flyer miles so that will get me one free ticket.

So you like St. Thomas better than San Juan? That's the only real difference in the schedules. I haven't seen either of those ports and they both interest me.

I would feel the same way if I was traveling with my husband, but I think my son would enjoy the neighborhood balcony and get to watch everyone down below, and it would give me the extra space and fresh air of a balcony, so I'd be good.

Budget is definitely a consideration. Our "real" vacation is in July. 🙂 Harmony is the best deal since I can still get a balcony guarantee there. Thanks!

I'm trying to decide on a cruise for myself and my 15-year-old son. It's a last minute kind of thing for us to do over spring break in April. My husband can't go with us due to his job. I've never cruised on Royal Caribbean before. I've read reviews and looked at itineraries and I like these three ships and schedules the best. Now it's narrowing down to one. I haven't decided on balcony, interior or oceanview. I hate to spend too much since it's a bonus vacation that wasn't planned, but I do love a good balcony and I've never stayed in anything but a balcony, so maybe I'm kidding myself to think I could. Not sure. Which cruise would you pick and why? Royal Caribbean - Harmony of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day Features: 2 flow riders, ultimate abyss water slide, 2 rock walls, zip line, three multi-story waterslide, basketball, jogging track Day 1 Miami Day 2 Sea Day Day 3 Sea Day Day 4 Philipsburg, St. Maarten - 8 am - 6 pm Day 5 Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas - 7 am - 3 pm Day 6 Sea Day Day 7 Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas - 9 am - 5 pm Day 8 Orlando Balcony Guarantee - $3,145 Interior Guarantee - $2,259 Royal Caribbean - Wonder of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day Features: 2 flow riders , jogging track, basketball, zip line, 2 rock climbing walls, laser tag, ice rink Day 1 Orlando Day 2 Sea Day Day 3 Sea Day Day 4 Philipsburg, St. Maarten - 8 am - 6 pm Day 5 Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas - 7 am - 3 pm Day 6 Sea Day Day 7 Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas - 9 am - 5 pm Day 8 Orlando Interior Guarantee - $2,935 Balcony Guarantee - $3,885 Balcony I pick the room - ocean view balcony - $5,443; boardwalk balcony - $4,723; central park balcony - $4,863 Royal Caribbean - Oasis of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean and Perfect Day Features: 2 flow riders, 2 rock walls, zip line, ice rink, basketball, jogging track Day 1 Miami Day 2 Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas - 7 am - 4 pm Day 3 Sea Day Day 4 San Juan, PR - 10 am - 7 pm Day 5 Philipsburg, St. Maarten - 8 am - 6 pm Day 6 Sea Day Day 7 Sea Day Day 8 Orlando Balcony - Central Park view - $3,647 Interior Guarantee - $2,653 Oceanview - panoramic view - $3,625

Ah, that's right. Those first two were on a Bahamas cruise. Silly me. It was warm and a long time ago. I forget things.

This is all very helpful. On my two Caribbean cruises I've only been to Nassau (ack, don't feel a need to return), Ocho Rios (again, no need to return), Half Moon Cay (Carnival's private island), and then we were at Cozumel but didn't get off the ship on this past Christmas Day because it it was pouring down rain with 20-25 mph winds causing the aforementioned rain to come down sideways. Our ship didn't even get to stop at Grand Cayman or NCL's private island due to the rough seas and those being tender ports.

I've only been to a few Caribbean ports and I'm trying to plan a cruise with my teenage son. What is your favorite port in the Caribbean?

you're funny!

Ah, then you've missed all of the uproar over NCL's newest ship, the Prima. I was on it in December and it was lovely, the food was delicious, the ship was beautiful. But to hear others you'd think they'd descended into the nine circles of Hell the moment they embarked.

Fantastic photo of your son! This does look like a nice cruise for us. Thanks for suggesting it. I've added it to my list of potentials.

I love the photos. Particularly the cool photos of you two together. Keepsakes forever. You even have one of him with Captain Kate!

I have a teenaged son. I've been driving him and his friends around in my car too much lately. Have heard too much ridiculous talk.

ah, that's rough. I understand, however. The last time I traveled with my mom was in 2018 and she was knocked down in the airport so she finally agreed to a wheelchair in the airport on the way home. It was very difficult for her to accept that she needed one on some occasions.

Really? My dearest friend is disembarking from the Solstice this morning and she has been quite pleased with the food in the MDR. To the point that she texted me to tell me about it since she knows we'll be on our first-ever Celebrity cruise this summer. It's her first Celebrity cruise in 23 years. They've been on the Cunard Queen Elizabeth, the Cunard Queen Victoria and the Princess Crown Princess in the past nine months. She really liked the food on Cunard and the service was outstanding, but she said the food on Celebrity has it beat, but the service in the dining room isn't as attentive.

It's too late for me to edit my original post, but there were more than five awards given when you include hotels, restaurants and spas, etc. But only five ships were given awards and they were all from Celebrity. Here is the full list of awards from Forbes, which also explains how they choose who will get awards: https://www.forbestravelguide.com/award-winners Here is more information directly from Forbes - found at this link https://stories.forbestravelguide.com/forbes-travel-guides-2023-star-award-winners "For the first time in its 65-year history, Forbes Travel Guide dove into ocean cruises, launching its inaugural ratings with five ships. Celebrity Apex, Celebrity Flora and Celebrity Millennium earned Four-Star awards, while Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Summit received Recommended honors." Forbes also says: "A second wave of cruise line ratings will be announced later this year and evaluations are already underway on several ships worthy of star ratings for 2024."

Forgive me if this has already been posted, but Celebrity won one of five Forbes Travel Guide Awards now that Forbes has added cruise lines to its award options: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2023/02/17/celebrity-cruises-forbes-guide-awards/11280049002/ According to the USA Today article, Celebrity Apex, Celebrity Flora and Celebrity Millennium each earned four-star ratings, while Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Summit were designated as "recommended," according to the Forbes Travel Guide website. Here is the press release that Celebrity put out: https://www.celebritycruisespresscenter.com/press-release/1282/celebrity-cruises-becomes-the-first-cruise-line-to-ever-earn-the-coveted-forbes-travel-guide-award/

He'd have probably liked to do more, but he still had a good time doing those things. Our cruise, on the Norwegian Prima, was cursed with bad weather and we missed three of four ports. He's low key when he needs to be and a bundle of teenage energy when he wants to be. He's quite versatile. A good quality in a kid! That's good to know. I am making a list of all potential cruises for us and I'll review this weekend. I'm sure Celebrity is kid free in February, but thinking spring break time on any mainstream ship brand will have a lot of kids. Heck, people were saying the Prima had only a handful of kids in early December, but there were over 700 on our cruise (out of 3,000 passengers) over Christmas. They come out of the woodwork. That's good. I'll review each ship's layout before I book. Funny on the exercise. That's usually how my husband and I get ours, too. 🙂