bill0021

Great comparison. I feel the same way. Just off the Royal Princess last week and the food was just better, and tastier than Royal C. or Celebrity in the MDR and Buffet. Chops Grill better than Crown Grill, absolutely. My wife and I have not cruised on Princess for a few years and were pleasantly surprised by the food.

While I have no complaints for service on RCCL or Celebrity, Princess's beats them hands down in the buffet. You sit and within a minute or less every-time they are there to take your drink order even if just water. Not a huge deal but when you have a plate of food and utensils already in your hands hunting for a table around all those starving passengers, not having to get a drink is a big plus. Oh and Princess the utensils are already on the table with a spoon.

I love all three for different reasons but right now Princess is winning with the food, IMHO.

(taken from RCL's Corp Pages)

WHAT IT TAKES TO KEEP WATER CLEAN AND USAGE LEAN ON CRUISE SHIPS

STAFF WRITER | APRIL 15, 2016

Referring to a modern cruise ship as a “floating city” is no simple analogy. Not only does it provide accommodation, recreation, relaxation and transportation, it also literally has to support life in the most basic sense.

On the open saltwater seas, as Coleridge famously noted, while water is everywhere, there is not a drop to drink – unless potable water is collected in port or “made” using reliably tested methods.

Nick Rose, environmental regulatory lead, environmental stewardship, for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., says the company’s fleet provides clean, safe, drinkable water in three ways.

“One is through bunkering it,” Rose says, using the maritime term for loading water in port and storing it on board. “We follow strict WHO (World Health Organization) as well as U.S. Public Health standards, so water is taken from a reputable drinking source.”

While it’s collected, the water is tested for microbials and other pollutants, then treated and chlorinated for any potential organisms or pathogens that may have eluded onshore treatment.

The second method, used for years and for which all RCL ships are equipped, goes by any of three names – steam evaporation, flash evaporation or steam desalination. One clever “green” aspect of this method is its use of waste heat from the ship’s engines.

“We bring on seawater and boil it using the waste steam and heat from our engines to remove the salt from the water,” Rose explains. “The water from the evaporator travels down to a condenser where the steam then condenses back into what at that time would be distilled purified water.”

As anyone who’s ever tasted it knows, distilled water has no familiar water flavor. So next, minerals are added, “so that it has the normal taste that most people like,” Rose continues.

“After it goes to the mineralizer we send it for chlorination, just again to make sure that you have nothing growing in it.”

The third, most technologically advanced method of creating potable water is through reverse osmosis using equipment now on most RCL ships.

“You bring on seawater, but instead of using heat or high amounts of energy, you actually use a little bit of energy to push the saltwater through a semi-permeable membrane,” Rose says. “The only thing that makes it through the membrane is pure, clean water.”

All the salt and other possible contaminants remain blocked on the intake side of the membrane, while the water that passes through is mineralized for flavor and chlorinated for added safety.

Taking all onboard freshwater usage into account, RCL reports that on average its guests consume 55 gallons per day, compared to the U.S. average of as much as 100 gallons.

Contributing to the difference, Rose says, is the shipboard use of low-flow showerheads and washbasin faucet aerators in guest and crew cabins; highly efficient ice makers, dishwashers and laundry equipment; re-use of condensed water from air-conditioners to supplement laundry needs, and other above-and-beyond-compliance conservation efforts.

I just did this for myself and my wife.

I had my RCL Platinum Info handy so entered myself using RCL. My wife pulled her Princess Platinum so I entered her Princess number to status match.

I thought they would come back the same.

Mine came back silver and hers gold. I have not yet called to see if I can change using my Princess Platinum Card but will be.

Great.

Carnival markets itself as the "fun ship" and for some fun equates to how much alcohol can be consumed in a single sitting. Alcohol and behavior are a dicey combination. They also run many short itineraries which makes people think they must pack the fun into just a few days. It isn't overly surprising that you might find more issues with passengers on Carnival.

 

That said, I agree that rudeness is both across Cruise lines and multigenerational. On the Allure trip last month, my friend had recently broken multiple bones in her leg and foot so was required to use a scooter. She did indeed become "invisible" and we spent a lot of time waiting for elevators that we could board. Other passengers frequently went past us to jump on first or attempted to squeeze on, practically sitting on her.

 

I had similar concerns for passenger conduct on a TA full of retired folks the year before. It's just a bewildering sense of entitlement.

 

If some of my recent trips were my first experiences with cruising, I probably wouldn't have gone on over 30 of them. I hope we are not going to be forced to accept bad behavior as "just the way things are now". A small dose of respect, a smile and a sense of humor will go a long way in ensuring everyone's enjoyment.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Well said.

Hey All just off the Reflection as well.

I was in the theatre one night and did see an incident with a jacket overhanging the back of a chair. I was a couple of chairs over. The jacket was dangling off the back and was in the space of the guy sitting in back. He playfully said, "Hey nice jacket." and did give it a gentle tug. Not enough to pull it away from the chair, just enough to feel it. You can debate whether his sense of humour was appropriate or not but it was in no way malicious or drunken. The reaction from the jacket owner however was over the top.

He jumped off his chair turned around swearing and threatening actual physical violence. My initial thought was he was joking, but I saw his wife grab for him and saw this was no joke. I actually thought I was going to have to intervene in a physical fight. I just told him to relax. He did sit back down. Way too much drama for nothing. It was extreme enough where a few people around me questioned whether or not he should be removed. I do not know if this was the original poster, but this guy has anger issues.

As for people on the ship. I commented that in another post that 70% of the guests were awesome and 30% not so much. That might be exaggerated. I have never been on Carnival so can not comment on that line but compared to the other lines I have been on, Celebrity Passengers are no better and no worse. No better or worse than the general population. Pushing into an elevator, the buffet line, any line, treating the crew bad for no reason, no compassion or understanding for those that may be a bit slower. A guy that cuts in front of me in car traffic, I do not know his story. Is he/she just inconsiderate or is there an emergency of some kind. The guy that cuts in front of me at the bar, well...I do not think I am allowed to write the word to classify him properly on Cruise Critic.

Also, I think that when there are more families on board, that means more kids. Kids have energy and are well kids.

Hi All,

I get so much info from this site so feel like I have to give back.

Outside Cabin:

We tried an outside cabin instead of veranda. The cabin itself is the same as a veranda or concierge veranda. The difference of course is you can not go outside and are are lower, deck 3. I figured we are almost never in the room. That being said, I still prefer a balcony even if only for the port arrivals / departures.

Food:

Main Dining; We had Select Dining, and ate in three different areas. One area, the waiter was OK but the assistant waiter was border line rude. The other two areas, excellent service. The food was very good. I will say again the food was very good, but my wife really did not like the everyday available chicken breast. One of the nights nothing tickled my fancy so I had the filet for any extra $19 (I think), Excellent. The everyday available French Onion Soup was also a favorite of mine.

Murano: Delish. We were a group of 4 and all loved our meals. This is the "fancier" of the the specialty restos.

Lawn Grill: Our favorite. It is outside, well stocked salad bar, excellent cuts of meat that you can choose, skewers of veggies, chicken, seafood, a well stocked salad bar, and flatbread aka pizza. BBQ Chicken flatbread yum, and did I mention the hot cookie? Decadent.

Ocean View Cafe: There is enough variety that I do not understand how one could not find something they like for lunch or breakfast. It is good food and a good variety.

Mast Grill: Burgers are good, fries are good, you can get grilled mushrooms, onions and all the fixings. Where was the vanilla ice cream? All strawberry and chocolate all week. Vanilla is the #1 flavour. tsk, tsk. You can however go to the Ocean View Cafe and get all the vanilla you want and burn an extra 5 calories getting there.

Activities and Shows:

Lots to do. The shows were good. I did read from another poster that some of the musical production story lines were a bit hard to follow and agree but still good. The comedians were good, the singers were good (who does not like the music of Queen?) The silent disco was a hoot. We did it in the Sky Bar and in the Solarium at Night. A good time and a good show. The standards were there as well, disco party, marriage show, poolside games, etc.... What I always want to do but never do is to play some lawn games, still just did not get around to it.

Poolside: All ships I have every been on are crowded on sea days. I find this one just a bit more crowded and the pools are super busy, more than other ships. On the flip side, I like the party like atmosphere and if you want a quieter venue, head to the bow area, Solstice Deck, Solarium. Sea Days, most chairs are scooped up early. We saw chairs not being used but reserved for hours upon hours. Admittedly, we will leave our stuff there when we go to lunch, but if more than that we move out and always bring the towels to the bin so people know the chairs are free. Being lazy and leaving your towels when you are done, why?

Ports: This is not a port thread but quickly. Cozumel we headed to Mr. Sanchos Resort, we liked it. Cayman: Snorkel and Swim with the Stingrays. With 6 ships in port, just too many people. Our catamaran sail boat was over crowded. They put up the sails but more for show as the engines are running (this seems to be standard). I think this is one of those things you do once and it is cool but once is enough. The crew tried and were nice but just too many people. Falmouth: We walked around the security shopping area for 20 mins and made it a ship day. Labadee: A nice beach day.

My experience with the crew: 98% awesome, 2% not so much. My experience with other guests: 70% awesome, 30% not so much. Crew wins.

Coffee: Subjective but I think Celebrity has very good regular coffee. I like coffee so that is a plus to be able to get easily without going to the specialty cafe. We had a beverage package that had the speciality coffee included but other than a expresso or a latté, the Ocean View's Coffee was good.

Mixed Drinks: They do not measure so if you prefer rocket fuel, just ask and they will be more than happy to accommodate. I found the beer to be just as good as anywhere else:D.

So did I like the cruise and ship. A+

Cafe 270 has premium Coffee and a great place to kick back.

Yes, there are foam rollers in the gym in the stretching area. About a half dozen of them.

Awesome review thank you!! I get to experience this beauty next week. About Bermuda, is the van better than the bus? How did you get back to the ship from the beach, call the van back or do they make regular stops?

The van was convenient. We walked down the pier, we were approached by the van guys. They fill it up before it leaves, which was quick. At the beach, we walked back to where we were dropped off, there were a few waiting, filled it up and off we went back to the boat. There were two ships at the Naval Dockyard so no waiting for the van to fill up.

I can not comment on the public bus. My guess would be it would be a few dollars less but would take longer. There are people, maps and info as soon as you are out of the security area.

Be sure to bring photo ID. They do check at the security check point before ship security.

Thanks for the review; getting more and more excited! :cool: Did you happen to get a lot of sun in the solarium? I think we might just veg in the sun on the outdoor deck and then move into the solarium later in the day.

There are shaded areas and sunny areas in The Solarium. We were outside on the warm days but did get a couple cooler days when we headed to the Solarium. Lot's of sun or shade available as long as the clouds cooperate.

Thanks for the review. How was the weather sailing out of New York and in Bermuda? Were the seas choppy? Since I'm prone to seasickness am worried sailing out of NYC in May. Thanks.

The seas were calm on this cruise, but it is The Atlantic Ocean and is unpredictable. My wife suffers sea sickness and swears by the patch.

Great review, thanks!

 

What restaurant do you think is the most romantic? We're going to be on Anthem for an anniversary cruise and I'm interested in hearing what you think would be best and most romantic for my foodie husband.

Just my opinion, others may want to chime in as well. Complementary would be Grande as it is The Formal Restaurant. We like Chops for speciality dining. It is a steak and seafood resto. Jamie's Italian, although the food is supposed to be great does not have a romantic setting. Located within Chops Grille is The Prime Table which is another step up. You mentioned "a foodie husband".

Thanks for sharing! I have a couple of questions:

 

In Bermuda, did you pay cash directly to the van driver, or did you need to purchase a pass?

 

What approximate time was it when you walked up for dinner (without reservations) and was seated quickly? We do not have reservations for each night of our upcoming cruise, and I am hoping that if we avoid 6:30-7:30, then we will not have to wait too long to be seated.

Cash directly to the driver. They were very polite.

Good question, once was Silk in Boston at about 7:30 but we were still in port for another hour. The other time was Chic and at about 7:30 as well. My darling wife informs me that was the night we were staying docked in Bermuda. I had to ask my wife and she pointed out that is why we did not have reservations.

I am a lurker to these boards, taking info but not adding anything. The opinions on this ship seem to vary greatly so I will throw my hat into the ring with my opinion of this ship and cruise.

Balcony Stateroom:

Pro’s: Comfy beds, Good TV (that can be angled towards the couch) enough storage with tons of hangers, USB Charging on the desk, night table plug, the desk can be pulled out to be a table, glass shower enclosure, night light in the bathroom, good lighting overall. 2 chairs, two foot rests on the balcony. Modern good room.

Con’s: It was a bit noisy. I did not hear through the walls, but could hear toilets flushing, and in the bathroom could easily hear conversations happening in other cabins through the exhaust vent. As the doors are on springs, it was like our whole cabin vibrated when the people around us opened or closed their door without being careful not to let it slam which was not a priority around us. I understand we are on a ship and this will not deter us from sailing her again.

One thing a little outside the norm was with 4 days left, they emptied all of the mini-bars around us. Told us it had to be removed because of the next cruise. We had not used it and might or might not of, but found it strange. I did not pursue the issue. As I understood it, the cruise following ours (presently sailing as of this writing) is a charter LGBT Cruise, so I guess something to do with the charter. Anyway, shutting it down 4 days early was un-cool.

Restaurants:

Windjammer: IMO, it was very good and something for everyone. Excellent salad bar. It is a busy place but no major lines and we always found a table within 2 minutes. Coffee, tea, concentrated juices and Iced Tea were complementary. I am a coffee guy and whereas the complementary stuff is a bit weak for me, it is still pretty decent.

Silk: We ate there twice. Service was exceptional both times. The food was very good. The room well appointed. I did have as an appetizer the Asian porc tacos, not sure of the exact name, it was filled chunks of porc fat. I think I just got a bad batch, everything else was supper.

Grande: The formal restaurant. Service excellent. Food very good. My wife had the lobster and they were pretty good sized tails. I had the surf and turf , shrimp and filet mignon. No, not the best, but still very good.

Chic: We ate there twice. Service was good/OK. Food was very good. I do not remember what we ate, but it was all good.

The 270 Café: Excellent, soups, salads, sandwiches for lunch and breakfast sandwiches, pastries, cereal in the mornings. Always plenty of space to sit in the 270 room overlooking the ocean.

Chops Grill: It was great. I could say I have had better, but it was excellent.

Sorrento’s Pizza: Not the best pizza at sea, Princess gets that accolade, but still very good.

I do not think we ate anywhere else….oh the soft ice cream machine. Not as creamy as you might get on land but that is a positive as I assume it has less fat so I can eat more.

A note on the dynamic dining, we had reservations for some of the nights and never waited more than 10 seconds to be seated. On two occasions, we just showed up and waited a bit more….30 seconds to be seated. That might not always be the case and we did see lines for the stand-by’s when we did have reservations, so mileage may vary here.

VooM Internet: I had the slower of the two packages. Email, simple surfing, sending some photos, messaging, worked fine and exactly as advertised. If you want to stream the cheaper of the two packages will not work.

IFly, Surfing, rock climbing, bumper cars, trapeze, ect…. All cool, but reserve in advance. If you can not on-line, go there and they will slot you in, but I suggest early in the cruise.

NorthStar: Fun, we did it once on standby on the last day, waited about 25 minutes.

Solarium: Excellent area for the adults especially on chilly rainy days. We vegged here at least two days.

The other pools: great. Nice, warm water, something for everyone. Royal does a good job with the oversized hot tubs.

The gym, at first glance, I thought it was a bit small but it seemed to be just right. There are no sauna’s or steam rooms, and a small changing room is the spa. A miss here.

The jogging track: I think it would be more of a hassle and dangerous running around it during pool rush hour, but other than that, it is pretty good. That Giraffe would look down on me at every lap, telling me to do a few more laps due to the ice cream consumption.

The Spa: I am going to complain here, so be prepared. RC you missed the boat on this one. On day one, I just wanted to sign up for the thermal suite but was moved along through the whole preplanned sales pitches for all the other treatments. Got through the pitches, signed up for the thermal suite which was $99 for the 7 days.

The thermal suite was beyond below par. You are given a locker key which contains a robe and spa slippers. The robe is tiny. Twice there was no robe in my locker or slippers. There is only one shower that is shared with the gym upstairs. The body wash was empty the first time I used it. The locker room was generally in a big mess and it was not a busy place.

The thermal suite consisted of a rain shower with colored lights and three different settings. This is a relaxation shower not a cleaning shower and the area is coed. There are 6 thermal beds, a steam room and a sauna. The sauna using radiated heat, crap. It is nothing more than a wooden box with heat lamps. The steam room was luke warm on one day and on the last day, painfully hot. Intolerable, dangerously hot. The guy that was in there with me for one minute went to tell them as the controls are not within reach of the passengers. Other days the temp was ok, but always a mess with towels everywhere, even food wrappers in the steam room. I understand that some of my fellow passengers are pigs but it should not be left that way. The room itself where the thermal beds are located is noisy, mechanical noises. It is made for relaxation. None to be had there. On top of the that, they double charged me. An accident I am sure, but just one more thing. Such a beautiful ship and such a crappy thermal suite. If it was free, I would have only gone once, but since I paid over $99 plus service charge, I wanted it to get better.

Shows: “We will Rock you” – loved it. I am a big fan of Queen, so easy to like.

“Spectra’s Cabaret”, pretty cool. Spectra the main guy was born for this role.

There were comedian’s, a adult sing along guy, an Aerosmith Tribute Band, other bands, other singers. One guy belting out the tunes in a corner of the casino, awesome. All great. The Love and Marriage Show, Name that Tune, The 70’s Party….. Not everything might be for you, but it certainly worked for me and my wife. There were other shows that I missed; 7 days is NOT enough. The Music Hall is a great venue. Too much to detail but they nailed it.

Do not miss the intro to the 270 on the first night. It showcases what is to come in The 270 Room and explains the tech.

The Royal Esplanade. A beautiful space. RC has kiosks set up in the middle with watches, jewelry, purses….Sale Items. It jamms the place up, and I heard people complain but really, just stay away if it is not your thing. It is not mine, but judging by the amount of people, it is popular.

Casino: It is a Casino and a busy one.

Chair Hogs: They are on every ship. I heard that they were removing items for chairs left too long in the Solarium on the busy sea days. Good.

Drink Prices: I found them expensive on this cruise. The mixed drinks were on the high end ($14 plus service). Beer and wine, at par with most I think.

Staff Overall: Great. They are human, and sometimes you may run across someone that is having an off day. As I was going into Silk on standby, one of the passengers was coming out screaming at the head waiter. He said something about being ignored and was literally freaking out. I do not know what happened, but for me to react like that to a waiter, he would have had to spit in my food and then kick my dog. He was following that passenger trying to talk to him but was told to “GET LOST!” A word to the wise, never diss my dog.

Embarkation/disembarkation: super speedy. HOWEVER, our itinerary was NYC, Bermuda, Boston, NYC. After Bermuda, we hit Boston, and had to clear US Customs in Boston. The lines were crazy. My intention was to leave the ship first thing, go for a run, come back for a shower, get the wife and sightsee. The line was too long to clear US Customs that I decided I would just run on deck, and go to my favorite place the Thermal Suite and clear customs later with my wife. It was marked on the paper in our stateroom that everyone had to clear US Customs by 10:30am whether you were getting off the ship or not……I missed that part. I was happily jogging around the track with the Giraffe Scolding me at every lap with headphones pumping music into my ears. I did not hear the desperate pleas on the PA that everyone had to clear customs NOW. I then made my way down to the one shower in the locker room and then the steam room. Meanwhile my wife is searching for me and has the spa staff going into the men’s room and then the thermal suite. I must have been moving between the rooms and they were just missing me. I was eventually met by a very stressed, pissed off but incredibly beautiful wife. The crew was not allowed to leave the ship before all passengers were cleared. There were 4 other people after me.

You do go through customs again in NYC. Our departure time was 8:30 which is what I requested, and we were off the ship within 15 minutes. Flawless.

I never did Boston as a tourist so we did and loved it and the people. Boston Strong!

NYC: A Yankees Game the night before the cruise. After the cruise, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, had pizza, took a ferry back to Manhattan, walked through The Financial Dist. over to The 9/11 Memorial (every emotion ran through me, anger, sadness, hope….). A jog in Central Park on the Sunday then Home.

Bermuda: Day 1, Horseshoe Bay Beach. A $14 a person round trip. The vans are waiting for you at the pier and at the beach when you are ready to go back. Beautiful Beach. You can rent chairs, umbrellas, food concession. Walk to the rocky area, beautiful. At night we bar hopped at The Navy Yards, which was three bars. The next day we planned to just hit the beach at The Navy Yards but it was very windy so we walked around a bit then just made it a ship day.

Summery: The ship is beautiful, tons of stuff to do and the space to do it in or not. Great ship for a northern home port as there is lot’s of indoor pool space and indoor sports. I do not think it deserved all the negative reviews just because it was different. I would liken the ship to something resembling A Celebrity Solstice Class Ship on steroids. I would recommend planning and reserving more than you may have done on other ships. Even if it says not available on the computer/Ipad, go and see them and there is usually space, just do it early in the cruise, and there are usually standby lines if at the last minute.

The Spa area was my only major disappointment.

This is long. Sorry. I will pop up some photos a bit later.