aubreyc1988

If you are worried about the spring break crowd, stay by the airport and then just uber to the port.

1000% agree with this.

I have basically given up on NCL CAS, given what they give players for their play. Get much better treatment with RCI Casino Royale. I'd sail NCL again in the future, but their casino program sucks and I won't really be participating in it.

Sorry you had a bad time but I agree with most of the other posters in this thread. Lots of bad decisions and poor planning made this into a cruise you disliked. Also, you can get sick anywhere and I fail to understand why you are blaming Royal. If anything, blame your fellow passengers but Royal?!?! And wow, can't believe the comment on the ice show. Idk if you were expecting Nathan Chen to show up, but they are all really talented, working in less than ideal ice and space...even if they fall, I have never been to a bad ice show The *only* thing I can sympathize with is the drink quality. I've been on 3 RCI cruises within the last 6 months and the drink quality has been so bad...very weak and just not well made on every ship I've been on recently. I could have 4 martinis on a RCI ship and barely feel a buzz. I had 2 martinis in Las Vegas last week and I was DRUNK. Same thing for when I drink at home. I do agree about them creating a better standard for the drinks, but the pricing is on par with land, maybe a little cheaper, as I was paying 15-20.00 per drink on land in Vegas.

I was on this sailing too! Was a great time!

I mean...nothing is truly free from the casino lol

no need to go to the bowels, the room Casino Royale put me in on the Symphony made me rage and I am no stranger to insides lol. It was like "Let's carve a room out of a crew supply closet all the way forward on deck 7 and sell that to someone"

On Symphony, it was my first cruise as diamond and using the lounge. Loved the perk, but man some of the conversations I overheard in that lounge lol. One guy would have a nightly complaining fest about how "the program just isn't what it used to be" and "all these young kids becoming diamond and ruining it for everyone else" 😅 Our concierge was quite nice, she even set up my free internet day for me so I didn't have to go to the internet people.

I don't think that always matters. I was tipping 2-5.00 per drink on Symphony (For my Diamond and Prime drinks) and I didn't notice an improvement in service or drink

I'm normally glass half full sort of person, but the drinks onboard RCI are dreadful. Luckily I am Diamond and Prime in the Casino so I don't pay for them. And just to back up my opinion, I had the drink package Sept 2'2 on Liberty, was Prime on Allure Oct '22, Prime on Freedom Oct '22, Diamond and Prime on Symphony Feb '23. Each time, I figured "maybe it's the ship, maybe it is the bartender" and yes, certain bars/bartenders are better than others but as a whole, very disappointed. At home, I use a jigger to make my vodka sodas and other concoctions...two drinks makes me feel really good. On the ship, I could have 3 vodka sodas, 3 strawberry blondes, 2 long island iced teas and I feel NOTHING. And I only drink on the weekends at home, so these drinks SHOULD be making me feel a little tipsy! I do see the bartenders make the drinks using a jigger, but I only know what my body tells me, which is that these drinks are too weak. I understand maybe this is the RCI standard, but I just think something is very wrong if I don't feel any sort of buzz after so many drinks...maybe it's me, idk, but my husband experienced the same thing on our cruises and so did my best friend. People on our roll call were talking about it too. On top of being weak pours, the actual drink-making standard is very low. Every time I would order a strawberry blonde, it would taste wildly different depending on who made it, what bar I was at, etc. Same thing for the Mint Berry Delight, mojitos, etc. I am not talking about a slight difference, sometimes I thought maybe I ordered the wrong thing. I mean, it is just drinks and obviously, I do continue to sail RCI, but if I didn't have my free drinks, I wouldn't be buying mixed drinks onboard, just the beers, Trulys, ciders, wine.

I didn't take any pictures, didn't bring my phone with me most times.

Thanks, wasn't sure if he wasn't sailing with me if he would retain his diamond status and perks

sorry to resurrect this but I have a burning question. I am Diamond, have more points than my spouse, and we normally sail together but on our next cruise, we both have separate cabins with casino certificates. Will he have Diamond status on that cruise or does he need to be a passenger on my cabin?

NCL has really good Indian food as well, maybe their chefs are from India?

It is probably averaging an hour. Remember, my party was only 2 people, so the more people you add, the longer the service. We are fast eaters as well.

no, but I have read a lot of people (who haven't even tried the menu) giving it a ton of bad negative reviews.

Yeah, food is so subjective and I can see some not being impressed. I also think it depends on each individual's standards. For me, I am a terrible cook and normally eat a lot of salad or easy prep meals...I also do not go out to eat more than once a month, so I find mainstream cruise line food to be amazing. And if you have excellent meals at specialty and love those and hate the MDR, I'd just fork over the money and do the unlimited dining plan. It's a little pricey but it is important to enjoy your meals!

While I am sure Royal is feeling the pricing pinch in regards to food (I mean, we all are experiencing that, I spent 200.00 on 4 small bags of groceries at Walmart today and we are only 2 people in our household), nothing was super glaring to me besides the no extra lobster. I do think the upcharge prices for the Chops Filet, Maine Lobster have gone up a few dollars, but I am not certain. I would have actually preferred if the menu had changed more drastically, it still feels like not a lot changed besides a few dishes leaving and a few new dishes and not having the classics every day. I like variety. In fact, on the Harmony in April, we may actually eat dinner a few nights somewhere else to just have a change of menu, nothing to do with quality or service but just need some fresh new dishes to try.

Most of my food was PIPING hot and I love hot temp food so this overjoyed me. And I do think if you want a slower dinner service, you could certainly convey that to your wait staff, I am sure they would slow it down some. Desserts have always been the weakest point in the cruising industry, in my opinion, but I did have a couple enjoyable ones this trip. Man, that gooey choco chip cookie thing was amazing! And they brought me a scoop of icecream with every dessert without even me having to ask!

I think a lot of people do not realize how hard it is to prepare food for so many people, and certainly it isn't possible to please everyone, but I was quite satisfied with my experience. I also think if you have an honest and kind conversation with your wait staff on the first night about the kind of dining experience you want, that can go a long way in making or breaking the experience. Our waiter knew we wanted to have faster dining times to get to the earlier shows, and I am sure if we would have asked for a longer service, he would have accommodated us.

I didn't get them at the same time, but the waiter did ask me how I would like them. I did say "Once I finish the lobster" and about 5 minutes after they took the lobster plates away, they brought the tortelleni

no fee for slots but you have to spend at least 50% of what you charge otherwise they will charge you a 5% fee (This is what I was told onboard) 5% fee for tables, unless you are Casino level Prime or above. Not sure what percentage you have to spend on the tables when you charge to the room.

Hate to chime in on this, but does it really matter if they make 2k a week or more? I don't think they do make that, but omg if they do, that is so amazing for them

You could go more leisurely if you wanted to. We are fast diners, we like to do as many nightly activities as possible.

I always think that if the food ends up being mad, maybe I won't gain so much haha