RCL vs. Princess

[caribill]

I recently returned from a five day cruise on RCCL’s Navigator of the Seas.

 

I thought is might be interesting to post information about several aspects of the ship and the cruise as to how they may be the same or different than being on a Princess cruise. I am not indicating that anything is better or worse than Princess, just the way it is on this RCCL ship. I figure that most people on this board are familiar enough with Princess to do the comparison in their own minds.

 

The comments may not apply to all other RCCL ships.

 

Comments about cabins are for inside/outside and balcony cabins, not mini-suites and higher.

 

Embarkation

Cabins may not be ready when you embark. An announcement is made when they are available. This was by about 1:00 PM. Reason is that you do not have to leave your cabin on disembarkation day until you need to leave the ship which is by 10 AM.

 

The ship

The ship is listed as holding 3114 passengers, is 1020 feet in length, and the maximum beam is 157.5 feet.

 

Decks only have numbers, not names. If your cabin number is 7xxx, then you are on deck 7.

 

Cabin numbers are sequential down one side and then up the other. For example, 6000-6498 may be on the starboard side and 6500-6898 on the port side. In each hallway, even numbers are on the outside and odd numbers are on the inside.

 

There is a promenade inside on deck 5. Many of the inside cabins have windows facing this promenade. All shops (other than the photo gallery), some bars, and some food service are along this promenade. The shore excursion desk and the purser’s desk is also located there. There is an ATM machine near the purser’s desk.

 

The promenade is the site of various activities such as the Captain’s welcome speech, the cooking demonstration and staff parades.

 

Cabins

Passengers’ names are not posted outside any cabin.

 

All cabins are non-smoking. Smoking is permitted on all cabin balconies. If smoking is detected in a cabin, a charge of $250 will be assessed. (Smoking is also permitted on open decks on the starboard side, in the casino on most nights, and in about one-third of the bar areas.)

 

Every cabin has a couch in it.

 

There is a curtain that can be pulled across the room to separate the sleeping area from the couch area.

 

The cabin TV is a standard tube type. Interactively, you can look at your stateroom account, book shore excursions, and order dinner (with dining room menu items) in your cabin from room service. A pay-per-view movie channel is also available.

 

The only American news channel available was Fox. CNN international was available. There was a CBS channel, but it was repeats of past programs (from "60 Minutes" to "The New Adventures of Old Christine"), not current on-the-air programming.

 

The electrical outlets at the desk were two 120V and one 230V. The 230V outlet was the type to accept two pins (mainland Europe and the Middle East type plugs).

 

On a balcony, there are doors which can be unlocked to access an adjoining balcony.

 

The room safe uses a four digit code that the passenger chooses. Once set up, the code is needed to open the safe, but the safe can be locked by just pressing the "close" button.

 

There was a dial at the desk for turning off or on the in the room non-emergency announcements such as the times for activities, ship’s clearance in a port, Captain’s daily update, etc. At least in our cabin the switch did not work to allow these announcements to be heard. The purser’s desk told me that there was no TV channel on which these announcements could be heard.

 

Bathroom amenities include only soap bars and a shampoo dispenser in the shower. I was told that until recently there were other amenities such as lotion.

 

When the light in the bathroom is turned off, there is no power to the plug for shavers (important for those who like to put a night light in the bathroom.)

 

 

The shower has two curved plastic doors instead of a shower curtain.

 

The shower head is at the end of a removable hose.

 

There is no laundry room or iron and ironing board for passengers to use. Typical laundry pricing:

 

Pants: $4 wash and press; $2.00 press only; $4.50 dry clean and press

Shirt: $3.50 wash and press; $1.75 press only; $4.00 dry clean and press

Above pricing is nor next day service. Same day service (in by 9 AM) is 50% higher.

 

Once during the cruise there was a "wash and fold" laundry special (pressing not included). Fill the supplied bag and have laundered for $25.

 

Future cruise sales and loyalty program

The RCCL equivalent of a Future Cruise Credit is non-refundable if not used. There is not any time limit on using it. OBC is based solely on length of cruise ($3-5 nights $50, 6-9nights $100, 10-13 nights $200, 14+ nights $300) and is not combinable with shareholder OBC.

 

The loyalty program representative on board cannot resolve an incorrect cruise history. This can only be done by the passenger contacting RCCL directly.

 

Those at the minimum loyalty level (1-4 past RCCL cruises) receive a coupon book in the room. Some coupons I found useful ($5 of free 55 cents/minute Internet use; two for one milkshakes at Johnny Rockets, a free pull on a dedicated slot machine in the casino). Most are virtually useless ($75 bidding credit at the art auction of any work greater than $1000; purchase any bottle of wine and receive 10% off a second bottle of wine priced over $50).

 

Pools

There are two family pools very near each other. There is also an adults only pool (the Solarium).

 

Towels for use at the pools or on a shore excursion are not in the stateroom. They are checked out and returned at the pool area after presenting the room cruise card. If a towel is not returned, there is a $20 charge made to the room account.

 

Food and Beverage

There are three dining rooms (actually one three level dining room with a separate name and entrance at each level). Two of the dining rooms are for traditional fixed seating. The third has both traditional fixed seating and anytime ("My Time") dining.

 

Reservations for the anytime dining may be made for each night or for the entire cruise.

 

For those with children aged 3-11 in the kids’ program, there can be expedited 45 minute service for the children at the early traditional seating so they can then go to the kids’ program while the parents can continue dining at the normal pace.

 

At dinner there is ice cream, sugar-free ice cream and sherbet available every evening. Only one flavor of each is available each evening. Ice cream flavors over the voyage included chocolate, coffee, butter almond, and pistachio. The ice cream is not prepared on board.

 

There is no bread basket on the table. At the start and once later in the meal (and, of course, upon your request), the assistant waiter brings a basket of bread and rolls you can select from.

 

On a night in the middle of the cruise, many of the waitstaff paraded and then gathered to sing O' Sole Mio. On the last evening the same parade was followed by a "thank you for sailing with us" song.

 

Almost every time, the waitstaff would take the meal orders first from the women and then from the men. When the food was served, the women were almost always served first.

 

Near the end of the cruise, the usual appeal was made by the waiter for a favorable rating on the passenger survey form.

 

A dining room is open for lunch only on sea days. It is not open upon embarkation.

 

There is a surcharge for the specialty Italian ($20) and steak ($25) restaurants.

 

There is no "Chef’s Table."

 

There is no traditional Afternoon Tea.

 

Hot chocolate is available at no charge in the dining rooms at every meal.

 

The buffet area has two sides with identical foods on each side. It does not feel crowded in the food service area as it is in cafeteria style with all the stations in a single row. At the rear is an island which has milk and yogurt at breakfast and desserts at other meals. Milk is served in small cartons.

 

No trays are available at the buffet. No plate is larger than the typical dinner plate in the dining room.

 

There is a self-service low fat yogurt softserve machine on each side of the buffet (and another one in the pool area).

 

The buffet has at least four manned drink stations where staff has prepared juice (at breakfast), lemonade and water as well as serving coffee (brewed Seattle’s Best) and tea upon request. Fresh squeezed orange juice is available for $3.95 + 15% tip.

 

There is enforced use of hand sanitizers at the entrance to the buffet area.

 

The equivalent of the International Café is located on the deck 5 promenade. It is open 24 hours a day and is the only food venue other than room service which is available 24 hours. There is a beverage area there which has no charge Seattle’s Best brewed coffee as well as tea bags and hot chocolate pouches along with the needed hot water. Fresh squeezed orange juice is available for $3.95 + 15% tip.

 

There is also (for a charge) a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream counter located on the deck 5 promenade.

 

There is a Johnny Rockets restaurant on an upper deck serving hamburgers, etc. For food there is a $4.95 per person cover change and no additional cost for the food. All beverages (other than tap water) have normal current bar costs with them. Milkshakes ($4.50 + 15% tip) may be had without paying a cover charge.

 

Internet

The cost of using the Internet is 55 cents/minute with packages available to lower the per minute cost. There is no additional one-time sign up fee. Speed is equivalent to that on Princess.

 

Internet time packages available:

$28 for 59 minutes (47 cents/minute)

$38 for 90 minutes (42 cents/minute)

$55 for 148 minutes (37 cents/minute)

There is wireless Internet, but, for I do not know for what reason, my netbook knew it was there, but could not connect.

 

Photo gallery

All pictures taken are printed and displayed in the photo gallery.

Cost of formal pictures is $19.95. Cost of pictures taken as you leave the ship in a port is $9.95.

 

Cost of the video of the cruise is $29.95 ("only two hundred available").

 

There is a machine at which you can swipe your cruise card and then see pictures that are of you. I suspect it works with some sort of facial recognition using the image taken for the cruise card when initially boarding the ship. When I tried it, the results were mixed.

Even though my cruise card was swiped for the welcome aboard picture and the formal night picture taking, none of these pictures appeared.

 

Pictures taken at ports appeared.

 

Some pictures taken of others in our family who had their reservation linked to ours, but without me or my spouse in them, also appeared. Maybe our faces are similar enough?

 

A picture of total strangers (to us) also was in the displayed group.

 

Shore excursions

Shore excursions could be purchased before the cruise (pay when selecting them), via interactive TV in the cabins, or in person at the shore excursions desk.

 

Few if any excursions were fully booked before the voyage. Some excursions were cancelled for lack of participants.

 

When meeting for shore excursions onboard, passengers went to the main theater and sat anywhere they wanted, not by the excursion they were taking. Tour stickers were not given to passengers as they entered the theater. When a tour was announced, passengers for that tour would get up and go to the theater entrance to be led to the disembarkation area.

 

When tendering ashore when not on a shore excursion, tender tickets were needed until demand was low. However, only one person from a group had to go to the designated place to pick up the tickets for that group of people.

 

Activities and Entertainment

The ship had two production shows during our cruise out of the three that the ship entertainers can perform. We were told that the average life of a production show is five years, but two of the three shows on this ship have been there since the ship was launched in December 2002. The third show has been on the ship for about two years. I was told that the shows are usually only duplicated on a few of the RCCL ships.

 

The production shows are similar in style and energy to those on Princess.

 

The usual assortment of other performers (comedians, magician, but no hypnotist) also performed.

 

Production shows and other performers in the main theater were scheduled two times on one night. However, the Welcome Aboard show was scheduled only one time.

 

One night there was a midnight "adult" comedy show.

 

The main theater had cup holders build into the arm rests. No school type desktop to pull out.

 

On the last evening, several of the show band members along with the four principal production show singers, gave a jazz concert in one of the lounges.

 

The "backstage tour" on the last sea day started with fifteen minutes of Q&A with the show supervisor, a dancer, a singer, the sound technician, the lighting technician, and several others. This was followed by a tour of the cast backstage dressing area as well as explanations of their work by the sound technician at his sound control board and by the lighting technician in the lighting control room.

 

The ship has an ice skating rink with an ice skating show (pretty decent one) that is repeated several times throughout the cruise. At times there are skating sessions for passengers.

 

There is a movie theater on deck two. I estimate less than 200 seats. Typical movies on a single day were "Gotta Dance", "Hanna Montana, the Movie", "Obsessed", "Star Trek", and "State of Play".

 

There was a fruit and vegetable carving demonstration together with a cooking demonstration on the deck 5 promenade. This was a poor location as only a few of the people standing there had a good view of the activity.

 

There was an ice carving demonstration on the last sea day. The passengers selected what object should be carved for a list of four items.

There were also napkin folding and towel animal demonstrations (with audience participation).

 

Most trivia session had everybody receiving a prize and then the competition for first place was for the honor of wining. Prizes included RCCL pens, plastic luggage tags, key chains and passport wallets. At one trivia the first place team also received RCCL medals. At the final trivia session, only the winning team received any prize, getting both a medal and a RCCL cap.

 

There was a one time Sudoko contest. The two winners (and everyone else) received a RCCL pen.

 

The slot machines in the casino only accept cash and only (should you be so lucky) dispense cash.

 

Disembarkation

Early walkoff with luggage was available. Those in this category were able to leave the ship at about 6:45 AM.

 

EZCheck (called "Luggage Valet)" was available for participating airlines at MIA and FLL. The cost was $20 per person plus the airline’s normal baggage charges. Boarding passes were also provided if this service was used.

 

On the last evening, luggage was to be paced outside the cabins from 7 PM to 11 PM. However, none of it was picked up from the hallways until 11 PM.

 

On disembarkation day, there was a semi-silent procedure. Passengers reported to an assigned location by a time based on luggage tag color. It would then be announced in that location when a particular color could disembark. There were also at least two shipwide announcements about all the colors that already could have left the ship.

 

You could stay in your cabin until it was time to report to the location assigned for your luggage tag color.

 

Miscellaneous

The muster drill required everyone to be outside at the lifeboat station assigned to you and listed on the cruise card. There was no need to bring the life vest to the muster. Use of the vest was demonstrated by a crew member at each lifeboat. No mention was made of what needed to be done if it became necessary to walk/jump into the water.

 

On this voyage there was one formal night, one smart casual night, and the rest were casual nights. Formal has the same definition as on Princess.

 

On formal night, I noticed nobody wearing a tuxedo (but there may have been some I did not see). I did see two US Army officers in full dress uniform.

 

RCCL’s definition for smart casual includes wearing a jacket (no tie). I notice nobody wearing a jacket that evening.

 

There is a daily newsletter similar to the Princess Patter. The activity section for the newsletter is enlarged and posted prominently several places on the ship (for example, at the entrance to the buffet). There was no Cruise Log at the end of the cruise.

 

Many of the printed materials (daily newsletters, library trivia games, disembarkation information, laundry lists, etc.) are available in several languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and German. The in cabin TV had movie channels available in these same six languages. General announcements were mostly in English, but some were then repeated in Spanish.

 

Those under the age of 18 have a 1 AM curfew unless participating in a kids’ club activity or with a parent.

 

Baby sitting for children at least one year old was available in cabins on a limited basis. Cost was $10/hour for one or two children and $15/hour for three or more children. Group sitting was available in the kid’s club area in the evenings for the younger children in the program at a cost of $5/hour

As on Princess, there is one ding to announce an elevator going up and two dings for one going down. There are four sets of four elevators and, except for very busy times, an elevator would arrive soon after being requested. Elevators would travel at a rate of about one deck every three seconds.

 

On the deck above the bridge, there is a viewing area where you can watch bridge activities looking from the rear of the bridge.

 

The ship’s time was not changed for the two ports that were in a one hour earlier time zone. The ship’s daily newsletter from December did show that ship time was changed on this itinerary.

 

The charity walk was for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It was a one mile walk on the jogging track. Donation amount was $10 and included a tee-shirt.

[Worn out mailman]

Good Gosh. You must have been taking your Super-Duper memory pills while you were cruising. Thanks.

[A Sixth?]

Good Gosh. You must have been taking your Super-Duper memory pills while you were cruising. Thanks.

 

I too was impressed.....:eek:

[dreams_of_travel]

thanks for the really in depth comparisons. not planning on trying RCL anytime soon but knowing some of the differences could make it less jarring.

[Coolmama_1]

Thanks for the very thorough comparision.

[NotWthOutablcony]

Wow, thanks for the comparison, you touched on a lot of subjects many Princess cruisers would have. One of these days we'll get brave enough and try RCCL. They have a few things that we would love like a full menu for in room dining, then we could really put our balconies to good use, or all of the many accesses from the television, its a nice touch, certainly not necessary but handy.

How would you rate the room scale? Did a balcony stateroom seem larger than a Princess balcony stateroom? Lol, I'm envious over their coffee alone! And what woman can say no to a Ben and Jerry's?:D

[junglejane]

Thanks for posting. We are going on the Mariner of the Seas in 2-1/2 weeks, so I was very interested in your observations.:) Seems like the towel checkout system would help with the whole chair-hogging problem, because people would be less likely to wander off and leave their towels and risk paying for them. Wish Princess would try that system.

[BBQ Lover]

As far as the wireless internet goes, your laptop probably couldn't connect because RCCL charges for using the wifi. Does Princess charge for using the wifi on your own laptop or net book? I'm curious because I just bought a new net book that I will be bringing on future cruises

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the RCCL cruise we took a couple of months ago, but I must say that the food was just not as good as the food on Princess, especially the desserts.

 

The ship itself, Radiance of the Seas, was real nice and was not showing the age I expected from a ship that was 9 years old. We were on Dawn Princess at about her 9 year mark, and she looked more tired than Radiance did. The level of service was comparable to what we have experienced on our Princess cruises.

 

Our balcony stateroom was larger than the ones we have had on Dawn Princess and Royal Princess. We were booked in a D1 balcony on Radiance, and that class is slightly larger than the regular E class balconies on RCCL. We participated in a Cabin Crawl with other CC'rs on Radiance, and my recollection is that the E class balconies felt comparable to our previous Princess balconies.

 

We will probably cruise RCCL sometime again in the future, but I must say that we still consider ourselves to be "Princess People".

[caribill]

As far as the wireless internet goes, your laptop probably couldn't connect because RCCL charges for using the wifi. Does Princess charge for using the wifi on your own laptop or net book? I'm curious because I just bought a new net book that I will be bringing on future cruises

 

Yes, Princess does charge to use the Internet on your notebook/netbook, same rates as using the Princess computers in the Internet Cafe.

 

Repeat Princess passengers in the Platinum and Elite categories get an allowance towards Internet use based on the length of the cruise. Full suite passengers have free Internet use, both on their own notebook/netbook and in the ship's Internet Cafe.

 

On Princess, the netbook connects to the same screen that users see in the Internet cafe for signing on and purchasing time.

[A Sixth?]

...... Seems like the towel checkout system would help with the whole chair-hogging problem, because people would be less likely to wander off and leave their towels and risk paying for them. Wish Princess would try that system.

 

trust me, I sailed on the Mariner of the Seas once and the RCCL chair hoggs were as common as dollar store salt shakers. They were everywhere. :mad:

 

In fact, the only ship I saw a near violent confrontation was on that ship when a hogg returned to find his towels moved. :eek:

[TorontoTL]

That was the most detailed RCI review I've ever read on these boards, thanks for posting them.

[bigeagle12]

trust me, I sailed on the Mariner of the Seas once and the RCCL chair hoggs were as common as dollar store salt shakers. They were everywhere. :mad:

 

In fact, the only ship I saw a near violent confrontation was on that ship when a hogg returned to find his towels moved. :eek:

 

I do not know what world you live in .. but those CHAIR HOGGS are a problem on all cruiselines .. including Princess!!!

[rjrice1]

Thanks for posting. We are going on the Mariner of the Seas in 2-1/2 weeks, so I was very interested in your observations.:) Seems like the towel checkout system would help with the whole chair-hogging problem, because people would be less likely to wander off and leave their towels and risk paying for them. Wish Princess would try that system.

Been on Mariner of the Sea several times when she was in Florida. Nice ship...must try Johhny Rockets one time. Good all-white tuna sandwich, plus burgers and etc. Enjoy it.

[mizLORInj]

Wow, how thorough! :D

We sailed RC's Explorer of the Seas about 2 yrs ago, and the ship was indeed beautiful. I liked the couch in the balcony cabins, and the shower "pods" too. Played fun games, very "happening" nightclub. While the three story dining room was a sight to see, and the buffet area is nicely done too, none of the six in our party enjoyed the food on EoS. We thought food in DR and buffet was much better on Princess.

I like laundry facilities available esp. for 10 night cruises and no RC ship has any.

So I did enjoy RC, but will still sail other ships and lines.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Did a balcony stateroom seem larger than a Princess balcony stateroom? :D

I'll jump in on this yes. In a word...YES! The balcony cabins, particularly the D1s, are much larger than Princess's balcony cabins. They are edging toward minisuite size, except there is just one TV and no pseudo-division between the sitting and sleeping area. Still, until RC eliminates smoking on balconies, all I can do is remember what we've had in the past, as we won't book a balcony on a ship that allows smoking on them.

 

Thanks for the wonderful review. I love this kind of stuff, and think it is so helpful for people when they venture out to a new cruise line...to know ahead of time that not every little thing is handled the same by all of them. Some things are better; some, not as good. RC can definitely teach Princess a thing or two when it comes to the TV menus, photo identifying and hot meals delivered by room service. But I really miss lunch in the dining room on port days when I'm on RC.

 

One comment, though...unless they've changed something in the past 11 months, I think RC's future cruise deposits ARE refundable. In fact, we had four refunded last summer when they took away the Concierge Lounge for Diamond passengers on their Radiance Class of ships (my all-time favorite ships on any cruise line). When we lost those benefits, we pared our FCCs down to just 2 each on RC, as it significantly reduced the number of RC ships we're willing to sail on.

[caribill]

One comment, though...unless they've changed something in the past 11 months, I think RC's future cruise deposits ARE refundable. In fact, we had four refunded last summer when they took away the Concierge Lounge for Diamond passengers on their Radiance Class of ships (my all-time favorite ships on any cruise line). When we lost those benefits, we pared our FCCs down to just 2 each on RC, as it significantly reduced the number of RC ships we're willing to sail on.

 

The current form says on the front in the "Why not decide later" column (this is the option not to book a cruise now, but at some time in the future):

$100 deposit required per person (non-refundable).

 

The form may have been printed 07/14/2009

 

Also, the OBC is per stateroom, not per person.

[booklady26]

I'm an Elite CC member and I just returned from a cruise on RCI's Explorer OTS.

 

I'd like to add a further comment on the cabin size. We had a Junior Suite, which we figured would be similar to the mini-suites we've enjoyed on the CB & CP. Sorry folks, RCI's JS wins, hands down.

 

It was more like a verandah suite on HAL's Noordam. HUGE. The balcony was pretty big too with enough room for 2 regular chairs, one lounge chair and a small cocktail-size table. The downside is that the table wouldnot be big enough to accomodate a full meal.

 

In the cabin, we had a couch and 2 cushioned chairs with a cocktail table. A counter ran the full length of the cabin with 2 "desk"-like sections both with chairs of their own. There were numerous drawers and cabinets all along the counter space. We don't pack that lightly, and we still had tons of unused storage space.

 

The best part was an enormous walk in closet that was bigger than most bathrooms I've had on some ships. There was more than enough hanging room and several shelves on the side.

 

I will say one more thing about RCI. Many people have commented on the crowding on the larger Princess ships and I've experienced the same thing at times on the CP & CB. Last fall, I also sailed on the brand new Carnival Dream. That ship should be renamed the "Nightmare" because of the crowds everywhere.

 

The Explorer OTS is bigger than any Princess ship currently sailing and only slightly bigger than the Dream but there were no lines anywhere. Not in the Lido, not for tendering not at embarkation/disembarkation. It never felt crowded. Ours was a full ship too.

 

All I can say is that if Carnival and it's various brands want to build bigger ships they should take some tips from RCI. They know how to do BIG.

[roe2ship]

Wow, nicely done! Could you cruise on another line and post the same detail vs. Princess? LOL

trust me, I sailed on the Mariner of the Seas once and the RCCL chair hoggs were as common as dollar store salt shakers. They were everywhere. :mad:

 

In fact, the only ship I saw a near violent confrontation was on that ship when a hogg returned to find his towels moved. :eek:

Interesting, I was on the Adventure of the Seas and while I saw towels left on chairs, there were still SO many available.

 

I'll jump in on this yes. In a word...YES! The balcony cabins, particularly the D1s, are much larger than Princess's balcony cabins. They are edging toward minisuite size, except there is just one TV and no pseudo-division between the sitting and sleeping area. Still, until RC eliminates smoking on balconies, all I can do is remember what we've had in the past, as we won't book a balcony on a ship that allows smoking on them.

 

Thanks for the wonderful review. I love this kind of stuff, and think it is so helpful for people when they venture out to a new cruise line...to know ahead of time that not every little thing is handled the same by all of them. Some things are better; some, not as good. RC can definitely teach Princess a thing or two when it comes to the TV menus, photo identifying and hot meals delivered by room service. But I really miss lunch in the dining room on port days when I'm on RC.

 

One comment, though...unless they've changed something in the past 11 months, I think RC's future cruise deposits ARE refundable. In fact, we had four refunded last summer when they took away the Concierge Lounge for Diamond passengers on their Radiance Class of ships (my all-time favorite ships on any cruise line). When we lost those benefits, we pared our FCCs down to just 2 each on RC, as it significantly reduced the number of RC ships we're willing to sail on.

I second that about the D1 cabins being the same size as a mini on Princess. I have a Next Cruise deposit on Royal and I also believe they are non-refundable.

[janina]

Thanks for taking such great notes and taking the time to post. Wow, even towel charges can't stop the chair hogs....I guess it is that important to them! :rolleyes:

[lovevacadays]

Thanks for the comparison. I'm thinking of fitting in a Mariner of the Seas Mexican Riviera cruise between now and my December Princess cruise. I haven't cruised RCCL since about 2000 so not been on their larger ships.

 

This may seem strange but I am one who presses my clothes when I get on-board as they get wrinkled in the suitcase. I know, some will say just relax but it's "my thing". I used to be able to travel with a travel iron but have been using the laundry facilities on Princess to do my ironing (for safety reasons). So, on RCCL the only option would be to pay for them to press my clothes? And that looks like it is about $2.00 a piece? Yikes. Anyone know if you can take a steamer onboard and if that works pretty good for most clothes?

 

Just curious. It won't keep me from booking Mariner if I decide to fit another cruise in.

[jd1966]

Never had a problem getting cruise deposit back as long as it prior to 70 days.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I second that about the D1 cabins being the same size as a mini on Princess. I have a Next Cruise deposit on Royal and I also believe they are non-refundable.

This has piqued my interest enough to dig out my FCCs from Royal Caribbean. In the fine print it states that some deposits may be non-refundable, not that all deposits are non-refundable. This is similar to some of Princess's promotions, where on certain sailings, deposits, including FCCs when used as a deposit, are non-refundable.

 

Of course, this may have all changed since we booked our FCC in February 2009.

 

Also, booklady, I totally agree that RC knows how to do big. The space ratio on their ships is much higher than on Princess's Crown Class, and their ships don't feel nearly as crowded...in the theater, in the Windjammer buffet, in other ship lounges and bars.

[Hlitner]

trust me, I sailed on the Mariner of the Seas once and the RCCL chair hoggs were as common as dollar store salt shakers. They were everywhere. :mad:

 

In fact, the only ship I saw a near violent confrontation was on that ship when a hogg returned to find his towels moved. :eek:

 

We have seen chair hog problems on every short (10 day or less) Caribbean cruise we have taken on RCI, Princess, Celebrity and just about every other cruise line (we have been on 12 lines) except for Holland America where many of the passengers always seem to be older Floridians who hate the sun (we always wondered why they move to Florida).

 

Hank

[hospital]

I cruised Adventure of the Seas and had a clean towel for the pool or beach in my room every night. Got additional ones from the deck and never had to show a card to get it. They did however keep track of the one that was in your room. If after the cruise was over and they were not able to swap one for one you were charged 20 dollars.

[grandbanksguy]

We have been loyal Princess cruisers and also recently returned from our first RCCL cruise on the Navigator of the Seas. Here are some comments on the trip on the Navigator:

 

Embarkation was a snap. We arrived at the Port of Miami at 11AM and were onboard at 11:30. We toured the ship until 12 noon when the buffet opened. We were allowed in our stateroom at 1PM and our luggage arrived at 2.

 

We loved the design of the ship with its central atrium/promenade. We enjoyed strolling along the promenade and partaking of the free tapas at the wine bar and the free sandwiches, pizza and pastries at the Café. There was a free self-serve coffee station at the café that served Seattle’s Best coffee in takeaway cups which was very good.

 

Our stateroom on the 8th deck was an interior that had a large picture window that looked out and down into the atrium/promenade. The room had a couch and small loveseat in front of the window. The window made the room much less claustrophobic than a normal interior. We like the semicircular sliding doors on the shower which made the shower larger than the shower on the Ruby while keeping the bathroom floor from getting wet.

 

We ate breakfast and lunch at the buffet. We found that the Navigator’s buffet had a larger variety of selections than what we experienced on the Ruby and the layout of the buffet stations was more efficient than on the Ruby, as we never experienced lines. We didn’t like that there was no grill or pizza out by the pool like on the Ruby. You had to go all the way into the buffet if you wanted pizza or a burger to snack on. There were also very few tables out on deck by the pools on the Navigator if you wanted to dine alfresco.

 

There is no Sanctuary on the Navigator, but they do have the adults-only Solarium pool with 2 large hot tubs located under cover. There were loads of lounges and chairs with thick cushions and we never had a problem finding a place to relax even on sea days. Overall, the Navigator never felt crowded.

 

We ate dinner every day in the MDR. We elected to eat on our own schedule, made a reservation daily and never had to wait on line. When you select anytime dining you are billed $9.50/pp/day which covers the DR staff and stateroom attendant. The food on the Navigator was good, but not up to the quality or variety as we experienced on the Ruby. We felt that the soups and desserts on the Ruby were better than on the Navigator and there was also a better selection of entrées to our liking on the Ruby. In general, we thought that the DR staff on the Ruby was more experienced/professional than the staff on the Navigator.

 

We went to one production show which was dull and put us to sleep. But the ice show was really exciting and quite entertaining. The various music venues on the Navigator were all quite good and we particularly liked the salsa combo which packed them in every night.

 

Disembarkation was also very efficient. We ate breakfast and were off the ship at 8:30. Our luggage was already on the belt when we got to the terminal building.

 

We are booked on a Panama Canal cruise on the Coral Princess in November, but will definitely sail again on the Navigator next year.