Poll: What Would You Like to See Aboard Royal Caribbean's New Ships

[HNI]

My only cruise with RCL was on the Mariner of the Seas. I loved the Promenade. It had the feeling of a small town main street with cafes and even a wine shop. Everyone was attracted to strolling through the area. I recommend such for the new ship.

[Tazsamp]

I've seen so many posts in this thread regarding the solo cruisers, I think that would be an AWESOME idea. I'm not a solo cruiser, but as someone who loves to cruise and can relate to ANYONE having that love also, I think it would be great to make it more reasonable for people to be able to cruise solo.

 

Personally I voted for the "Affordable family cabins that sleep up to five". We are 4 in total (pretty average), but because we're from Canada the flight down to a cruise port can sometimes cost as much (or more!) than the cruise itself. And now with fuel prices going through the roof who knows if we'll ever get down there! PLUS the fact that the kids are getting older and it's harder to take them out of school outside of school breaks, it gets pretty pricey.

 

I realize that's the price we pay for our addiction, I just wish there was some way it could be a little more affordable so that we can cruise as a family.

[tennmathguy]

Add a lounge that is tasteful and elegant. I am thinking of something like what was on the S.S. Norway - Marble statues of Neptune with his trident pointed by quartz crystals, entertainment by a traditional quartet or piano. A quiet comfortable place for a drink before dinner or after the show, a contrast to most ship venues today, many which are gaudy and loud.

[DMG46]

We love the energy that younger cruisers bring to a ship but there are times that we would just like to sit somewhere comfortable and read, reflect on the day's events or listen to some of our own music on the iPod. On most of our cruses it has been difficult to find such a spot and we end up back in the cabin.

 

Oh yes fewer smoking areas and definitely, no smoking on balconies.

[cruzenut5]

Have some sort of tray holder outside your cabin door attached to the wall near your cabin door. There are times I like to carry food and drink(s) back to my cabin. I cannot insert my key card (if my hands are full) without setting my food and drink(s) on the floor. If there was a collapsible shelf outside my cabin door, (that pivots on hinges) I could set my food and drink(s) on this shelf (when it is in the down position) and have a free hand to insert my key card to gain entry to my cabin. Then; after I entered my cabin with food/drink in hand the shelf would return to its original position out of the way of anyone walking in the hall. :)

[Canusa02]

Let's battle sexism and force them to make a male the godmother of the new ship. I'm up for the job, and I would do RCI a great service as one of their honorary figureheads (and the yearly free cruise wouldn't hurt either) :D

[atanac]

Let's battle sexism and force them to make a male the godmother of the new ship.

 

Yeah, I nominate Rosie O'Donnell.

[Jimnbigd]

Underwater Bar couldn't work because the pressure is so huge on the windows. It would break! (At least I think...) Nice idea, though!;)

 

I don't know if the glass would break, but I suspect a moving ship churns up a lot of water, which might make viewing the ocean difficult.

[jjaazzy]

They use to have skeet shooting off the back of the ship. They don't anymore maybe it is environmental. We could shoot heads of lettuce and feed the fish! :D

 

I think a window under the waterline looking out would be cool. Maybe see some underwater marine life. Maybe it could be covered up for cruising if it was a problem underway.

 

Fishing of the rear of the ship......... lol that ones just a joke. :D

[Floating Rob]

I travel with night lights. Especially for the bathroom. I hate turning on a bright bathroom light in the middle of the night. One in the cabin is also nice.

[rickbc]

I would like to see a night club where the band played more contemporary music:)... I've heard better 4 and 5 peice Pub bands and if I hear another Frank Sinatra ( no offence Frank :rolleyes:) or lounge lizard song on a cruise, I'll shoot my self. :mad:I may have just turned 60 but I wasn't born in the 30's or 40's. :D

[S10Catman]

I'd like to see a dedicated enclosed cigar lounge with a top-notch negative-pressure exhaust/filtering system. It doesn't have to be large, about the size of a JS with a TV and a couple of chairs/couches and proper cigar ashtrays. One of the Princess ships we sailed had one and it was well received and used by the few that indulged. There was a bar outside the room so the staff did not have to be subjected to the smoke. The Negative-pressure system drew all the smoke up into a filtration system that was vented outside somewhere no one was subjected to the smoke.

[hotdog647]

True adults-only pool/bar areas and competative singles cabin rates.

[Fortun8]

We loved the wine bar with sushi and oysters on the Crown Princess in 2008.:p I would love to see a specialty coffee bar with either coffee cards or complementary coffee.

 

Have you thought of doing a Broadway show on board playing at least once in 7 days?;) Nice diversion from comedians and dance shows that play music from 40s and 50s.

 

Or maybe an audio music library where you could go sit and plug headphones into a jack and listen to your choice of music while watching the waves go by on sea days. Our latest cruise was a 15 day Panama Canal cruise and we had 7 sea days (December 2010). How about deck chairs on back as well as in front of ship near splash pools?

 

My first cruise in 1997 was on Legend of the Seas and I loved their two story dining rooms with views of everything during the daytime.

[happycruiser48]

I would love to see more options for solo cruisers. I'm fine with a small cabin, but would at least like to see the ocean from inside it. I have been impressed with RCI on two sailings and would like to do more. I think there are many more singles who would like to see more options also. For those of us who must travel solo or stay at home (never a good option) cruising offers safety and companionship that is not found in other forms of travel. I would love to see a considerably lower single suppliment. Is it possible at some point close to sailing date to offer unfilled cabins to solos with just a small single suppliment? Wouldn't it be better to fill a cabin with one person rather that have it empty? Maybe there aren't that many empty cabins. I just don't know.

[FLSteve11]

I know it's impossible for this model, since they're already contracting to build them in Finland, but I would love to see RCL build 2 or 3 US built ships that could qualify under the Jones act. They could do east coast, Gulf coast, and west coast cruises. Stops in Boston, NY, DC area, Savannah, Charleston, St. Augustine, Port Canaveral, Ft. Lauderdale/Miami, Key West, Tampa, New Orleans would be really nice for a change of pace.

 

Of course, this would also make Hawaii much more attractive, since you could fly there, and sail around the islands. Now that Mexico is less popular, San Diego, LA, San Franciso, and ports in Oregon, Washington and Alaska could also be popular routes.

 

Obviously, the sensible thing to do is to repeal the Jones act, but that's not going to happen, and getting a ship built in the US, although expensive, is at least doable, compared with Congress doing the right thing.

 

I would find a cruise up or down the coast rather interesting. I'm guessing they have found it's just not that popular overall, and that people would rather "go away" for the trip. Otherwise they would already have it (or maybe they had in the past and just didn't find it sold well) The Jones act is not a big deal, they just need to add in a stop in the Bahamas or Canada at either end of the cruise to satisfy the Jones act.

 

I wonder if they could just do it a few times a year, to get those who might want something different. Maybe at the beginning/end of one of the repositioning transatlantics. The other thing is it probably would have to be one of the smaller ships to fit in some of the ports along the way.

[negc]

I would find a cruise up or down the coast rather interesting. I'm guessing they have found it's just not that popular overall, and that people would rather "go away" for the trip. Otherwise they would already have it (or maybe they had in the past and just didn't find it sold well) The Jones act is not a big deal, they just need to add in a stop in the Bahamas or Canada at either end of the cruise to satisfy the Jones act.

 

I wonder if they could just do it a few times a year, to get those who might want something different. Maybe at the beginning/end of one of the repositioning transatlantics. The other thing is it probably would have to be one of the smaller ships to fit in some of the ports along the way.

 

It isn't simply a matter of there being insufficient demand for such cruises. Meeting the requirements of the Passenger Services Act (sometimes confused with the Jones Act) is not as simple as you might think and stops in Canada or the Bahamas will not meet the requirement of visiting a "distant foreign port". In non-closed loop cruises, that would most likely require a stop in Aruba or Cartagena, not easy on a cruise along the East Coast of the United States.

[KansasK]

The lazy river for adults seemed good to me, but I voted for less smoking areas. I have sympathy for people wanting to smoke, but still would like to see less smoking areas, at least on cruises out of North America.

 

I am not trying to start a debate on this, this is just my lowly opinion on the poll.

[cruisinryan]

Luvbluseas : I have been saying this for 10 years and sometimes (at the beginning..) got blasted on CC for it..I would NOT sit at any table in a restaurant with strangers...dining with people whom I have nothing in common with and whom I'll never see again, is not my idea of a vacation..if I want to have conversation while I dine, we'll go with friends or relatives..a friend said to me ,"oh I enjoy meeting new people and dining with them.."..Good, I said, BUT you should not be forced to dine with them- it should be optional....I am very sociable and friendly, but if I want to dine ONLY with my wife, there should be PLENTY of tables for 2, especially now that ships are so much bigger....Thanks for bringing this point up!

 

Big Al

 

It's good that ships now have dining options for passengers.

 

Ideally there should be a dining area for people who enjoy dining and conversing with others. And there should be an area for those who do not enjoy it. Frankly, it's not fun when you have people at your table who don't want to make conversation or to share the adventure of socializing with others. If they sit by themselves, there's less chance of them sitting at my table.

 

However, it's not an easy task for the ship designers. Yes many ships are huge these days, but they also carry huge numbers of passengers, and public areas are often too small (the buffet area on Voyager class is notorious for being way too small).

 

Try putting 4 two-tops in the same space as one 8-top. It's a design challenge, but there are some clever designs that address the challenge.

[amancuso]

A lazy river would be so often!

[LaffnStock]

If they had betting on this in Vegas, I would put big money on cabins for singles so it's not even really worth mentioning anymore. My crystal ball says the ice rink is going away and singles cabins are going down there with a common area for them.

 

As for the lazy river, I think it's a fantastic idea, much better than pools where everyone just crowds together and gets kicked by kids swimming by. But I find it extremely unrealistic. Lazy rivers need inflatable tubes and I don't see where the ships could store hundreds of those things. Furthermore, the pool area can get windy and the ships would have to deal with either a bunch of those tubes flying overboard or not giving them out, which makes the lazy river useless.

 

More realistic is the idea of a larger Solarium. EVERY cruise I've been on has had a full Solarium from morning until night. If this ship does have quite a few singles cabins, I'd say go for a larger Solarium as the ship will obviously have fewer kids on it. In fact, I'd put the lazy river IN the Solarium, meaning the inner tubes would be indoors. Get a good inflation/deflation system and the storage problem could be solved.

 

In fact, why not just make these two or three ships in the fleet adults-only ships? The kids have great amenities on the Radiance-class, Voyager-class, Freedom-class and Oasis-class ships and there's still something for them on the Vision-class and Sovereign-class ships, though most families with young kids focus on the bigger ships now. Give us a classy version of the Carnival party boats. Turn the Adventure Ocean areas into something adults would like. Or just keep the kid stuff limited. This ship's already going to be overpopulated with only 1 or 2 people per cabin. If half these people bring their kids, this ship will be a nightmare.

[petesweet]

I'd love for RCI to make whatever change is necessary to allow passengers to eat in the main dining room upon embarkation rather than starting their cruise in the hectic atmosphere of the Windjammer (unless they prefer that). NCL does this, and it is the one thing about NCL that I prefer over RCI.

Kathy

[doned1]

I would like to see larger balconies with lounge chairs for relaxing. I'd also like all formal nights eliminated. Carrying formal clothing with current airline baggage restrictions doesn't make sense. I go on vacation to relax.

[negc]

I would like to see larger balconies with lounge chairs for relaxing. I'd also like all formal nights eliminated. Carrying formal clothing with current airline baggage restrictions doesn't make sense. I go on vacation to relax.

 

Some people, a large number of them, based on my most recent sailings out of Boston and Ft. Lauderdale, still enjoy dresssing up on occasion on a cruise and while luggage restrictions may make it onerous to bring formal wear with you, there is still thee option to rent a tuxedo onboard. Some of us can even relax while wearing formal clothes, but for those that cannot, please remember that the dress code is merely a suggestion and is not followed by everyone or strictly enforced even in the MDR.:)

[01Sweetpea]

I'd love to see regular cabins (not suites) that can accommodate a family of 5-6. A 2 bedroom/2 bathroom balcony cabin. All they would have to do is take down part of a wall and do a bit of reconfiguring with the vanity area. It could be like connecting cabins, but with a more open living room and only one door to the hallway.

 

We are a family of 5, with 2 teen boys and my teen step-daughter. When we cruise it's 3 cabins for us :eek:. Now my step-daughter COULD room with DH & I but then were would MY fun be??? :D