RCI - Can anyone calm my fears!?!?

[mrspeck]

Well, my wife and I are taking my parents, my dad's siblings (and spouses) and my grandmother on an excursion. I wanted a cabin were most of us could stay together and finally settled on the Presidential family suite on RCI's Liberty of the seas. The room should be great, but I'm really nervous about using RCI. We've cruised a total of four times over the past couple of years - 3 with HAL & 1 with NCL. We've only been in HAL deluxe suites and penthouses and similar on NCL. My parents (whom we took on HAL last year in a penthouse) and my wife and I are the only ones who have ever cruised. I want everyone else's first experience to be a good one...am I going to regret my choice? I've heard RCI's service (especially suite service) in comparison to HAL and NCL is lacking. Any experience would be appreciated!

[big green]

It is a well known fact that NCL has the best suite amenities and service for suites in the cruise industry---IMOP your making a mistake with RCI

 

BG

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I know people that absolutely love the Owner's Suites on RCI but I do think they are a definitely big step down from an NCL Suites and HAL. I recommend eating several meals in their speciality Steak and Italian restaurants for better food quality. Be prepared for crowds even being in a Suite. For the Ice Show you should have your own reserved seating but go early.

Luckily being in a Suite you will have you own area for breakfast to dine so you can avoid the buffet area they call Windjammer.

If you have several young people traveling with you there will be a lot more things to do and activities but again be prepare for the masses.

I will say that RCI does know how to embark and disembark the crowds quite quickly.

Please come back and tell us your comparison with having the Presidential Suite.

[FATJACK]

I think your biggest mistake is going with such a large group and hoping that you will please everybody. If your family is like mine, that would be impossible.

[startwin]

When I decided to take my whole family on a cruise, I chose RCI as they had something for all ages, and I didn't regret it. It was their first cruise so I was a bit anxious too. Your only mistake, I think, is in not booking separate cabins so that you have more bathrooms! I opted for two balcony cabins and an Inside Promenade (for my teen grandsons) so that they had a window overlooking the Royal Promenade.

We had a great time. Of course it is a totally different product from HAL, and as long you go with that in mind, you will enjoy your cruise.

 

There were things I missed, such as the teak deck on the lower promenade which goes all way around the ship. The Mariner of the Seas didn't have anything like that. But what I loved about the Mariner was the Royal Promenade, the Windjammer buffet which was set up in stations and worked really well, and the 24-hour Cafe Promenade, which had lovely sandwiches, pastries, cookies and pizza. A great place to sit with a coffee and people-watch! I missed the terrace grill though. So there are pluses and minuses to both cruise lines. Oh, and drinks are more expensive on RCI and they don't allow you to bring wine onboard.

 

My hubby and I chose to do another cruise on the Mariner the following year (without the family!) but with friends, and once again had a great time. Mind you, the food in the MDR wasn't as good as on HAL, but the service was cheerful and efficient.

 

So no, you have not made a mistake. Enjoy your cruise!

[cccole]

I don't think you should worry about a thing!!!! Having cruised several lines, I think RCI will meet and possibly exceed your expectations. We took a family group of 11, ranging in age from one year to 55 yrs, on RCI and we all had a great time. We did not have the Presidential Suite, but had an Owners Suite and a Family Suite. Since the family suite had 2 bathrooms I am assuming that the Presidential Family Suite has at least two bathrooms. We planned some fun excursions and really enjoyed our time together on the ship. I know that some say the food is not up to the standards of HAL but I cannot say that. No one in our group wanted to eat in a specialty restaurant, the MDR was great. You will have a fabulous time!!!!!!!! Cherie

[off2ctheworld]

You will have a great time! HAL and RCI might be different but are alike in that you are at sea, relaxing, visiting with family and friends, enjoying the ports and being together. We've sailed on both with no regrets. ENJOY!

[debsjc]

It might depend on the routing. We did a 4 day cruise out of Oslo, and really didn't enjoy it. Several of the other passengers were drinking heavily all the time, even at breakfast. They were rude and pushed people out of the way on the stairs and at the elevator.

I think because alcohol is so expensive in Scandinavia, there were people on there just to enjoy the cheap booze and free food. The buffet cafe was worse than my work canteen!

 

However, on a different routing it might be totally different.

[English_in_Spain]

Next week we are going on our 4th RCI cruise. Although we prefer HAL we think RCI is almost as good.

 

We have been in the Royal Suite on RCI and this time we will be in a Grand Suite. I think the suites and the service in them is as good as a suite on HAL (we have not been in a suite on NCL).

 

As someone else said there are advantages and disadvantages. The only times we found the ship crowded was when everyone tried to get in the Royal Promenade for the Captain's welcome speech and one day when the weather was so bad we were not allowed on deck - if you have a nice suite that does not matter so much.

 

The CL suite lounge (RCI's equivalent of Neptune lounge) is, IMHO, much better than on HAL. They serve complimentary drinks in the evening and there is generally a much nicer atmosphere.

 

As someone else said, make sure you use Portofinos to have your breakfast. Windjammer and MDR can get a bit hectic, especially on port days.

 

I think maybe you might have been better getting 2 or more separate cabins if you are a large group - how many of you are there? I can't imagine sharing even the Presidential Suite with a large group.

[world~citizen]

That is a non-worry worry.

 

As long as said family doesn't have a tendency to lock itself in mortal combat when placed in geographic proximity, there is no reason not to have a vacation of a lifetime.

 

RCCL will pull out all the stops for you. Enjoy.

 

Smooth sailing...

[Donald2313]

If what I see is correct on the Internet, you will have a suite with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. Also, a killer aft balcony. You will have a great time - it looks like there are activities for all age groups and interests. You won't starve as there are so many options for food. I'd like to offer one suggestion. When my family gets together, we don't try to plan a lot of group activities. Let everyone do what they want. Maybe plan one time during the day, such as just before dinner or even dinner to get together - but don't make it a chore. Just let them know you are getting together for drinks to share the days events and invite everyone - and whoever shows up can go to dinner together. Everyone is welcome - but if they get better offers - there is always tomorrow to share. Hopefully everyone in your group is flexible and willing to have lots of fun! Enjoy your family....

[dyank]

We loved the Liberty of the Seas. It is bigger ship, but we had great service and food. Loved the way the Windjammer is set up, loved the Promenade. There are so many things going on that everyone should find something they like. There was definitely a wider range of ages aboard. Since most of your group hasn't cruised before they will not have set expectations and won't be comparing RCI to other lines. I don't think you wil be disappointed.

[mrspeck]

Thanks for the replies...I do feel better.

There will be a total of nine of us. Seven in the Presidential Suite which is, yes, 4 bed and 4 bath, along with another two in a balcony right next door. I'm hoping we can enjoy the balcony dinning area for morning breakfasts together...it seats 12 or 14.

Thanks again.

[gregdude]

Don't forget: reserved seating area for all shows including ice shows, reserved lounge chairs is a suite section around the pool, a really nice suite lounge with food and drinks at night. As mentioned before the only down side that we have with RCI is the food in the Lido and MDR. While getting food is not an issue on RCI the quality compared to HAL is significantly lower.

[DeepWaterMariner]

I can't speak to the suite issue since we have only had a suite on HAL and not RCI, but we have cruised many times on Royal Caribbean and will in the future. The thing I would be telling myself is 1. don't worry about everyone enjoying the cruise as much as you. That can significantly detract from your enjoyment. And 2. don't continually focusing on the things you think HAL does better. Instead, enjoy the WoW factor of the RCI ships and their unique offerings, like the ice show where you'll have a reserved seat, and the other entertainment, which I think is a bit better than HAL's. As far as food and service go, my last cruise on RCI in January had better food and service in the MDR than my last cruises on Princess and HAL. Being old RCI hands, we know the RCI greatest hits on the menu so we order what we know has been good in the past.

[world~citizen]

sorry, mispost.

[Penton]

Having been on 20 RCI cruises and 5 HAL cruises I would agree with other posters who say that there are advantages and disadvantages to both lines and if you could combine the best things from both you might have the perfect situation. RCI and HAL are just very different with RCI ships being more glitzy with a 'wow' factor. There is a lot more going on and there will always be something to keep everyone occupied. Yes, the Freedom class ships are massive but you don't have be with the crowds unless you want to and being suite guests gives you some good perks and attentive service from all the crew. My mother is 83 and still enjoys cruising, in May we were on Independence of the Seas and she had such a good time we had to immediately book another cruise, on Friday we board HALs lovely Noordam for 10 nights, particularly looking forward to our aft suite with the wraparound verandah. I just love looking out over the wake and the fabulous views from these cabins, the verandahs are such a great place to retreat to when you just want to relax, I expect you will have loungers to sunbathe on and dining out there can be lovely too. Enjoy!

I was interested to read about one persons experience on a 4 night cruise out of Oslo. We did a 4 night cruise from Amsterdam to Oslo on Jewel of the Seas and had a similar experience with our fellow passengers who were just rude and pushy, memorably our worst cruise experience ever.

[debsjc]

I was interested to read about one persons experience on a 4 night cruise out of Oslo. We did a 4 night cruise from Amsterdam to Oslo on Jewel of the Seas and had a similar experience with our fellow passengers who were just rude and pushy, memorably our worst cruise experience ever.

 

That was the exact same route as the one we did, never again. One man actually shoved my mum really hard, to get himself in the lift ahead of the people waiting. I have never come across so made rude people on one cruise. Apologies to any Norweigans or Scandinavians reading this, because the people we met in Oslo town were lovely.