Favorite things about Royal Caribbean

[kalliekae]

We have seven cruises with HAL and will enjoy our third cruise with RCCL in November so I can only compare those two cruise lines. We keep coming back to Royal because we love the mega ships with the many entertainment options and the various specialty restaurants. Food on both lines is ok and was better in past years. Crew customer relations on both lines are equal in our opinion. We enjoyed the suite perks on HAL and look forward to our first suite on the Allure in November. We also prefer the younger crowd on RCCL. The only thing I would change on Royal would be to add the teak Promenade deck that encircles every HAL ship. That deck is wonderful for sitting outside by the ocean and strolling at night. Yes, RCCL has the small jogging track, but it doesn't compare to the wide teak decks found on HAL ships. However, one can't expect to have everything on every cruise ship.

Edited June 26, 2015 by kalliekae

[CruisingSince2012]

With the largest group (nearly 40%) of the votes in the "other category...it would appear this poll missed the mark as far as the selection choices provided.

 

Ships, destinations, and other choices may have changed the outcome...just an observation.

 

Part of it is people not realizing it is a multiple choice poll. People voted for only one option, but love more than that.

 

I thought about adding Ships but had no idea what to call it. Deck plans? Public areas? Ship decor? Or just plain old Ships?

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Part of it is people not realizing it is a multiple choice poll. People voted for only one option, but love more than that.

 

I thought about adding Ships but had no idea what to call it. Deck plans? Public areas? Ship decor? Or just plain old Ships?

No worries...just an observation.

 

Ships and destinations would likely be our choices.

 

The variety and features found on a number of Royal Caribbean ships are distinguishably different than most other cruise lines.

 

In choosing a booking, we look at destinations first followed by ship. Then we price hunt.

[CruisingSince2012]

No worries...just an observation.

 

Ships and destinations would likely be our choices.

 

The variety and features found on a number of Royal Caribbean ships are distinguishably different than most other cruise lines.

 

In choosing a booking, we look at destinations first followed by ship. Then we price hunt.

 

After reading about the Harmony, I thought RCI is a weird cruise line because it has amusement park rides, water shows, ice shows, parades, cabins with inside facing or fake balconies, and Starbucks on Oasis class ships.

 

For me, the reason to choose RCI would be the dates of an itinerary I want.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

RCL has the largest ships at sea, (some like that, some don't).

These large ships offer many amenities not found on other cruise lines.

 

RCL is falling behind other cruise lines in adding, and creating new ports of calls(such as Labadee).

(Carnival is adding a port in northern Dominican Republic this year, while NCL is building a new port alternative to Belize City in southern Belize!)

 

In some ways it is a choice between two different types of destinations, a new giant ship or new port. Amber Cover is at the top of my bucket list out of all mentioned! :)

[LisaAtlCruiser]

I actually target the destination sometimes and the ship other times. For me, it is not always one or the other. For the Caribbean, I am more apt to target the ship and when on Anthem and Harmony may not even get off! For my Asia, Canada/New England, Norway cruise - it is more about the destination. So I personally like choices.

[CruisingSince2012]

I actually target the destination sometimes and the ship other times. For me, it is not always one or the other. For the Caribbean, I am more apt to target the ship and when on Anthem and Harmony may not even get off! For my Asia, Canada/New England, Norway cruise - it is more about the destination. So I personally like choices.

 

This would be a great topic for a different thread. :)

[LisaAtlCruiser]

This would be a great topic for a different thread. :)

 

You are correct expect that I was responding to the post immediately before mine.

[Iluvcruising2]

C&A Diamond Club.

 

Evening cocktail hour on the Adventure of the Seas.

[YOUTUBE]C0XiSD6V6kU[/YOUTUBE]

 

Some pictures and descriptions.

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2014/06/adventure-of-seas-diamond-lounge-june.html

[lbjen]

We live near Galveston and there are only two options to cruise during summer, the other is Carnival. That's why!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Stateroom_Sailor]

You are correct expect that I was responding to the post immediately before mine.

 

I personally think that liking newer RCL ships because they are a destination in themselves, very much relevant to this thread.

[American Bear]

In some ways it is a choice between two different types of destinations, a new giant ship or new port. Amber Cover is at the top of my bucket list out of all mentioned! :)

 

 

Agreed, RCL has moved away from ports towards the larger, all inclusive ships.

Amber Cove Carnival's new port on the north coast of the Dominican Republic opening this year, and NCL's new port opening next year in southern Belize called Harvest Caye both look interesting.

We always felt a day ashore at a port was better then hanging around the ship.:)

[LuCruise]

For me, it's more about the ship and then destination...especially when talking about Oasis class. These are destinations in themselves. (But don't get me wrong, we'll enjoy the ports too, but it's what the ship offers as in this thread that made us select our cruise)

[CruisingSince2012]

For me, it's more about the ship and then destination...especially when talking about Oasis class. These are destinations in themselves. (But don't get me wrong, we'll enjoy the ports too, but it's what the ship offers as in this thread that made us select our cruise)

 

No doubt about that. Oasis class ships were obviously built to be destinations. I have no interest in rock climbing, golf, ziplines, etc. and am a picky eater, but I love the idea of making the ship itself a destination - especially on transatlantic, transpacific, and Hawaii cruises because there are so many sea days.

[balanceok]

I would have to say its all about the ships. We prefer the style and venues offered on RCI ships more than any other.

[Capella Black]

They cruise from the UK, and have great activity options. Would probably enjoy NCL and Carnival, but until either dock at Southampton or Harwich, it's a simple choice!

[CruisingSince2012]

They cruise from the UK, and have great activity options. Would probably enjoy NCL and Carnival, but until either dock at Southampton or Harwich, it's a simple choice!

 

I did not like Carnival. The food is not very good (Mom hated one thing and had complaints about some other foods). Nobody was friendly during boarding. Kids were allowed to keep adults out of the hot tubs. I can't imagine RCI will be that bad on a brand new Oasis class ship. So even if Carnival docked near you there is no reason to pick that line instead of RCI.

 

I have not been on NCL yet, but based on what I read it doesn't look appealing. I am not a fan of freestyle cruising. So again, I would rather choose RCI.

[printingchick]

Agreed, RCL has moved away from ports towards the larger, all inclusive ships.

Amber Cove Carnival's new port on the north coast of the Dominican Republic opening this year, and NCL's new port opening next year in southern Belize called Harvest Caye both look interesting.

We always felt a day ashore at a port was better then hanging around the ship.:)

 

I totally agree with this. And a day at a REAL port is preferable to a day at a manufactured (private island) port.

 

I'm actually looking seriously at Celebrity for my next cruise because it hasn't gone the way of the mega-ships. I may consider other lines as well, but my Royal Caribbean credit card points are not valid on other lines and I use my points to discount my cruise cost - therefore Celebrity may be my best option in terms of cost.

 

I'm not criticizing those who view the ship as the destination, but that is NOT my preference. I like maximum ports/minimum sea days/smaller ships.

[PamJack]

Haven't been on a Royal ship yet, so I can't answer the OP's question. But that will change in April when we board the Navigator! I've enjoyed reading all the posts here.

[CruisingSince2012]

Haven't been on a Royal ship yet, so I can't answer the OP's question. But that will change in April when we board the Navigator! I've enjoyed reading all the posts here.

 

Let me know how you like it - food, service, activities, etc. I am considering an early October cruise on the Harmony for next year.

[PamJack]

I will try to remember to do that.

[SPacificbound]

We are relatively new to cruising, so no long history.

 

We were on Royal the first three cruises, then we decided to change it up and our next three were on Celebrity.

 

We decided we liked Royal overall more than Celebrity.

[sealeggs]

We have been on 13 sailings. 12 of those with RCCL. I can honestly say there isn't much we don't like or should I say love about RCCL. Especially since we are now Diamond. You just have to love those perks.LOL

[temple1]

(I will say that my personal experience with embarkation folks puts RCL at or near the bottom. They have been in my experience consistently worse. Some are really great, but some are really, really bad.)

 

We do enjoy knowing what day it is when riding an elevator, and miss it when on another line.

 

One area where Princess was way ahead of Royal was disembarking in Ft. Lauderdale. They had staff on the ground directing porters.

[Midwestgal]

Let me know how you like it - food, service, activities, etc. I am considering an early October cruise on the Harmony for next year.

 

Just an FYI, You picked one of Carmivals worst ships and it being a 3 day cruise...poor choice, you haven't given Carnival it a fair chance. That's like me with Majesty of the Sea , haven't wanted to cruise Royal since.

 

I am going on Allure in Feb 2016 and this thread has me excited as I already know it's going to be great.