Is Royal popular in Europe ?

[mcatmcat]

Hi [emoji846]

I was talking to my friend over the phone in Barcelona and he insisted me not to take royal Caribbean if I was planning to depart from an European [emoji633]port of call. He recommends me to consider MSC, costa or other cruise line. ⛵️

 

I really like Royal what they have to offer and their products but I always sail from FL to the Caribbean[emoji225]. Should I expect a different service or focus from the company if I sail from an European port?

 

Thank you [emoji92]

 

 

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[Biker19]

Should I expect a different service or focus from the company if I sail from an European port?

Other than perhaps a slight change in menu offerings probably not.

 

Some Europeans are probably just as biased as Americans, who may recommend against P&O, Costa, Aida and MSC.

[Deeliteful]

Stick with RCL have enjoyed European and US/Caribbean cruises with them over the years.

Personally may try MSC but definitely not Costa.

Enjoy

[MsJaydee]

I have done a few European RCI cruises from UK and Barcelona and Venice all super and I keep going back. Trying my 1st RCI out of USA next week with Indy Transatlantic I wonder what the differences will be if any

[cruzgryphon]

I can't speak to MSC but here are some considerations for Costa:

1) Majority of passengers don't speak English - when I sailed with Costa out of app. 2000 passengers there were about 200 of us that spoke English. It didn't bother me too much as I speak passable French and German but I know it did bother a lot of the other English speaking passengers. Also get used to hearing very long announcements - all announcements were in 7 different languages and English was quite often near the end.

 

2) One of our stops was Corfu that I had previously visited on a Royal Caribbean cruise. I found the Costa cruises to be a little more intimate and you got a better feel for the local people.

 

3) There is a little bit more of a bent towards (naturally) Italian dishes - so if you don't like pasta - probably best not to take it.

 

4) Traditional Dinner times: Traditional dinner times are a lot later than Royal Caribbean/ other North American cruise lines. I took early dinner seating which was at 7:30pm (late seating was something like 9pm or 9:30pm)

 

Compared to the Royal Caribbean cruises that I've done in Europe, I would highly recommend Royal Caribbean in Europe.

[FionaMG]

Depends on how comfortable you are with new experiences.

 

As Europeans, we have sailed mostly on RCI and mostly in Europe. However, for reasons to do with what was on offer when we were able to sail, we have also done two cruises on MSC.

 

We enjoyed all of them but there is a different passenger mix, or at least this was my perception. RCI tended to have more North American and UK cruisers whereas MSC had many more southern Europeans (Italians and Spanish).

 

Our preference is for RCI and this is to do with the service. We enjoy having our needs anticipated. On MSC we were always given anything we asked for but we generally did have to ask.

 

On the other hand, you can get some pretty decent prices on the European lines in comparison to RCI. One of our MSC cruises was a 10-day Med cruise on Divina that cost us less than a 9-day Greek Isles on Rhapsody would have cost.

 

So all things being more or less equal we would usually opt for RCI but a comparable itinerary at a substantially cheaper price could see us choosing a European line instead.

[xxHadleyxx]

We have only ever sailed RCI in Europe or on TAs and very much enjoy it.

 

Some sailigns target (with sails, etc) certain coutnries and some others and often the CDs are placed to best connect with the nationalities most represented on board.

 

Sailings with a large Italian or Spanish crowd tend to ahve fantastic dance parties on deck and very well dressed diners (and late seatings booked out a year ahead lol), etc.

 

I don't think i have had US be higher than 5th most passengers on board on any european sailing.

 

Personally, we sailed MSC in Europe also--we liked them but like RCI more. I have no desire to sail Costa at all

[Saab4444]

Costa, MSC and Pullmantur are mainly for Spanish and Italian speaking guests. They tend to be cheaper than Royal.

 

Northern Europeans are split equally between US and UK cruise lines and above lines. UK and Germany are by far the biggest source markets for cruisers in Europe. Many Germans like their local lines Aida, TUI and Phoenix that offer more or less all-inclusive cruises at a higher price (no tipping issues).

 

In Europe Royal has always guests from many countries on board, also from Asia. It is a better mix than in the Caribbean if you like diversity.

 

 

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[Joe12]

We have always enjoyed sailing with Royal in either Europe or the States.

I do prefer the Caribbean as it is more relaxing, but the ships, the service, the food are mostly the same.

[famof4togo]

The Freedom leaves for Europe in a few weeks and while I was onboard last week I had several (I mean most that I asked) crew members say they were NOT looking forward to going to Europe...no one told me why until I finally figured it out and one bartender reluctantly concurred....they rely heavily on tips and he said his tips went down over 75% when they sail through Europe verses the US...so I don't think most crew members are fond of the change of location between the US and Europe.

 

So maybe crew attitudes is not quite as enthusiastic....

[Joe12]

The Freedom leaves for Europe in a few weeks and while I was onboard last week I had several (I mean most that I asked) crew members say they were NOT looking forward to going to Europe...no one told me why until I finally figured it out and one bartender reluctantly concurred....they rely heavily on tips and he said his tips went down over 75% when they sail through Europe verses the US...so I don't think most crew members are fond of the change of location between the US and Europe.

 

So maybe crew attitudes is not quite as enthusiastic....

 

Americans can be bad as well... On the Anthem from NJ, we experienced some really rude passengers.

And funnily enough, in our experience, the crew with the worst attitude was Enchantment from Baltimore, however the best was Allure from Barcelona and the Jewel from Harwich (England).

Edited April 6, 2017 by Joe12