Royal Caribbean the McDonalds of cruise lines?

[MrFunInTheSun]

Wonder if we can get the windjammer to start serving the McRibs and the McLobsterRolls. 

[RDC1]

19 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Back in the 90's. It was very good and cheap. My go-to lunch item. McD Filet of Fish is made from real cod, not those cheapo tilapia you get in cruise ship MDR these days.

hate to tell you but McD filet of fish is and always has been Pollock, not cod.

[RDC1]

44 minutes ago, RDC1 said:

hate to tell you but McD filet of fish is and always has been Pollock, not cod.

Have to post a correction.  McD did use Haddock and cod at various times, but only on a limited scale, and not in the 90's (for example New Zealand Red cod was used in some NZ McDonalds for a period of time. They have also use Hoki as a replacement for Pollock for a period when Pollock was being over fished.

Edited October 23, 2018 by RDC1

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, MrFunInTheSun said:

Wonder if we can get the windjammer to start serving the McRibs and the McLobsterRolls. 

 

I swear I've seen McRib patties in the WJ.  so easy to cook and they keep forever

[CruisingSince1982]

We left RCCL in 2008 after repeated service issues, and found NCL to be more upscale, better food, better service, etc.  We have the Allure booked for May, and I am excited to sail and see if anything has changed.  I hope it has! We sailed RCCL for years before we left.  That said, I love NCL.  We haven't had a bad cruise yet, and the Haven is far better than any suite option offered from RCCL. Just tired of the same islands, and with the Breakaway coming to Florida (ick), we jumped ship to RCCL.

Edited October 23, 2018 by CruisingSince1982

[MrFunInTheSun]

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I swear I've seen McRib patties in the WJ.  so easy to cook and they keep forever

 

Kinda like that can of spam. 

[Snowrose]

Folks might be taking things too far in thinking the person was talking about the food. Could be they were talking about having a basic level of service across the board, as opposed to being high quality. DH and I sail on our first RCI cruise in just over 2 weeks, so I'll be able to make comparisons shortly.

[John&LaLa]

18 minutes ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

We left RCCL in 2008 after repeated service issues, and found NCL to be more upscale, better food, better service, etc.  We have the Allure booked for May, and I am excited to sail and see if anything has changed.  I hope it has! We sailed RCCL for years before we left.  That said, I love NCL.  We haven't had a bad cruise yet, and the Haven is far better than any suite option offered from RCCL. Just tired of the same islands, and with the Breakaway coming to Florida (ick), we jumped ship to RCCL.

 

Pretty big jump from Majesty, Grandeur, and Rhapsody all the way to Allure. 🍺

[John&LaLa]

19 minutes ago, MrFunInTheSun said:

 

Kinda like that can of spam. 

 

Barbeque Spam

[2genTeam]

1 minute ago, Snowrose said:

Folks might be taking things too far in thinking the person was talking about the food. Could be they were talking about having a basic level of service across the board, as opposed to being high quality. DH and I sail on our first RCI cruise in just over 2 weeks, so I'll be able to make comparisons shortly.

For my part, I was just making a friendly connection with another cruiser thru a shared food memory. Having said that, I look forward to your review of your first cruise. My first will be Mariner sailing Feb, 28. Cheers!

[bigeck]

25 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I swear I've seen McRib patties in the WJ.  so easy to cook and they keep forever

That's the burgers with crunchy bits. Must be bones

[BNBR]

32 minutes ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

We left RCCL in 2008 after repeated service issues, and found NCL to be more upscale, better food, better service, etc.  We have the Allure booked for May, and I am excited to sail and see if anything has changed.  I hope it has! We sailed RCCL for years before we left.  That said, I love NCL.  We haven't had a bad cruise yet, and the Haven is far better than any suite option offered from RCCL. Just tired of the same islands, and with the Breakaway coming to Florida (ick), we jumped ship to RCCL.

 

Haven being better is your opinion, of course. I would take an ocean view cabin on Allure over Haven.  Let alone one of the suite products.  We did Haven on Escape and wouldn't make that mistake twice. 

[CruisingSince1982]

1 minute ago, BNBR said:

 

Haven being better is your opinion, of course. I would take an ocean view cabin on Allure over Haven.  Let alone one of the suite products.  We did Haven on Escape and wouldn't make that mistake twice. 

 

Your opinion. We are all entitled to our preferences. 

16 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Pretty big jump from Majesty, Grandeur, and Rhapsody all the way to Allure. 🍺

 

 

Hopefully it is an enjoyable one! 

[pcur]

23 hours ago, Robo1098 said:

I was out with some friends this weekend. One of the women that has been on 22 cruises with NCL said that she thought that Royal Caribbean was the McDonalds of cruise lines. I have to say I was kind of hurt by this. Don't really agree with this either. I thought for the most part NCL was similar to slightly above RCI. Am I wrong on this?

If you felt offended because you thought she was being judgmental of you, then I agree with you.

 

I've cruised for 45 years on just about every mid-priced cruise line except Carnival.  I had a good comparative experience in 2017 when we went on a b2b2b on 3 different cruise lines:  HAL, NCL, and RCCL.  RCCL was the best of the three.  My NCL Spirit cruise in Europe last year was fantastic, though.  

 

I think it's a matter of ships and itineraries, and it's all subjective as stated above.  Having cruised RCCL, Celebrity, NCL, HAL, Princess, Costa, and Cunard, we still find RCCL to be our favorite.

Edited October 23, 2018 by pcur

[DrewDawg12]

22 hours ago, BNBR said:

Funny comment from your friend.  I have sailed NCL, in their best product (Haven) and it's highly unlikely I'd book NCL again unless the pricing/itinerary were just perfect - and there was not a comparable Royal sailing.

 

The NCL entertainment is totally lacking, their ship design is lacking, their drink package is not remotely as good as Royals, their internet is slow, etc.  I mean, to suggest that NCL is a step above Royal is laughable.

 

NCL's pool area is horrifically overcrowded, no solarium, the ships are enclosed and cramped.  It just goes on and on.  Really, NCL has easily been the worst cruise I've been on.

Hilarious how you say something completely biased and opinionated like this, and then quickly tell someone else "Haven being better is your opinion, of course."

Oh the irony. 

To the OP, 

 

All mass market cruise lines are more alike than they are different. Of course there will be stark differences in older, smaller ships, vs newer bigger ones, but comparing comparable ships will be very alike. 

[John&LaLa]

7 minutes ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

 

Hopefully it is an enjoyable one! 

 

Why did you like Getaway and not Breakaway?  Aren't they sisters?  

We've sailed MCL Majesty, Sun, and Gem. It's the only line Laura really does not like.  Gem was in an OS pre Haven, Majesty was a Bermuda run out of Boston, and Sun was a disaster of a repo from Southampton to PC. They started running out of food right after Lisbon. 

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, Eslader said:

 

You still could, at least in the 90's when I worked there in high school. No grill slips, but you just told us what you wanted us to do and we'd do it.

 

 

That was the McDLT. Famously advertised by Jason Alexander before he was cast in Seinfeld and stopped having to take bad gigs. 😉

 

 

 

 

The 80's were the greatest decade.

[CruisingSince1982]

11 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Why did you like Getaway and not Breakaway?  Aren't they sisters?  

We've sailed MCL Majesty, Sun, and Gem. It's the only line Laura really does not like.  Gem was in an OS pre Haven, Majesty was a Bermuda run out of Boston, and Sun was a disaster of a repo from Southampton to PC. They started running out of food right after Lisbon. 

 

I have been on Getaway twice.  It just wasn't my favorite, either time.  The ship is weird - it's narrow, if that makes sense. Just doesn't have the best setup, or handle the flow of people well.  I have not been on Breakaway, but there were a few design flaws on Breakaway that they did correct with Getaway.  The "flow" issue is one of them - it's even worse on Breakaway.  

 

I am very excited for the Allure.  There is a ton to do, and a ton to see.  It should be a great time! 

[John&LaLa]

17 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

 

 

The 80's were the greatest decade.

 

University of Missouri, Class of '84 🍺

[John&LaLa]

6 minutes ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

 

I have been on Getaway twice.  It just wasn't my favorite, either time.  The ship is weird - it's narrow, if that makes sense. Just doesn't have the best setup, or handle the flow of people well.  I have not been on Breakaway, but there were a few design flaws on Breakaway that they did correct with Getaway.  The "flow" issue is one of them - it's even worse on Breakaway.  

 

I am very excited for the Allure.  There is a ton to do, and a ton to see.  It should be a great time! 

 

Are you doing a suite?  Coastal Kitchen and the SL are a nice place to get away from the masses.

[island lady]

10 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Are you doing a suite?  Coastal Kitchen and the SL are a nice place to get away from the masses.

 

I will second that...and is the reason poor Bucky has to dig deep in the wallet whenever we cruise Oasis class.  Poor baby.  

[CruisingSince1982]

18 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Are you doing a suite?  Coastal Kitchen and the SL are a nice place to get away from the masses.

 

No.  We booked two oceanview balcony cabins. 

[manders175]

Here's my favorite McDonald's commercial from the 80's,  just for your entertainment. 🙂

 

 

[MrFunInTheSun]

[LuckyStar]

On 10/22/2018 at 12:05 PM, Robo1098 said:

I was out with some friends this weekend. One of the women that has been on 22 cruises with NCL said that she thought that Royal Caribbean was the McDonalds of cruise lines. I have to say I was kind of hurt by this. Don't really agree with this either. I thought for the most part NCL was similar to slightly above RCI. Am I wrong on this?

I think its a matter of personal taste.  I was not thrilled with my last cruise on RC on VOTS but had loved AOTS.  Many people thin the same thing about Carnival but it doesn't make it true.  Not sure its worth being personally offended.  Viva la difference!