You recent NYE cruisers

[mattR]

I will be sailing on the Explorer next NYE and was just wondering for those of you who were cruising this last NYE how things went and if you have and tips or suggestions. 

[lazydayz]

It went great. Christmas decorations were still up. Hats and party favors given out in the MDR, but not at Izumi where we dined.

 

Multiple NYE celebrations. No need to buy special tables unless you want to sit in the same place all night. Even then, you might get crowded.

 

We did the top deck again and it was lively with a band, some cruise director staff,  the countdown and some dancing. 

 

[alfaeric]

Find a spot early- it will get REALLY crowded in the last hour before the New Year.  It's a lot of fun, though.

[otterden]

We did Oasis over new years (I've posted a review).  That night was probably the only night it felt crowded.  It was also our first formal night.  Expect typical RCL...everything is more expensive that night, but not much different food/service than any other.  Lots of parties all over the ship, and the Promenade was full for the balloon drop.  Champagne was flowing!  Enjoy.

[astro36r]

We sailed on the Freedom Of The Seas December 30th for New Years Eve.   It was our 7th NYE in a row on Royal/Celebrity.  Have always had a great time  during these cruises.  I was glad to read that others posting here also had a good time on theirs.  But I have to say , this most recent one was not the best.  We are use to all of the fun at deck parties, DJ's in venues, Champagne at midnight  etc.  Didn't see it on Freedom. Thought Olive and Twist would have some type of entertainment , got there at 10:30 pm and found just normal cruiseship music to listen to.  Waited to see if Champagne was being served . No , Only celebration we saw was in the Promanade , and it was jammed.  Watched the balloon drop from deck 7 . That was it.  Heard rumors of a Spanish themed party ??     Hope our next one on the Explorer , Dec. 27, 2019 - Jan 5, 2020  ( with mattR 😁 ) will be back to what we are use to. 

The best one so far has been Celebrity Equinox NYE 2018 .   Pool Deck party A++ .  Ship singers and dancers kept the party moving , and yes, plenty of Champagne at midnight.  On the Navigator NYE 2016, the Captain was playing the electric guitar, from the Promanade,  on the pool deck big screen , where we were enjoying the outside party. Kinda cool!  

Tips/suggestions for mattR -   We try to get an early dinner that night,  like mentioned before, spots will fill up .  If you need laundry service (pressing etc.)  send it the first day , found that to be very busy near NYE.  Even though Royal hands out party hats and noise makers , I see a lot of others bring fun glasses and glow in the dark items.

 

Happy Cruising,  

 

 

[chiguypaul]

Have been on multiple NYE sailings on Royal. You really need to figure out what type of experience you want. There are events in different venues typically. The amount of people you want to be around is a big factor. Some people like the balloon drops in the large public space areas and others, like me, could care less. The main dining room is always festive with party hats, etc and lobster (on the ships we've been on).

[alfaeric]

3 hours ago, astro36r said:

We sailed on the Freedom Of The Seas December 30th for New Years Eve.   It was our 7th NYE in a row on Royal/Celebrity.  Have always had a great time  during these cruises.  I was glad to read that others posting here also had a good time on theirs.  But I have to say , this most recent one was not the best.  We are use to all of the fun at deck parties, DJ's in venues, Champagne at midnight  etc.  Didn't see it on Freedom. Thought Olive and Twist would have some type of entertainment , got there at 10:30 pm and found just normal cruiseship music to listen to.  Waited to see if Champagne was being served . No , Only celebration we saw was in the Promanade , and it was jammed.  Watched the balloon drop from deck 7 . That was it.  Heard rumors of a Spanish themed party ??     Hope our next one on the Explorer , Dec. 27, 2019 - Jan 5, 2020  ( with mattR 😁 ) will be back to what we are use to. 

The best one so far has been Celebrity Equinox NYE 2018 .   Pool Deck party A++ .  Ship singers and dancers kept the party moving , and yes, plenty of Champagne at midnight.  On the Navigator NYE 2016, the Captain was playing the electric guitar, from the Promanade,  on the pool deck big screen , where we were enjoying the outside party. Kinda cool!  

Tips/suggestions for mattR -   We try to get an early dinner that night,  like mentioned before, spots will fill up .  If you need laundry service (pressing etc.)  send it the first day , found that to be very busy near NYE.  Even though Royal hands out party hats and noise makers , I see a lot of others bring fun glasses and glow in the dark items.

 

Happy Cruising,  

 

 

We were on that cruise.  And champagne was served on the promenade.  Perhaps the crowd was too think to get to you, but there was an entire table of it just behind us.

 

And the Latin party was down in Studio B- which was really fun to go to after the balloon drop.  They did have some sound technical issues after one break, but the energy of the party was awesome.  I stopped there prior to the balloon drop, and nobody was there- they were all at the main party.

 

  we had a great time at the party.  Sorry that you missed it.

[kcwiak]

On 1/23/2019 at 9:09 AM, otterden said:

We did Oasis over new years (I've posted a review).  That night was probably the only night it felt crowded.  It was also our first formal night.  Expect typical RCL...everything is more expensive that night, but not much different food/service than any other.  Lots of parties all over the ship, and the Promenade was full for the balloon drop.  Champagne was flowing!  Enjoy.

 

We are doing Oasis NYE sailing this! I will check out your review! Thanks. Question....what is more expensive? Drinks or something else? If you get the drink package there are no charges still, right?

[alfaeric]

3 hours ago, kcwiak said:

 

We are doing Oasis NYE sailing this! I will check out your review! Thanks. Question....what is more expensive? Drinks or something else? If you get the drink package there are no charges still, right?

Specialty restaurants.  That's common fleet wide.

 

Also, many of the bars on the promenade will have a "VIP section"- where you pay a lot for a table and a bottle.  Kinda nice to have some space, given how crowded it is.  But it's not cheap.

 

And if you look around for the champagne tables, you can get some free just before midnight.  For sure, it's there.  But not easy to get with the crowd.

[otterden]

On 1/26/2019 at 4:37 PM, kcwiak said:

 

We are doing Oasis NYE sailing this! I will check out your review! Thanks. Question....what is more expensive? Drinks or something else? If you get the drink package there are no charges still, right?

While many other cruisers not going over Christmas and New Years were able to get the drink package cheaper, ours bottomed out at $50.  Specialty restaurants were more expensive for that night (we didn’t go, but many onboard reported not much was different).