What is/was your line in the sand?

[molly361]

6 hours ago, karena1 said:

Do you know when that started?  We were on Allure in April and it was not like that to my knowledge.  We never eat until at least 7:30 or later anyway and never had to wait more than 5 minutes

Found a September Allure cruise compass and MTD started at 6:30 so it must have started sometime in August. It was also 6:30 on our August Harmony cruise

[karena1]

12 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Found a September Allure cruise compass and MTD started at 6:30 so it must have started sometime in August. It was also 6:30 on our August Harmony cruise

ok.  Like I said, it won't affect us as we don't eat early anyway as a rule. But I can see it affecting our Dec Symphony as there are 6 of us and we are having to eat early because of the show times.  I have reservations made for each night because there are 6 of us so hopefully we will get in on time.  When just the 2 of us go, I never make reservations.

[mugtech]

4 hours ago, Joebucks said:

We keep telling ourselves that we are going to book an Oasis cruise. We look at the price, and the islands they go to, then usually decide on something else. I was trying to do one next Fall, but Carnival had an 8 day ABC island cruise out of Miami for $609 a person. Regardless of its imperfections, that is too convenient and a great value, not the mention the fun I will have. Plus, access to a great old fashioned

And great burgers.

[bizzy2010]

Harmony of the seas... needs to be better. It's just over priced, we have a toddler. If i am going to pay disney prices, i'll go on there where my kid has sometime he definitely loves. 

 

The coke soda machine is horrible, it's always out of ice, or it's always out of ..say coke zero, seems i guess it was popular, there is 1 on deck 15. 2 on deck 16 and 2 on deck 5... that's it.  coco cay has no machines, it's 2 liter flat soda. food on coco cay was bad, why no ribs? it's a bbq right?  

 

We've cruised them all, this was the 3rd time on rcc, and probably the last for awhile. Just not worth the price. 

Edited September 30, 2019 by bizzy2010

[bizzy2010]

22 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

Agree about the burgers.    Honestly, I’m shocked they haven’t  realized it and have done something to make them better 

 

Dan

Best burgers at sea is guys on carnival, have done the breeze twice... and they are just amazing free burgers... 

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, bizzy2010 said:

Harmony of the seas... needs to be better. It's just over priced, we have a toddler. If i am going to pay disney prices, i'll go on there where my kid has sometime he definitely loves. 

 

The coke soda machine is horrible, it's always out of ice, or it's always out of ..say coke zero, seems i guess it was popular, there is 1 on deck 15. 2 on deck 16 and 2 on deck 5... that's it.  coco cay has no machines, it's 2 liter flat soda. food on coco cay was bad, why no ribs? it's a bbq right?  

 

We've cruised them all, this was the 3rd time on rcc, and probably the last for awhile. Just not worth the price. 

 

I'm  not following your price comparison to Disney. Disney is literally twice as expensive in most categories.

And FWIW, this week on Harmony is a KSF promotion.

 

[JupiterTwo]

If they get rid of the pepper grinders, I'm gone! 🙄

 

Steve

[Desert Cruizers]

Haven't encountered anything yet to keep me from cruising Royal. There may have been times a cruise wasn't perfect but then again nothing is and if there were a fee for something I had been getting free, then I would stop getting that service but not drop a cruise line over it. 

[rimmit]

8 hours ago, bizzy2010 said:

Best burgers at sea is guys on carnival, have done the breeze twice... and they are just amazing free burgers... 

 

I have not tried Guys as we haven’t done carnival in 25 years, but O’ Sheehans on NCL is pretty good too, and it’s free as well.  Is Guys 24/7 like O’Sheehans?

[rimmit]

6 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I'm  not following your price comparison to Disney. Disney is literally twice as expensive in most categories.

And FWIW, this week on Harmony is a KSF promotion.

 

 

I agree.  Disney is typically in the off season about double sometimes triple the same week on an Oasis class vessel.  We have done as low as 2k for 7 nights on an Oasis while the Fantasy is running about 6-6.5k.   During spring break without KSF the difference tends to get smaller with the Oasis class ships sometimes running 4k-4.5k for 4 while the Fantasy is running 6.5k-7k for 7 nights.   They have never been equivalent in all my years of pricing it out.  

 

The lowest on a per night basis I have ever booked a DCL is using their 10 percent off offer by putting an FCD and booking a TA the day it was released.  That got it down to $450 night.  Disney runs $800-1000/ night for a family of four unless you are a Florida resident or military and get the special promos that drop it in the 600-700 range.

Edited September 30, 2019 by rimmit

[CRUISEFAN0001]

21 minutes ago, rimmit said:

 

I agree.  Disney is typically in the off season about double sometimes triple the same week on an Oasis class vessel.  We have done as low as 2k for 7 nights on an Oasis while the Fantasy is running about 6-6.5k.   During spring break without KSF the difference tends to get smaller with the Oasis class ships sometimes running 4k-4.5k for 4 while the Fantasy is running 6.5k-7k for 7 nights.   They have never been equivalent in all my years of pricing it out.  

Yeah - either someone's gonna be a Disney group at all costs (and usually that means paying double or more of alternatives), or you're not.

 

Since we can often get 5 RCI cruises for the price of 2 on Disney ones...and still really enjoy the experience...our money is absolutely better spent on RCI.

 

As for a line in the sand - the original question - it would take a major event of catastrophic proportions to cross any "line in the sand".  While we have had a hiccup or two on cruises...it's never remotely approached that level of concern, problem, or obstacle. In every case to date...those tiny bumps were resolved...often at or above our expectations by onboard staff. The only folks we've seen going ballistic onboard have been unreasonable, ridiculously overzealous, or in a few cases...trying to get something for nothing.

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, rimmit said:

 

I agree.  Disney is typically in the off season about double sometimes triple the same week on an Oasis class vessel.  We have done as low as 2k for 7 nights on an Oasis while the Fantasy is running about 6-6.5k.   During spring break without KSF the difference tends to get smaller with the Oasis class ships sometimes running 4k-4.5k for 4 while the Fantasy is running 6.5k-7k for 7 nights.   They have never been equivalent in all my years of pricing it out.  

 

The lowest on a per night basis I have ever booked a DCL is using their 10 percent off offer by putting an FCD and booking a TA the day it was released.  That got it down to $450 night.  Disney runs $800-1000/ night for a family of four unless you are a Florida resident or military and get the special promos that drop it in the 600-700 range.

 

OK, I was just confused by your earlier statement below.

 

If i am going to pay disney prices, i'll go on there where my kid has sometime he definitely loves. 

[rimmit]

2 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

OK, I was just confused by your earlier statement below.

 

If i am going to pay disney prices, i'll go on there where my kid has sometime he definitely loves. 

 

That was a different poster.  Not my statement.

[NateUpNorth]

21 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I was trying to do one next Fall, but Carnival had an 8 day ABC island cruise out of Miami for $609 a person. Regardless of its imperfections, that is too convenient and a great value, not the mention the fun I will have. Plus, access to a great old fashioned

 

Not to sidetrack here, but what ship/date was that? I was looking for that itinerary when planning our next booking and could only find Aruba/Curacao combinations, nothing with Bonaire.

 

Edit - Apologies. Found it for 2021. I was looking at 2020. 

Edited September 30, 2019 by NateUpNorth

[John&LaLa]

1 minute ago, rimmit said:

 

That was a different poster.  Not my statement.

 

Oops, my bad. Pink/Purple B and R look alike.

 

Apologies

[John&LaLa]

1 minute ago, NateUpNorth said:

 

Not to sidetrack here, but what ship/date was that? I was looking for that itinerary when planning our next booking and could only find Aruba/Curacao combinations, nothing with Bonaire.

 

The 8 night Adventure in December does all 3 with 4 sea days out of Ft Lauderdale

[NateUpNorth]

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

 

The 8 night Adventure in December does all 3 with 4 sea days out of Ft Lauderdale

 

Yes, that's the one we were about to book until we switched over to Freedom out of San Juan itinerary. Decided to just accept the cost of flights to San Juan. (had the "other" Southern itinerary we haven't done yet.)

 

Anything I looked at for Carnival when we were planning didn't have the three combined. (ABC) in 2020. 

[John&LaLa]

3 minutes ago, NateUpNorth said:

 

Yes, that's the one we were about to book until we switched over to Freedom out of San Juan itinerary. Decided to just accept the cost of flights to San Juan. (had the "other" Southern itinerary we haven't done yet.)

 

Anything I looked at for Carnival when we were planning didn't have the three combined. (ABC) in 2020. 

 

Laura just got back from that trip, wasn't happy. Said the Freedom has gone downhill since she left Pt Canaveral.

[ryano]

4 hours ago, rimmit said:

 

I have not tried Guys as we haven’t done carnival in 25 years, but O’ Sheehans on NCL is pretty good too, and it’s free as well.  Is Guys 24/7 like O’Sheehans?

Guys closes at 6pm every evening.  Thats really the only downside. 

[Mikew0805]

On 9/27/2019 at 8:06 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

In all fairness,  I don't believe you've had it recently 

It's still not that good, and I try it on almost all sailings. Mariner, Navigator, and Majesty were all still gross. I probably won't bother on Adventure, but will try again on Oasis in December. 

[NateUpNorth]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Laura just got back from that trip, wasn't happy. Said the Freedom has gone downhill since she left Pt Canaveral.

 

Yikes.

Hopefully rectified by the Amped up they've got scheduled!!!

Would appreciate further feedback if you get it! Not too late to switch back to an ABC....... and save the flights...... LOL

[rimmit]

2 minutes ago, ryano said:

Guys closes at 6pm every evening.  Thats really the only downside. 

 

I’ve been hearing about the Guys burgers so much it almost makes me want to try carnival again... almost.  🙂

 

I had been hearing about the O’Sheehans burgers for quite sometime and it did not disappoint.

[Mikew0805]

17 minutes ago, rimmit said:

 

I’ve been hearing about the Guys burgers so much it almost makes me want to try carnival again... almost.  🙂

 

I had been hearing about the O’Sheehans burgers for quite sometime and it did not disappoint.

Guys beats JR (or anything else RCI has for burgers) any time. Blue Iguana is so much better than El Loco Fresh. Guys Pig & Anchor Smokehouse and Brewhouse is amazing BBQ, and it is included for lunch. Lunchtime Italian & Mongolian is really good. The included dining options on CCL are just so much better. The MDR on CCL is a bit lower than RCI, but not that noticeable. My line in the sand involves the casino. Should they stop the comp'd sailings, then I would go to CCL for a larger portion of cruises. 

 

Edit: This is not to say that I do not like RCI.. quite the opposite. If I did not like them, I would not sail period... comped cruise or not. 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Mikew0805

[The Fun Researcher]

30 minutes ago, NateUpNorth said:

 

Yikes.

Hopefully rectified by the Amped up they've got scheduled!!!

Would appreciate further feedback if you get it! Not too late to switch back to an ABC....... and save the flights...... LOL

 

I wouldn't worry.  AMPING the Freedom will make it like a brand new ship.  I was on the newly AMPED Navigator in March and it felt like a new ship (Except the cabins.  They just had new carpet and soft goods).  We were on the Navigator a few years prior and it felt like a different ship in March  greatly improved (and we already loved it before being AMPED).

Dan

[The Fun Researcher]

Regarding Disney cruise line...  I tend to say that if you want the Disney experience, go to the parks.  If you want the best family cruise for your money, do Royal Caribbean (or your choice of family line, Carnival or NCL)

 

Disney cruises are just way overpriced IMO.  I think a lot of families with young kids just default to Disney because it is consistently ranked as the top family cruise line on Cruise Critic and other sites.  Sure, I wouldn't argue, but you are paying an arm and a leg for it.  Plus you have pools that are a madhouse and kids, kids, everywhere.  We have a few friends who have cruised both Disney and RCCL many times and never went back to Disney after experiencing Royal and NCL.

Dan