Have I "outgrown" cruising? Or am I just done with Royal Caribbean?

[Airbear232]

On 8/5/2022 at 12:50 PM, bigeagle12 said:

I am not arguing with you .. just stating the facts.  I prefer low fares and then I pick and choose where I spend my money. 

I can respect that and it looks like things are going that way.  My preference would be for better quality (especially food and service) with a higher average fare price.  Just my preference.

[rudeney]

3 hours ago, Airbear232 said:

We had one chef who came to our table and offered to make us any dish we liked.  I think that's a very generous offer and much appreciated it.  We ordered Fettuccini Alfredo.  Big disappointment.  He used milk and not cream.  Used no Parmesan cheese and substituted linguini for fettuccini.  Again, I thought it was a generous offer but what we got was a liquidy mess.  I took him to task for it and he asked to redo for the following night.  It was much better.

 

When it comes to Italian food, I have my own recipes that are praised worldwide.  Well, maybe statewide.  OK, I promise - my friends and family like my cooking.  Anyhow, I am very critical of what I get in restaurants.  Alfredo sauce is so easy to make with its three basic ingredients: cream, butter and parm.  Add anything else besides some fresh garlic or other seasoning and you've ruined it.    I also prefer whole wheat pasta, and for some reason, I have a hard time finding whole wheat fettucine so I do sometimes use whole wheat linguini.   But then I adjust the Alfredo with extra parm to so it doesn't get all watery.  If I know this, then a "chef" should.  There's just no excuse for bad Alfredo!

 

3 hours ago, Airbear232 said:

I've also noticed that a lot of food is now processed and prepared off the ship.  For us, this is a shame as one of the attractions for cruising was the dining experience.    

 

Years ago, we took a galley tour and one of the things that I remembered was how almost everything was prepared fresh from scratch.  They did use some canned and frozen ingredients when necessary and appropriate, but they were not using "prepared" dishes.  If that has changed, it's truly sad.  I mean, if I want "boiler bag" meals, I can got to the local Applebee's for much less than what a cruise costs.  

[MandyMooToo]

On 7/30/2022 at 7:22 PM, seasidemama said:

 

If you look at pricing (at least from what I've researched) cruising is still the most affordable "all inclusive vacation" option, especially if you don't have to fly to port. I agree the food has gone downhill - but unless you are going to a luxury all inclusive (with reflective pricing) - I doubt you will be impressed there either. Bottom line, it's your money and your vacation and you should be able to enjoy it - whatever that means for you.  

 

This is something I agree with.  When we cruise we can fly in, cruise for 7 days, hotel one night before, drink package, internet (yes we use internet and don't "unplug" while on vacation---because we want to, that's why😁), pay tips, etc. and still come out cheaper than an AI in Jamaica (our favorite resort location).  We have an AI trip in March 2023, the room (just an ocean view, nothing fancy), is over $4500.  Flights are almost $2000.  Typical cruise with all added amenities is about $3000 for us, total.  Obviously we book inside, balcony or maybe a JS if it is a good price, but an equivalent...ish room.  The AIs are nice but the food there is mass produced, they aren't getting all the top shelf liquors either and staffing is not up to par.  We have been twice this year to an AI and one cruise so far, another cruise next month which will be our third since restart.  I realize many have done way more cruises than us since restart but we found that there was not a huge service difference, at least not enough to hamper our cruises.  Same with the AI trips.  That being said, OP had a crappy cruise and that sucks, no matter how good my/our experiences have been.

[vjmatty]

On 8/6/2022 at 10:48 AM, baelor said:

I love that stating that you did not get food you ordered at a restaurant is now “complaining about everything.”

 

Maybe I should thank the waiter after he punches me in the face, too.  

 

People are unbelievable.  Get some self-respect and some standards, geez.  It makes me wonder how many people have actually experienced good service lol.

 

Some people just like to be unhappy... complaining about their free punch in the face and all.

[GetToLivin]

Ugh I'm sorry you had a less than desirable cruise - it's disappointing to pay for an experience and feel that you were shorted out of that experience. Usually DH and I cruise during the school year and avoid summer, spring break, fall break, etc, because we assume ships will be most full during these times. We have a NYE cruise planned this year, first since covid (our cruise was cancelled a week before sailing in 2020), and I'm setting the bar lower just because I assume it'll be at capacity, which I'm guessing impacts service/quality to some extent. 

[PolicromaSol]

On 7/29/2022 at 6:08 PM, Jimbo said:

Why do they have to charge for internet when it so undependable on a cruise ship? Why can't it be like most hotels, when you reserve a  room.? Free internet comes with the room.

 

Late to this discussion, but satellite internet by its very nature is slow, laggy, and unreliable. Even light can only go so fast, and your internet connection is sitting way out in outer space. And they have to split it among how many users? Sheesh, as recently as 6 years ago, some lines were still charging by the megabyte!

 

(And in case someone brings it up, I always figured airplane wifi is less expensive because there's less people who have to share it at a given time.)

 

A hotel, on the other hand, can request a fiber line be dug straight to their establishment. 

 

I suppose they could attempt using terrestrial wireless connections, since cell signals can bounce off water, but that's probably too much work, considering they'd be roaming 99% of the time regardless of where they set up shop.

 

Maybe when starlink reaches its full potential, we'll see better options available. 

Edited August 23, 2022 by PolicromaSol
Accidentally posted in the middle of a copy/paste, LOL

[Tree_skier]

30 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

Some people just like to be unhappy... complaining about their free punch in the face and all.

Beatings will continue until morale improves 🙂 

Edited August 23, 2022 by Tree_skier

[cruiselvr04]

We just booked a 5 night out of Galveston.  Yes it’s a small, old ship.  ( We actually like those.) The ports are the same old and if we get off at all it will be a quick beach trip.  It’s $86 pp per day including parking and tips.  I can not eat and stay on land in a decent hotel in Texas for that.  All my entertainment is included so I don’t have to figure out what to do in the evening or pay extra for it. I’m sure the DH will want to do a night or two in the speciality restaurants but that will be the only extras.  The last major land vacation we took the DH was hooked to the internet and phone WORKING because he was reachable.  No internet for us unless it’s a quick message to the kids or personal business.  
 

Non cruise vacations have their place.  You can’t see the Grand Canyon from a ship or Yellowstone or experience the Smokey Mountains.  But for value and relaxation we think a cruise can’t be beat.  

[drrich2]

On 7/29/2022 at 11:58 AM, CuseJeff44 said:

This is going to be a little bit of a random download / trip report so feel free to skip past it if that isn't of interest to you 🙂 It's also a LOT of complaining, so again, feel free to skip if that's not your cup of tea.

 

After far too many years away from cruising, and a cancelled COVID trip, we finally got to sail on the Adventure of the Seas this past week on a 5 night Bermuda cruise. This was our 6th cruise, and all of them have been on Royal. The first 5 we loved and always felt it was money well spent. This time, everything changed. 

 

Topline takeaway : I always felt that even though the cruise came along with upcharges and added costs, I still got the impression that the Cruise line cared that I had a good time in the end. I always felt appreciated and respected as a passenger, and a vacationer, and even though it wasn't an all-inclusive, I always felt that their number one goal was my happiness. Yes. I know their goal is to make money, but they used to be so much better at still leaving me feeling that I got value. 

 

I didn't feel that way at ALL this time around. 

 

First the food. I have LONG defended the food on this cruise line from those who said it wasn't good. It was never 5 star dining, but I always felt well-fed and well taken-care of. Not this time. The quality and quantity of the food in the dining room has declined to the point that I have to agree with the criticism. A shrimp appetizer had 3 small shrimp. That's it. More fun times at Johnny Rockets when we asked "are these starters per person or to share"? He said to share. Then he brings our onion rings. Four small onion rings for four people. *****? And...my wife's burger never came at all. 

 

I also need someone to explain to me. COVID is airborne. How does congregating large groups of people outside the Windjammer so they can wash hands make sense? Seems to be an increase in risk. It would seem that the quick hand sanitizing shots that they did outside the main dining room would make much more sense. I'm also curious why I can't make my own ice cream...sorry, frozen yogurt...cone outside on the pool deck? How is COVID more transmissible in that one spot as opposed to every other surface in the Windjammer? Or on the soda machine touch screens? On the Promenade coffee machine handles? Arbitrary and didnt make sense. 

 

$7.95 upcharge for breakfast room service if it's an egg, but free if its toast. I don't get it. 

 

$200 for a family of four for a premium restaurant now. Oof. 

 

And there used to be SO many more places to get food. Forget about the long gone away midnight buffets, what about even the burgers and dogs poolside? Now, the ONLY place I could find ANY food during non meal hours was the Promenade, and there was always a huge line because of it. 

 

Overcrowding 3,800 people onto a boat despite COVID....fine I can deal with that...but why are you closing half the pools on an AT SEA day? Insanity. People were pouring OUT of the hot tubs. 

 

The WiFi? I paid $400 for 4 devices with "streaming". It was AWFUL. Worked maybe 25% of the time, and not at a speed where anything was streamable. 

 

I could go on (I know this is a total *****-fest and I am sorry)...But It just felt like every possible opportunity to make things harder for passengers, RCI did that thing. And I NEVER felt this way before about RCI. I don't know if cruising just isn't for me any more, or if its just RCI. 

 

Sigh. 

 

I scrolled through over 3 pages. Maybe this'll be repetitive, but my 2 cents, as they say.

 

1.) If 5 cruises were really good, and 1 lackluster, I think it's a bit early to ditch cruising, or Royal Caribbean. You see on Cruise Critic a number of positive recent trip reports on Royal ships, including mine from Symphony of the Seas. 

 

2.) Familiarity may or may not breed contempt, but some of the magic passes as we get more familiar with a type of experience. Our first cruise (on Adventure of the Seas!) was magical; no other has quite matched that.

 

3.) This is a very strained time, particularly in manpower, not just for the cruise industry but for land operations. Don't be surprised if your land-based A.I. resort option also has difficulties. 

 

4.) Did you pay list for specialty diving? Always book an advance, multi-night package for that. It can be quite good, but don't pay list. 

 

5.) When there are shortages, such as of skilled staff, I suspect not all ships may be loved equally. I agree with others, try a bigger, newer ship.

 

6.)  I agree on the soft serve frozen yogurt angle; saw no reason not to let us self-serve. I, too, wonder why there were pool closures during At Sea days on your cruise - maybe someone had an accident? 

 

7.) If you want more places to get food, an Oasis class ship may be your friend. 

 

8.) I liked MDR food just fine on our recent RCI cruise, but that wasn't on the same ship. It'll be interesting to see if you think a land A.I. resort has better included food, if you choose an A.I. that's not expensive. Every time I've priced Sandals or Beaches, I've been put off by price. Enjoyed Sunscapes Resort in Curacao, but food was okay/good, not great. 

 

9.) I don't use room service. With all that food, I really needed to get moving and burn some calories. Plus I'm cheap. 

 

10.) It's often possible to get more than one appetizer or even entree in the MDR. On our cruise, we had no trouble getting plenty to eat (and I eat big).

 

11.) Will all the different individuals, organizations and perspectives involved in pandemic mitigation, I've all but given up on things making sense. Just go with the flow. 

[bmc alabama]

On 8/4/2022 at 12:21 AM, MsSoCalCruiser said:

Yes, Princess has been having problems with the Caribbean Princess and the Crown Princess.  Which ship will you be sailing on?

Funny you should mention this.  We sailed on Crown Princess in May/June to Alaska knowing about all the propulsion issues, etc...  I was expecting the worst (especially with all the Doom and Gloom folks on the Princess boards 🙂 )...

 

We went, and to our surprise, had an amazing time.  Do we still prefer the Regal Princess?  Yes, but we had a great time on the Crown.  Our medallions worked flawlessly and the food was pretty good to outstanding, which I was a bit surprised about.  The buffet is not as good as the one on the Regal, but it was still pretty good.  To top it off, Princess gave us 50% of our cruise fare in a FCC to use in the next 2 years on another cruise for the propulsion issues.

 

To the OP's point here, of the cruises we've done this year, I'd rank them as below, from our favorite to least favorite:

 

Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady

Disney Magic

Carnival Mardi Gras

Crown Princess

Disney Wish

Oasis OTS

...

...

...

Independence OTS

 

Independence was by far our worst cruise.  I know Oasis is towards the bottom of the list, but it was still a good cruise (we just liked the others better).  Indy just needs something.  The included food options just aren't there.  And after going on Crown Princess it was interesting to compare, the Cafe Promenade just paled in comparison to their International Cafe.  At least Oasis had Park Cafe and El Loco Fresh (there was Solarium Bistro as well, but it was closed on our sailing "due to COVID").  Mardi Gras had great food, especially the "quick service" kind (the Shaq's Big Chicken hype is legit).  

 

And Virgin..  It's just a different concept all together.  We loved it.  Best food we've ever had on a cruise.

[clskinsfan]

4 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

We just booked a 5 night out of Galveston.  Yes it’s a small, old ship.  ( We actually like those.) The ports are the same old and if we get off at all it will be a quick beach trip.  It’s $86 pp per day including parking and tips.  I can not eat and stay on land in a decent hotel in Texas for that.  All my entertainment is included so I don’t have to figure out what to do in the evening or pay extra for it. I’m sure the DH will want to do a night or two in the speciality restaurants but that will be the only extras.  The last major land vacation we took the DH was hooked to the internet and phone WORKING because he was reachable.  No internet for us unless it’s a quick message to the kids or personal business.  
 

Non cruise vacations have their place.  You can’t see the Grand Canyon from a ship or Yellowstone or experience the Smokey Mountains.  But for value and relaxation we think a cruise can’t be beat.  

We used to feel exactly like you. Cruising used to be the best value in a vacation bar none. I am not sure that is the case anymore. We did a 10 night AI in the Dominican during covid and it was amazing. The food was incredible, Suite was huge and beautiful, entertainment was great and the service was top notch. Now we are not experienced in doing AI's. In fact it is only the second one we have done in our almost 40 years of marriage. But the trip was fantastic. And it was actually cheaper than our upcoming 7 nighter on Allure after adding in the drink package. If what we experienced is the norm for "higher end" AI's we may just go to them more often and cruise less. We still love being on the sea. But as I said I am not sure the value is there anymore. 

[BecciBoo]

4 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

But for value and relaxation we think a cruise can’t be beat.  

Ditto and anyway the ocean fixes everything!  We do Grandeur 4 day in 34 days, can't wait.  It's always new to us.  There are lots of little things that annoy, but I can easily ignore them.  Can't stand that Beef stroganoff is served on rice for instance, should be noodles. WHAT? Or that the biscuits have sugar in them...they are scones! not biscuits.  I lap it up and move on.  Grateful.

[The sea calls my name]

15 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

Ditto and anyway the ocean fixes everything!  We do Grandeur 4 day in 34 days, can't wait.  It's always new to us.  There are lots of little things that annoy, but I can easily ignore them.  Can't stand that Beef stroganoff is served on rice for instance, should be noodles. WHAT? Or that the biscuits have sugar in them...they are scones! not biscuits.  I lap it up and move on.  Grateful.

Any meal I don't have to cook and kitchen I don't have to clean is a win-win. The same goes for cleaning my room and bathroom and being thoroughly entertained at no additional cost. Give me some shade, a breeze,, a book, a beverage and an ocean view and the price of my ticket is forgotten.  

[MsSoCalCruiser]

2 hours ago, bmc alabama said:

Funny you should mention this.  We sailed on Crown Princess in May/June to Alaska knowing about all the propulsion issues, etc...  I was expecting the worst (especially with all the Doom and Gloom folks on the Princess boards 🙂 )...

 

We went, and to our surprise, had an amazing time.  Do we still prefer the Regal Princess?  Yes, but we had a great time on the Crown.  Our medallions worked flawlessly and the food was pretty good to outstanding, which I was a bit surprised about.  The buffet is not as good as the one on the Regal, but it was still pretty good.  To top it off, Princess gave us 50% of our cruise fare in a FCC to use in the next 2 years on another cruise for the propulsion issues.

 

To the OP's point here, of the cruises we've done this year, I'd rank them as below, from our favorite to least favorite:

 

Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady

Disney Magic

Carnival Mardi Gras

Crown Princess

Disney Wish

Oasis OTS

...

...

...

Independence OTS

 

Independence was by far our worst cruise.  I know Oasis is towards the bottom of the list, but it was still a good cruise (we just liked the others better).  Indy just needs something.  The included food options just aren't there.  And after going on Crown Princess it was interesting to compare, the Cafe Promenade just paled in comparison to their International Cafe.  At least Oasis had Park Cafe and El Loco Fresh (there was Solarium Bistro as well, but it was closed on our sailing "due to COVID").  Mardi Gras had great food, especially the "quick service" kind (the Shaq's Big Chicken hype is legit).  

 

And Virgin..  It's just a different concept all together.  We loved it.  Best food we've ever had on a cruise.

To be fair I don’t really consider it doom and gloom when some people only get one chance to go on their dream vacation and then things are majorly changed because the ship can’t make it to the next port in time. I know things happen but when they know this is going on and they don’t give everyone the chance to move to a different ship, it’s just wrong.  People have been reporting that that ship has had problems for a very long time.  That said, I would be fine never getting off the ship because I have already been to Alaska a few times.

 

I have a dairy allergy and for some reason the international Café thinks it’s OK to have six different sandwiches and put cheese on all of them.  I have written letters, customer relations has called me and still they can’t get that straightened out. I’ve been told to tell them my name and that I have food allergies and they look at me like I’m crazy. I don’t want anything special just a sandwich without dairy on it.  It’s really frustrating when you have dinner at 5 PM and you’re really hungry at 9 PM but when you ask what they have that is dairy free and you are told that there is nothing and that you have to go to the dining room to eat.  I said OK and ask if its open and I was told “No, it will be open tomorrow”.  I am hoping I am able to find something at Cafe Promenade. Do you know if that is a possibility?  El Loco fresh looks promising.  😊😊😊

 

 

[bmc alabama]

59 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

To be fair I don’t really consider it doom and gloom when some people only get one chance to go on their dream vacation and then things are majorly changed because the ship can’t make it to the next port in time. I know things happen but when they know this is going on and they don’t give everyone the chance to move to a different ship, it’s just wrong.  People have been reporting that that ship has had problems for a very long time.  That said, I would be fine never getting off the ship because I have already been to Alaska a few times.

 

I have a dairy allergy and for some reason the international Café thinks it’s OK to have six different sandwiches and put cheese on all of them.  I have written letters, customer relations has called me and still they can’t get that straightened out. I’ve been told to tell them my name and that I have food allergies and they look at me like I’m crazy. I don’t want anything special just a sandwich without dairy on it.  It’s really frustrating when you have dinner at 5 PM and you’re really hungry at 9 PM but when you ask what they have that is dairy free and you are told that there is nothing and that you have to go to the dining room to eat.  I said OK and ask if its open and I was told “No, it will be open tomorrow”.  I am hoping I am able to find something at Cafe Promenade. Do you know if that is a possibility?  El Loco fresh looks promising.  😊😊😊

 

 

There were plenty of dairy free options at the IC on the Crown.  My wife is GF and could always find something.  I am sorry you had that experience.

 

As to Cafe Promenade, it was equally awful on both the Oasis and Independence...

 

El Loco Fresh, however, was very good.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

1 minute ago, bmc alabama said:

There were plenty of dairy free options at the IC on the Crown.  My wife is GF and could always find something.  I am sorry you had that experience.

 

As to Cafe Promenade, it was equally awful on both the Oasis and Independence...

 

El Loco Fresh, however, was very good.

Thank you. I have that problem on every single cruise with Princess.  Gluten free and dairy free are two different things. I have a severe dairy allergy. I have been on 23 Princess cruises and there is never anything in the IC as far as a sandwich or anything like that goes. One can only eat so many raw vegetables, lol.  

Edited August 24, 2022 by MsSoCalCruiser

[MJSailors]

To the OP- 

Covid has effectively changed so much from the way

it used to be. Why would a cruise vacation be exempt from the effects of it ?  

As others have posted,lower your expectations if you plan to take a cruise or move on to another type of vacation.

MJ🙋🏻

[volk904]

I have been on 3 cruises on Royal in the last 10 months.  Enjoyed each of them but cruising post covid for now is just not the same as before.  The cruise lines are all short of staff and have supply shortages.  I can live with this for now.  Ship internet is usually just not that fast but it is better than nothing.   As for main dinning room portions yes they are small but you do realize you can ask for more. Ask for an extra shrimp cocktail. At Johnny Rockets while you have to pay things like onion rings are bottomless. Ask for more.    All of that said maybe you should try another line.  I would suggest Celebrity but have enjoyed NCL in the past.  The Edge  Class is really nice.  
 

I plan to sail on NCL again because we loved the Escape but right now I am working to get to Diamond on aroyal. 

 

Edited August 24, 2022 by volk904

[1980dory]

11 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

To be fair I don’t really consider it doom and gloom when some people only get one chance to go on their dream vacation and then things are majorly changed because the ship can’t make it to the next port in time. I know things happen but when they know this is going on and they don’t give everyone the chance to move to a different ship, it’s just wrong.  People have been reporting that that ship has had problems for a very long time.  That said, I would be fine never getting off the ship because I have already been to Alaska a few times.

 

I have a dairy allergy and for some reason the international Café thinks it’s OK to have six different sandwiches and put cheese on all of them.  I have written letters, customer relations has called me and still they can’t get that straightened out. I’ve been told to tell them my name and that I have food allergies and they look at me like I’m crazy. I don’t want anything special just a sandwich without dairy on it.  It’s really frustrating when you have dinner at 5 PM and you’re really hungry at 9 PM but when you ask what they have that is dairy free and you are told that there is nothing and that you have to go to the dining room to eat.  I said OK and ask if its open and I was told “No, it will be open tomorrow”.  I am hoping I am able to find something at Cafe Promenade. Do you know if that is a possibility?  El Loco fresh looks promising.  😊😊😊

 

 

How about a sandwich without bread?  Gluten intolerant and I get the same responses

to my needs.  Can't do breads,  rolls, cakes, pies, desserts, anything with wheat flour or breading, etc.

Either go hungry, or eat it and get sick.  Sorry 'bout that. BTW we do care about you and yor needs.

Did you know that 10% of the population is gluten intolerant?  That's significant but cruise lines don't seem to know that.

[vjmatty]

13 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

Or that the biscuits have sugar in them...they are scones! not biscuits.  I lap it up and move on.  Grateful.

 

And here I thought that was just a Princess thing...no idea this was a cruise-industry-wide problem.  I no longer eat meat anyway but the idea of sausage gravy on those seems gross.

 

NB: For those about to thrash another "complainer,"  I still appreciate and enjoy cruising, and will not stop cruising (fill in cruise line name here) based on the above-referenced observation....it is ok to talk about minor annoyances without being told to stay home.

[LobsterStalker]

On 7/29/2022 at 3:18 PM, reefgeek83 said:

We've only cruised Carnival and have our first RC cruise booked on September 2nd. I'm excited to try a new line. The one thing I agree with is all the specialty dining and up-charging. I hate how cruising is going to the Pay-to-Play model. It used to be you paid your cruise fare and everything on the ship was included. Now you have to pay extra for certain restaurant's, iFly, Flowrider, etc. The way things are headed, your cruise fare is only going to include the room and everything else is going to be an upcharge.

The other side of your argument is that with so many options of things to do on these ships if they go away from the "Pay to Play" model then inevitably the base fares will rise to cover the cost instead.

In that model the average person who cruises on a smaller budget and can easily do without all the upcharge activities will then be paying for your cruise of luxuries instead of their cruise of necessities.

Unfortunately nothing is free !

[LobsterStalker]

On 7/29/2022 at 3:47 PM, taglovestocruise said:

May be time to up your game and try something in Royals fleet that is not some of the smallest and oldest that you seem drawn to. 

Just to note - In 03 and 05 Explorer and Voyageur were still among the largest

[MsSoCalCruiser]

1 hour ago, 1980dory said:

How about a sandwich without bread?  Gluten intolerant and I get the same responses

to my needs.  Can't do breads,  rolls, cakes, pies, desserts, anything with wheat flour or breading, etc.

Either go hungry, or eat it and get sick.  Sorry 'bout that. BTW we do care about you and yor needs.

Did you know that 10% of the population is gluten intolerant?  That's significant but cruise lines don't seem to know that.

That’s one area where Princess really does shine. They have a lot of gluten-free items and they are marked gluten-free. But they usually have no dairy free at the IC. I would be fine with a sandwich without bread if I could just find something without cheese on it. I’m sorry you go through that and I know how hard it is.  Sometimes it is really hard to find something to eat.  I have a rare allergy called FPIES and my trigger (allergy) is dairy. Unfortunately I have a severe form of the allergy. 

[BecciBoo]

1 hour ago, 1980dory said:

Gluten intolerant and I get the same responses

to my needs.  Can't do breads,  rolls, cakes, pies, desserts, anything with wheat flour or breading, etc.

They have had non gluten bread for ages...just ask or contact Special Needs

[FOXTROT]

We were some of the last passengers off of a Celebrity cruise in March 2020. We had some fantastic cruises canceled due to Covid. We are thinking about taking a cruise in Sept. Not any of our friends who have sailed in the past year said any of them were the same as before. Most have said they were pretty bad & will wait to cruise again. Cruise lines got hammered after 2020 & will take a while to get back.