Took my first RCL cruise and my first under 7 days

[LindyWebb]

Hello All

 

I love posts about cruise experiences so I thought I would add on.  Brief history: we have average cruisers having gone on 10 since honeymoon 20 years ago.  We live in Ontario, so cruising requires planes and planning.  I have mainly cruised Carnival, with one Disney and one Princess.  This was a mother daughter trip (DD 15).  We had planned a Florida week away because of cheap flights (side note, flights were cancelled two weeks before and had to fly Southwest out of Buffalo for not quite as cheap!).  Once we had the days and flight booked we started looking at what we might do.  We decided beach versus theme parks and as I looked at hotels and VRBOs, I wandered onto the cruise pages.  When I started to price things out taking a cruise was very affordable.  The only short 5 day or less cruise that worked out of Port Canaveral on the dates we were travelling was an RCL Independence of the Seas 3 night.  Stops at Perfect Day and Nassau.  This was perfect for us because we love the private islands the cruise lines have.

 

We flew into Orlando late Wednesday, did our COVID tests Thursday morning (we did a zoom call monitored test) and then boarded ship Friday.  We had 11 am boarding and we got there are 10:45 - zipped through all lines and was on the ship by 11:15.  It was super organized and fast.  We walked around the main promenade deck and it was really nice.  We loved this area and came here often.  We went to the Windjammer eventually and had some lunch.  Then went up to the surf experience.  Before we had even left port, my daughter did the surfing, bungee virtual experience and the water slide.  This was really smart on our part (unknowingly) because line ups could get long and  we got to do everything right away.  

 

We had selected anytime dining but switched to early when we got onboard.  We wanted to see certain shows and we are not night owls (I am not anyways).  Our dining room table was a two person, but in a line with a lot of other 2 people parties so we could choose to chat or not.  We had fantastic wait staff.  Even though it was a 3 night short cruise they learned our names, always brought my daughter a sprite after she ordered it first night, constantly checked and made sure we were happy.  We both loved the food.  We did not do any paid dinning, just the dinning room for dinners and buffet for lunch and breakfast.  We could always find food (and a lot of it).  We ate the pizza in-between meals a few times also.

 

We went to both the skating show and the Grease show.  Both were really good.  My daughter insisted we sit front row for Grease, and that is not a spot I would choose.  But they were great singers and dancers. My daughter also went skating during the open skate and had a blast.

 

Here are a few of the really positive things we liked:

Teen club - my daughter has never really done them (because usually we travel as a family and she has her brother), but she went and met great kids.  They had a blast and they had so many activities for them.  I was really impressed and she kept super busy!

Shows - were very good

Perfect day at Coco Cay - we had great weather and just sat on the beach and swam - lots of fun.

Nassau - we just walked around port - its a bit pushy and sketchy, but we had spent the day at the beach and wanted some shopping - we went back on ship an into the pools early

food - was great and plenty of it

the ship was nice ( a bit worn, but very well maintained) - the staff were great and helpful

cabin - we had a balcony and our steward was great - brought ice every time and did up our room twice per day

 

Some things we didn't love:

Shopping - the ship didn't have a big selection of RCL stuff (I always buy a magnet with ship name on it and they didn't sell it)

pools were crowded (aren't they always!)

no free food on deck (I thought it was weird the fish place was a paid restaurant)

 

Overall I would for sure go on an RCL again.  We already have a Carnival booked at Christmas (our first mega ship).  I didn't love the 3 night (off and on fast), but it worked so perfectly for our trip.  

 

happy to answer any questions if anyone has them

 

 

 

[Trixie21]

Great you enjoyed your first RCL cruise!

Would suggest you try oasis class or Odyssey (quantum class) for your next cruise - they are very impressive ships.

[firefly333]

I'm surprised the ship was out of magnets with the name of the ship. I've bought those magnets for liberty and grandeur since restart. ..the only 2 ships so far I've been on. 

 

Btw on carnival I've done vista and breeze since restart and the fish place is also a paid not free place. If you have done carnival why surprised rcl isnt free if carnival charges.

Edited July 30, 2022 by firefly333

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Glad to hear you and your daughter enjoyed your cruise! 🙂 

 

I share your frustrations with not having complimentary restaurants on the pool deck--sometimes you just want to grab something quick and get right back in the pool, but not badly enough to pay for it.  😉 For what it's worth, many other Royal ships have complimentary venues on the pool deck (El Loco Fresh, Dog House).  Worth checking into if that's important to you. 

[mrpayroll]

Sounds like you had fun. Going August 22nd on a four day ( has a sea day on the end) with grankids.