Who still does the older Royal ships, and....

[jcc1025]

While we usually sail on the larger class we do like the smaller classes. We were invited to sail on the two day shakeout cruise on Radiance this year in Feb. out of LA and it was wonderful. We sailed Radiance to Alaska the first year she was in service and our returned reminded us of how much we like the class. Lots of glass views of the ocean and it does not have all the toys so a more relaxed sail. This is the ship that made us love the Chanpaign Bar. Both the large and small ships have their plus and minus you just need to judge what your are looking for, but if you don't have kids and looking for a great relaxing cruise the Radiance classs is outstanding. 

[Merion_Mom]

I love all of my children equally.  🙂 

[Deeliteful]

Prefer the smaller ships. Really did not enjoy Oasis when I sailed on her, had a great time - I was on a cruise! But too many people for my liking.

Looking forward to my T/A on the Jewel next month, love the Radiance class.

 

[Janet524]

7 hours ago, klfhngr said:

WHY?! I consider Vision class old.

I can drive to Baltimore in a couple hours to sail on Enchantment instead of flying or driving to Florida for newer ships. I also feel that the smaller ships have more "personality " than their newer larger sisters, and crew is more accessible. 

[Ret MP]

9 hours ago, Ret MP said:

I prefer to cruise only on Quantum and Oasis class ships for a various reasons.  The ship is about 98% of why I cruise, Ports of Call don't mean much to me.  Like @smokeybandit, I don't cruise for the amusement park on a ship unless I have the grandkids with us.  Being 71, I can't/shouldn't use them anyway, with a few exceptions.  But, I do like the variety of activities, entertainment, and food options that these two classes of ships offer.  

 

YMMV

OMG & LOL, a few hours after typing this post, my wife and I looked at each other, and like we read each other's mind, we said that we need to take a cruise just to achieve Diamond Status and any cruise we take will accomplish that because we only need three nights to qualify.  Port Canaveral is the closest Large Cruise ship port to us.  So, we did some research for a 3 or 4 night cruise.  Well, the best price and best cruise was/is Independence of the Seas to Coco Cay and Nassau, 4 nights, Spacious Ocean View Balcony Cabin, 9th Deck, October.  Obviously not a Quantum or Oasis Class ship.  But, this cruise is an agenda driven cruise not purely for fun and pleasure.  However, I'm sure we will do both.  We won't get off of the ship in Nassau, for many reasons.  

 

So, it's all paid for and we have already purchased the Soda Package.  IF we want to drink adult beverages, we'll pay ala carte. 

 

Can't wait!!!!!

[Another_Critic]

5 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

... we said that we need to take a cruise just to achieve Diamond Status and any cruise we take will accomplish that because we only need three nights to qualify.  Port Canaveral is the closest Large Cruise ship port to us.  So, we did some research for a 3 or 4 night cruise.  Well, the best price and best cruise was/is Independence of the Seas to Coco Cay and Nassau, 4 nights, Spacious Ocean View Balcony Cabin, 9th Deck, October. 

Can I join you?  I need 3 points to get to 340 for reduced solo supplement.  🙂

[Gardener5b]

We enjoy the smaller ships because they tend to visit more interesting ports.   And the service has always been outstanding.   The Radiance class ships have the most amazing views to the sea.   Lots of good reasons to enjoy the smaller ships if you don't need all of the newer entertainment options.

[Sunshine3601]

10 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

We prefer the smaller Radiance class for these reasons:

 

They’re small enough to get close to interesting ports

They always have a ship in Tampa port which is close to us
I love the ocean and as long as I can see it I’m fine on any ship, so Radiance class fits perfectly 

I cruise to relax and unwind and the large ships have too many people for me

Exactly!!   While on a recent sailing on Oasis that had 6500 +/- passengers with just over 2000 kids I went to Next Cruise desk and said "I need to book a sailing on Serenade there are way too many people on this ship'..  

[OSUZorba]

Define older. I personally love the Freedom class. Improves on all of the Voyager's weaknesses, while keeping all of it's pros. Really has pretty much everything I care to do more than once or twice.

 

Can't believe Freedom is 16 years old now. She had just start sailing about a month before my honeymoon/first cruise. I remember telling my wife how we'd never be able to afford to sail on her... and now one of the things I really like about her is she has cheap(er) suites 🙂

[Ret MP]

2 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

Can I join you?  I need 3 points to get to 340 for reduced solo supplement.  🙂

Sure, come on!

[TheBandit]

To quote my answer from another board:

 

The past few years we've been on Oasis and Vision class ships. Rhapsody, Allure, Harmony. And the Wonder in two weeks.

 

So really both sides of the ships sizes. And I really couldn't tell which one I like more.

 

I really love the entertainment on the Oasis Class. Great musicals, good live music at Boleros. Rock climbing, FlowRider, Zipline, the Abyss, Aqua Theater, Ice Skating shows. And lots of specialty restaurants. And then two of my favourite spots: Central Park and the Solarium. It never gets boring. You never end up hungry.

 

But sometimes it gets crowded (not last time though...running at just 25% capacity). Places like the Solarium fill up quickly. And if you're not fast enough, some specialty restaurants will sell out.

 

The Vision class is a lot smaller. But I had fun just the same. The Solarium is small, but cosy. A small version of the Park Cafe serves some decent snacks there.

Enjoyed the Schooner Bar on the Vision class a lot more than on the Oasis Class. Felt more intimate...the whole ship does. You keep seeing the same visitors, the same staff. And when everything stops you will keep meeting the same folks grabbing one last slice of pizza before calling it a night. I really liked that.

And there is a charm to the Centrum. Old-School cruising charm with for example the 70s show happening there. Or just to hang out for a late night drink - or pre-dinner drink. Nice dancing nights at the Viking Lounge with great views - missing that on the Oasis Class.

And - at least the Rhapsody - still has our two favourite specialty restaurants: Izumi and Chops.

 

Really really enjoy both of them. And I would say equally. The cabins are quite bigger and more comfy on the Oasis Class though.

Edited September 22, 2022 by TheBandit

[sgmn]

Love the Viking Crown lounge for views and peace and quiet out of the sun and a drink pre dinner.

Interesting ports are more important than rock climbing, slides, zip line or flow rider. 

Like crazy golf, relaxing in the sun with a book and being at sea

Do miss the great shows they have on Oasis class 

Freedom class is a sweet spot

 

 

 

[Coralc]

We sailed on Viking Serenade and Song of America for a few years and then flew to Fort Lauderdale and sailed on Enchantment and went WOW! You have a lot nicer ships out here. 😄 We're good. We haven't been on the newer and largest, but we're fine. The cost is reasonable, and I don't do a whole heck of a lot when I am onboard. I mostly look at the ocean and read a book. Older and cheaper works fine. 😄

[superduper123]

I do. The biggest ship I have been on is the Independence. I actually prefer Radiance class. We are not young, and have adult children & grandchildren who do not cruise with us. I have no desire for amusement park type activities on cruises. But that's just our style.

[robmtx]

Grandeur is great! But if I had to be a cruise critic about the smaller ships, my feedback would be that the pricing for balcony staterooms is much higher due to limited quantity. Baltimore balconies (Grandeur, Enchantment, and soon Vision) are always 20-30% higher than Bayonne balconies (Anthem, Oasis, Adventure, Voyager, etc.)

 

[retired dude]

we, like the radiance class(living in the tampa area makes it a snap to cruise on them) and we like alot of you don't need all of the bells and whistles of the oasis class ships.. Our other favorite is the explorer out of the east coast of fla..Only drawback to her is the horrible disembarkment...Besides that she is a gem and the jazz concerts every day in the various locations is huge for us...In regards to sailing with "yutes" we try to avoid them  by not sailing during spring breaks, summer, thanksgiving or xmas..just our preference...life is good. B&B in clearwater.

[PolicromaSol]

How are you going to do a Panama Canal cruise on an Oasis-class monster?
 

(That's my bucket list cruise, BTW. If only I had the time!)

[orville99]

23 hours ago, klfhngr said:

WHY?! I consider Vision class old.

We have sailed on every class of RCL ship except Quantum class) and have enjoyed every one. They all have their own "personality", and we continue to sail on all of the classes still operating as long as their itineraries look interesting. Between now and next September, we will be sailing on at least one Voyager class (Mariner), Vision class (Grandeur), Radiance class (Jewel and Serenade), Freedom class (Independence), and Oasis class (Harmony and Wonder) ships. We are also looking at booking a cruise on Odyssey for next year if we can find an open slot in our schedule.

[orville99]

28 minutes ago, PolicromaSol said:

How are you going to do a Panama Canal cruise on an Oasis-class monster?
 

(That's my bucket list cruise, BTW. If only I had the time!)

We have a 10-night cruise out of Tampa booked on Serenade for February 2023 that ports at the entrance to the canal. We are taking a full day excursion on a smaller ship that will do the entire transit to the Pacific and back. An Oasis class ship could execute the same itinerary if RCL chose to do so, and it would sell out in a heartbeat. Serenade cabins went like wildfire when the itinerary was released.

[goldfish65]

I don't like to have too many people or too much activity around me. I want to feel like I am on a ship and see the ocean from wherever I am. The mega ships seem to be monstrosities to me. Glad they are an option for whomever likes them though. 

[TexCruise371]

We love the older ships. We sailed on Grandeur last week after a week on Liberty and had a great cruise on both. We Grandeur the happy ship as everyone was having a good time. Also sailed on Vision in April and are looking forward to returning to Serenade next week. We haven't been on an Oasis class ship since Allure in 2011.

Edited September 22, 2022 by TexCruise371

[gumby_ng]

Because there are many factors that help us decide which cruise to pick. The actual ship is only one of them. We look at cruise line, itinerary, cost, cabin availability/location as a start. Everyone has different priorities.

[gail-s]

We haven't cruised in years but next year we're going on the Enchantment to Europe.  Why?  Because it will be our 50th birthdays and I was able to book the same suite we had for our honeymoon on that same ship.  It'll be fun and something different to do.  We've never done the huge new ships and I'm okay with that.  I don't think we'd do half the "stuff" as it is.  

[4774Papa]

We started cruising with NCL (7) and Celebrity (11) and moved to Royal Caribbean because we could transfer our elite status to diamond and we found two Royal C. cruises that beat the heck out of anyone else.  Both cruises were on medium sized ships (not mega ships).  We prefer smaller to medium sized ships.

 

Our worst cruise was on the NCL Epic, a poorly designed Mega ship.

[island lady]

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

We have sailed on every class of RCL ship except Quantum class) and have enjoyed every one. They all have their own "personality", and we continue to sail on all of the classes still operating as long as their itineraries look interesting. Between now and next September, we will be sailing on at least one Voyager class (Mariner), Vision class (Grandeur), Radiance class (Jewel and Serenade), Freedom class (Independence), and Oasis class (Harmony and Wonder) ships. We are also looking at booking a cruise on Odyssey for next year if we can find an open slot in our schedule.

 

That is the difficulty I am having for the next two years.  😉