Never seen so many unhappy people on RCCL Cruise - Anthem out of UK

[little britain]

2 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

Maybe they should homeport Enchantment in Southampton for a season, then people will be begging to get Anthem and Indy back.  😄 

I’ve just been on Enchantment and have booked on her again…. I really liked that quirky stretched little ship… far nicer than independence imho!!! 

[vjmatty]

4 hours ago, Pandamonia said:

It’s their loss as I said they saved me £1400 and I still got drunk enough to feel like I didn’t miss out. 

 

Wish I could give this 20 upvotes lol

[vjmatty]

8 minutes ago, little britain said:

I’ve just been on Enchantment and have booked on her again…. I really liked that quirky stretched little ship… far nicer than independence imho!!! 

 

I was just on her last month for a 15-day TA, and am going back in October.  Love Enchantment in spite of its unpopularity....she was our first cruise ever, back in 2007.

[little britain]

1 minute ago, vjmatty said:

 

I was just on her last month for a 15-day TA, and am going back in October.  Love Enchantment in spite of its unpopularity....she was our first cruise ever, back in 2007.

She was relaxing… isn’t that what cruising is meant to be about ?!

[FamilyCruiserUK]

4 minutes ago, little britain said:

She was relaxing… isn’t that what cruising is meant to be about ?!

Noooo. Its about eating and drinking as much as you can as you have paid for it whilst laying towels on sunbeds and buying over priced tat in the shops.......🤔 🤣

[BrianLo]

5 hours ago, Pandamonia said:

im sure the newer quantum class would also be better but I’ve not sailed them yet. They need to maximise the sun deck for the UK market and offer all inclusive like they used to. Last year I paid £40 a day for deluxe this year they wanted £80. It was £50 until New Year’s Day 

 

that said personally I think I’m done with drinking to excess on cruises. My gf is a lightweight and never gets the value out of them and now we are diamond it’s even harder. I still don’t understand why they don’t offer diamond a big discount on deluxe package to make it worth upgrading. 

 

I think this is just a cognitive thing, the vouchers are a discount, one that just encourages a la carte without wastage.

 

Treat the 4 drinks per day like a mini drink package. Allot your 40 pounds or whatever for each of you and spend it on a la carte drinks. That's about 16 drinks a day (4 vouchers each and 80 pounds to spend on 8 more drinks), if your girlfriend wants less of the share you have more. Plus you'll have some of those welcome amenities to get some more bottles of whatever and you can bring some alcohol on board for the mini fridge.

 

I don't see that as really unreasonable but perhaps I am underestimating how much excess there was.

Edited June 19, 2023 by BrianLo

[kirtihk]

49 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

I was talking about drink package prices, not cruise prices.

 

ETA: That being said, if quality of cruising drops there are lots of Greek islands and other land vacations yet to be explored.  One of the biggest draws of cruising is the value, and when that goes there is little to keep me onboard.

The most critical entity of cruising besides value is convenience - where else one may enjoy to visit a dozen of places (for example, we are leaving in 2 days for 16-day Azamara Pursuit, Norwegian “Midnight sun” cruise with only 4 sea days) through 1 unpacking.  I cannot even imagine to book 12 hotels, pack/unpack every day, take a bus/train/ferry, search for restaurants in the school place 2-3 times a day.  They would be “nightmare” (in a way) instead of joyful vacation.

[kirtihk]

44 minutes ago, little britain said:

She was relaxing… isn’t that what cruising is meant to be about ?!

Enchantment was our second cruise in 1999.  It was very enjoyable!

Edited June 19, 2023 by kirtihk

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, little britain said:

I’ve just been on Enchantment and have booked on her again…. I really liked that quirky stretched little ship… far nicer than independence imho!!! 

I've sailed on Enchantment once (March 2022), but I preferred her older "twin at birth" sister, Grandeur (sailed her 7 times).  Also sailed on Vision once.

 

While Enchantment had a nicer pool deck, she was lacking in maintenance.  Maybe they've since spruced her up.

 

But overall, I do like the relaxed cruise experience on Vision class.

 

My point of my original post was if people are complaining about same old, same old, they would probably prefer same old, same old, to one specialty restaurant, limited bars, limited shows, etc. on Enchantment.  The age old, you don't appreciate what you have until you "lose" it.

[John&LaLa]

11 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I’ve read that steaks on cruise ships are sous vide and then seared, we do this at home and it works well, hard to overcook steaks using this method.

 

@Ocean Boy

[vjmatty]

1 hour ago, kirtihk said:

The most critical entity of cruising besides value is convenience - where else one may enjoy to visit a dozen of places (for example, we are leaving in 2 days for 16-day Azamara Pursuit, Norwegian “Midnight sun” cruise with only 4 sea days) through 1 unpacking.  I cannot even imagine to book 12 hotels, pack/unpack every day, take a bus/train/ferry, search for restaurants in the school place 2-3 times a day.  They would be “nightmare” (in a way) instead of joyful vacation.

 

Yes but out of those 12 or so locations, many if not most warrant future attention for a prolonged stay.  Cruising for me, in addition to the value, is a sampler of places to experience short term in order to decide where to return for a quality experience of that location.  In my lifetime, I have experienced enough short visits to know where I wish to spend longer vacations should cruising prices get to the level where it is no longer worth it to me.  Luckily, transatlantics and repositionings have stayed cheap, so maybe those will be the way I get to and from my land vacations if that should happen in the future.  I don't need a busy runaround itinerary so much anymore.

[RumAndCoconuts]

6 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Likewise on a ship you don't need to spend a penny extra. 

You make a very good point. I had gone 15 years without cruising and did our first again since then on the Jewel out of Amsterdam in May. I too noticed the cost for a lot of things that weren't there before as well as a decrease in value in certain things...2x daily service... that sort of thing. In the past we would always book Chop's or Portofino...however with the insane price increase being that we had the option of a nice meal in the MDR we did not book one. We had reached Diamond Status way back when so we had the 4 drinks a day.  You know at the end of the cruise our only shipboard expense was the deposit on a future cruise. We literally spent $0 on board and we had a great time. We never felt like we were missing out on anything. So...you CAN send a message by not spending money onboard. The cruise was great value. Traveling, eating and lodging in Norway would have been far more expensive traveling overland.  You don't have to 'jump ship' as it were to send a message. It was my passive protest. 😊

[Tatka]

8 hours ago, nelblu said:

We are getting Odyssey in exchange.  Should be a nice change of scenery.  Only problem, no indoor pool.  Also, Symphony replaces Oasis.

I’m not very happy about first change. Second is fine.

We lately cruise on Anthem for Thanksgiving and in January (longer cruise).

She has family indoor pool. We don’t use it, but family do use it. Now I expect kids in Solarium and colder passage to Solarium. Towel station will be outside. 😞 

 

Hopefully I’m wrong, but I can foresee described problems 

[Pandamonia]

12 hours ago, BrianLo said:

 

I think this is just a cognitive thing, the vouchers are a discount, one that just encourages a la carte without wastage.

 

Treat the 4 drinks per day like a mini drink package. Allot your 40 pounds or whatever for each of you and spend it on a la carte drinks. That's about 16 drinks a day (4 vouchers each and 80 pounds to spend on 8 more drinks), if your girlfriend wants less of the share you have more. Plus you'll have some of those welcome amenities to get some more bottles of whatever and you can bring some alcohol on board for the mini fridge.

 

I don't see that as really unreasonable but perhaps I am underestimating how much excess there was.

 

This is how we did it, some days we actually didnt even use them all. As i said its done me a favour in some ways as its broken a habit of drinking each day for the sake of it.... Feel bored? Get a drink. Want a random cocktail you might not like? get it.... 

 

The biggest difference though was now i view calories like money. If i spend money i also spend calorie budget and i know when im back ill have to go without to lose the weight. So in my mind im now not only only saving HUGE sums on drinks packages im also coming back with only a coupe of KG to lose which is far easier and less depressing. 

 

Before the above id feel forced to drink Gin and Vodka with diet mixers all the time because everything is so high in calories. Now im only have a few drinks per day most days it doesnt really make much difference what i order within reason. 

 

Also a pocket full of single dollar bills seems to make the 4 vouchers go MUCH further 😆

[Pandamonia]

12 hours ago, kirtihk said:

The most critical entity of cruising besides value is convenience - where else one may enjoy to visit a dozen of places (for example, we are leaving in 2 days for 16-day Azamara Pursuit, Norwegian “Midnight sun” cruise with only 4 sea days) through 1 unpacking.  I cannot even imagine to book 12 hotels, pack/unpack every day, take a bus/train/ferry, search for restaurants in the school place 2-3 times a day.  They would be “nightmare” (in a way) instead of joyful vacation.

 

I used to think this but basically you dont really get to experience them you get to sample them. I dont really enjoy each port. Especially in Europe where basically they are mostly industrial ports then you have to get on a coach or something and by time your back you are wiped out. 

 

 

 

12 hours ago, vjmatty said:

 

I was talking about drink package prices, not cruise prices.

 

ETA: That being said, if quality of cruising drops there are lots of Greek islands and other land vacations yet to be explored.  One of the biggest draws of cruising is the value, and when that goes there is little to keep me onboard.

 

This 100% 👍

 

 

I dont see cruising as a luxury expensive holiday. I never have and i doubt i ever will. I see it as a value holiday and when that value is lost there is no reason for me to do it. Luckily MSC and P&O are offering that value still where Royal is becoming a floating amusement park. Overpriced concession stands with questionable quality. If you look at their ships they actually resemble theme parks now more than cruise ships. 

[Nell Gwynn]

21 hours ago, jencruzin said:

If yours ate the black pudding - it was STEAMED and red inside (it was raw). Mine ate his at windjammer and had the same results, only for one day though. 

Sorry to hear your hubby suffered too.  It wasn't the black pudding for mine, not sure what, but people on Facebook have been blaming undercooked chicken!  I guess we'll never know. 

[John&LaLa]

19 hours ago, Pandamonia said:

I doubt that. 
 

if they did they would not have only sold 18 UDP on my cruise and had all the restaurants empty for 12 nights?

 

Not sure we covered this, but how do you know they only sold 18 pkg's

[John&LaLa]

16 hours ago, Billy Baltic said:

+1

I’m sure they could do lots of variations if they actually cared about the customer experience. 

 

How about 17 different itineraries in a row.

[John&LaLa]

14 hours ago, vjmatty said:

 

I was just on her last month for a 15-day TA, and am going back in October.  Love Enchantment in spite of its unpopularity....she was our first cruise ever, back in 2007.

 

She was fun back in her Pt Canaveral days doing the 3/4 day runs. 

[Pandamonia]

10 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Not sure we covered this, but how do you know they only sold 18 pkg's

 

So there is a list given to Johnny Rockets and i noticed that when i went to order he didnt take my card and i said how do you know if i have UDP as you never scan my card unlike in chops etc....

 

He showed me the list of room numbers which have the UDP and basically there were 18 lines on the spreadsheet. So possibly 36 packages or 18 rooms or it could be just 18 packages as they ticked the names off actually when i think about it..  The UDP was priced at 300 GBP and they sold 2 full A4 sheets of UDP on previous cruise and on this cruise they put price up to 455GBP luckily id already bought mine. 

 

This is why i think dynamic pricing is basically fake. There is no intelligence behind it whatsoever. Its just randomised up and down pricing to drive fake sales periods as there is not a chance they would increase price by 50% with only 18 cabins on UDP and have all the restaurants mostly empty. Each day restaurants had 5-10 tables and johnny rockets was basically a milkshake vendor with a few exceptions. 

Edited June 20, 2023 by Pandamonia

[John&LaLa]

9 hours ago, Tatka said:

I’m not very happy about first change. Second is fine.

We lately cruise on Anthem for Thanksgiving and in January (longer cruise).

She has family indoor pool. We don’t use it, but family do use it. Now I expect kids in Solarium and colder passage to Solarium. Towel station will be outside. 😞 

 

Hopefully I’m wrong, but I can foresee described problems 

 

Yea, I don't get the placement of Odyssey into NJ in winter

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, Pandamonia said:

 

Also a pocket full of single dollar bills seems to make the 4 vouchers go MUCH further 😆

 

Not being critical, but earlier you go on and on about the evils of tipping, and now you are encouraging it 🤔

[Lady Hudson]

30 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Yea, I don't get the placement of Odyssey into NJ in winter

Odyssey is quantum class, correct?  Lots of indoor venues.  We have been on both  Quantum and Anthem out of NJ - Anthem many times.  Never have seen a problem with kids in solarium — possible because of the indoor family pool?  I am looking forward to Odyssey out of NJ — already booked.  Katherine 

[Pandamonia]

45 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Not being critical, but earlier you go on and on about the evils of tipping, and now you are encouraging it 🤔

 

I dont like tipping.

 

I have no problem with bribes 😆

[Biker19]

57 minutes ago, Lady Hudson said:

Odyssey is quantum class, correct?

Yes, but unlike her older sisters, she doesn't have an indoor pool.