BEST RC Cruise Ship???

[xosweetiexo]

I just came back from Adventure of the Seas and WOWWWWW what a ship that was!!!!!!!! Absolutely amazing!!!!

 

Is AOS the biggest ship as of right now?? (Besides the new Oasis)??

 

I looooooved the entertainment and EVERYTHING!!!!

 

Do all ships have this level of entertainment on-board?? (Ice-skating rink, singers, dancers, etc)?

 

My husband and I were 1st time cruisers and now are cruise lovers!!!:)

 

We want to know what other ships we should look into b/c we are worried that if we took AOS, it might be the same entertainment/ports?? Im confused about this... please help! Thank you!!!:):)

[KTMay1917]

I just came back from Adventure of the Seas and WOWWWWW what a ship that was!!!!!!!! Absolutely amazing!!!!

 

Is AOS the biggest ship as of right now?? (Besides the new Oasis)??

 

I looooooved the entertainment and EVERYTHING!!!!

 

Do all ships have this level of entertainment on-board?? (Ice-skating rink, singers, dancers, etc)?

 

My husband and I were 1st time cruisers and now are cruise lovers!!!:)

 

We want to know what other ships we should look into b/c we are worried that if we took AOS, it might be the same entertainment/ports?? Im confused about this... please help! Thank you!!!:):)

 

Glad to hear you loved the AOS. We do as well. The Freedom class is larger than the AOS which is part of the 5 ship Voyager class. They are very similar but longer. They as well have the ice rinks.

Some of their other ships Radiance, Vision and Sovereign classes do not have rinks.

 

However we love the AOS to pieces but we also fell in love w/ the Majesty last year. Its a small older very well kept ship w/ a great crew.

 

Shows don't rotate out very often on ships. They run for a few yrs then rotate out. Cruise directors rotate fairly frequently. All RCCL ships have singers/dancers and shows and comedians etc. Right now if you like the Voyager class of ships you can sail from the west coast, or east coast or out of san jaun on the Mariner, Explorer, Adventure. The original Voyager and the Navigator are still deployed to Europe if I'm not mistaken.

[struther1]

I have been on 7 of RCCL's ships and will be going on my 8th in February. I have enjoyed all of them, I haven't had any problems on any but my personal favorite was the Jewel.

[compuryan]

Glad to hear you had a great time on your first cruise :).

 

AOS is not the biggest ship, that title belongs to the freedom class ships (until November, that is).

 

Ships repeat their production shows for several years, and run the same itineraries for (usually) months at a time. So if you sailed on AOS again, you'd likely be visiting mostly the same or similar ports.

 

The ships all have different activities, entertainment, and ports of call to offer, so I would suggest trying out some different ships if you want to maintain some variety. The level of service you experienced on AOS should be the same across the fleet (or at least, that's what the goal is).

[jakeil7]

Best or biggest? There are many here who would tell you they are not the same thing :). The Freedom, Liberty, and Independence are all bigger, extended versio s of the Voyager class ships (all are newer as well) but they don't do the Southren route which so many people talk about as being one of the best.

[karen&roy]

I just came back from Adventure of the Seas and WOWWWWW what a ship that was!!!!!!!! Absolutely amazing!!!!

 

Is AOS the biggest ship as of right now?? (Besides the new Oasis)??

 

I looooooved the entertainment and EVERYTHING!!!!

 

Do all ships have this level of entertainment on-board?? (Ice-skating rink, singers, dancers, etc)?

 

My husband and I were 1st time cruisers and now are cruise lovers!!!:)

 

We want to know what other ships we should look into b/c we are worried that if we took AOS, it might be the same entertainment/ports?? Im confused about this... please help! Thank you!!!:):)

 

If you like that you will LOVE Freedom Of the Seas..largest of all the ships and fun flowrider on board :D

[printingchick]

AOS is my favorite of all the ships I've sailed on, but I have only sailed on two Royal Caribbean ships so far. To be honest, I preferred the size of AOS to Freedom. Freedom Class ships add the Flow-Rider (surfing or boogie boarding wave pool) and the H2O-Zone (kids' water park), but are otherwise very similar to the Adventure except larger. The problem with BIGGER is that the public areas will ony hold so many people. Did you enjoy the 70's party on Adventure? On the Freedom Class, I found myself being either squished or pushed constantly. Great event, but too crowded. The parades could get too crowded as well, making it difficult to take photos. And the elevators...EGADS!

 

I'll never say never, but I'm hesitant to try Oasis because I think it will feel too crowded. Also, Oasis and Allure have such limited docking abilities due to their size. They don't go to as many interesting places.

 

We're sailing on Serenade in 2010, which is a step smaller than Adventure. I worry I'll miss the Royal Promenade and the parades - a favorite feature of Adventure. But cruisers RAVE about Serenade. It frequently places first in the Favorite Royal Caribbean Ship polls on this site.

 

KEEP ON CRUISIN'!

[Cruzaholic41]

I just came back from Adventure of the Seas and WOWWWWW what a ship that was!!!!!!!! Absolutely amazing!!!!

 

Welcome to RCI. The "Wow" factor of the ships is one of RCI's strongest points.

 

For your next cruise, book Freedom Class of Oasis Class!

[tomko2]

As others have posted above the Freedom Class (Freedom, Liberty and Independence) are all larger and absolutely beautiful. We were on the Independence last Dec. and loved it. (Photos in the link below).

 

Now that you have one RC cruise under your belt you can join the Crown and Anchor Society which is their loyalty program. Check out the information on the RC website; it's free and you start receiving benefits on your next cruise.

 

Happy Cruising!

Kathy:)

[Pomperaugrr]

I've been on 9 RCI cruises, and have loved every ship I have been on. The one that stands out to me though, is the Serenade of the Seas. That is my favorite to date. The ship is beautiful and the crew amazing.

 

You need to do a lot more cruising on RCI, so you can get a taste of all the ships and form your own opinion. Research can be fun! :)

 

Eric

[jfeathe]

I'd have to go with the Rhapsody. It may not be the biggest or fanciest ship, but the decor, food quality, and crew is spectacular.

 

The Voyager comes in at a very close second.

[LBumb]

my favorite was the sovereign that rci sold. majesty and monarch are sister ships which are awesome for short cruises. The freedom always had so much to do.

[tom13]

we have been on 4 rci cruises we loved the serenade that ship is so nice and cue

[linkerbink]

The BEST RCCL ship is the one I'm on! :D

 

Other than that, I really liked the Serenade. My favorite was the Song of America, probably because it was my first cruise...but she's no longer in the RCCL fleet.

[FreewayFortune]

I really liked the Serenade. But then again we cruised to Alaska on her and it doesn't get better than that.

[English Jane]

Favourite ... hmm ...

 

Maybe Splendour that started me off ...

 

... or maybe Majesty - been on her twice, before and after re-fit ...

 

... oh, I don't know - Jewel was beautiful ...

 

... Freedom was a real wow too!

 

AAAAAARRRGGHH - I CAN'T DO IT - don't make me choose - it's like choosing your favourite child :D

[dfa1]

I have to agree w/the majority here: I think the one place that RC excells is their ships. I think the service and food are very good to excellent, but the ships really stand out as being the thing that draws me back to RCCL over and over again.

 

I LOVE the Voyager & the Jewel. It would be hard for me to pick between them. Two very different ships that are both very worthy of sailing. Some things in the Radiance class are better than the Voyager class IMO, like the Solarium; Some things I prefer on the Voyager class, such as the Promenade & the dining room. To be honest, they are both top notch, and I would gladly board tomorrow on either of them if I could just afford it.

 

Other RCI ships we've sailed on:

 

Monarch: Very nice, but rooms are too small.

 

Enchantment: Showed her age a little when we sailed her, but still a very nice vessel, and a step up from Monarch.

 

Explorer: Another Voyager class. Excellent service and atmosphere. One of my favorite cruises.

 

Part of the fun of becoming a cruiseaholic is trying new ships and new iteneraries. RCI offers a variety of ships that appeal to the individual preferences that all cruisers have. Happy sailing!

[Onessa]

Radiance (or Radiance-class).

 

Perfect size - perfectly laid-out - and ALL that glass!

[H2Oregon]

Another vote for Serenade. We love the size of the ship the crew is excellent and they provide excellent service.

[pmfan]

My favorite has always been the Mariner. Sovereign was a close second. ;)

[Jacqueline]

I love this thread- it is so positive. I really enjoyed the Radiance- we did the Baltic the inaugural summer. What a pretty ship.

Next week we will be on AOS which seems like a popular ship- we are traveling with my SO's children and they have never been on a cruise, which is why I picked this ship (I also like the So Car itinerary- its warm in the winter, has great diving/snorkeling ports, and also sails pretty far west (into the Netherland Antilles for two ports) which cuts down on the risk of a hurricane hit.

The kids are 10 and 15 and are very excited. I am happy too as it will be fun to introduce them to cruising.

[xosweetiexo]

Thank you for all of your responses!!! Now I almost feel like I have been crazy for not cruising sooner!!! The only reason we even went on a cruise was before my now husband mentioned it and said this was something we might not try again.... boy was he wrong!!!! He fell in love with everything too!!! I cant wait to try all of the other RC cruises :):)

[dfa1]

I honestly went on our first cruise in 2001 to please my wife. I knew it was something she thought would be romantic, and we used the expression several times "this is a once in a lifetime trip."

 

And within six months I was begging her to let me go back.

 

I haven't been well since. :p

[vegasres]

Been on many, but my first RC cruise was on the Adventure. Loved it. Am sailing on the Mariner in 11 days, and have been doing the doc dance for a month already. I'm ready!!

[PaulMCO]

Mariner --- we had the best service and food... (especially for RCCL)