And those things you mention are things housekeeping does at hotels. I decline housekeeping at hotels and I should be able to do the same on a cruise without being obligated to subsidize an employee’s pay simply because “that is the way it’s done” or “that’s the industry standard”.
Im not trying to change the entire system. And cruising IS for me if it’s something I want to do. I’m just saying knowing what I know now, im going to be vocal about how I want things and that’s that.
The room host has prepared and cleaned your room for you before you even step foot in it. He/she has already worked for you. Are you lugging your own sheets on board lol. Do you also go to restaurants and not tip? Do you say don’t come near my table I’m going to walk into the kitchen and tell them what I want? Don’t bring me my food, I’m going to go to the kitchen and bring it myself to my table? Because it is the same thing. If you don’t want to tip, don’t put yourself into a situation where tipping is the custom.
I agree the price discrepancy is MUCH higher than 30%. I stated in previous post we just booked celebrity for $4600 on new ship verses dcl $13500 for lesser cabins, same week, same people, almost same itinerary- both eastern Caribbean
. Maybe it is closer on Royal.I agree the price discrepancy is MUCH higher than 30%. I stated in previous post we just booked celebrity for $4600 on new ship verses dcl $13500 for lesser cabins, same week, same people, almost same itinerary- both eastern Caribbean
Sorry not sure what you mean.
Your post is a bit non sequitor. I am aware that celebrity is royal’s “premium” cruise line, but Royal tends to be more expensive. That doesn’t have anything to do with what I was saying though.
Wow, has this thread veered off course or what?? LOL.We are 3-time Disney cruisers (Dream ’17, Fantasy ’19 & ’23), who just returned from 7 nights on Oasis of the Seas on Sunday. Wife and I are mid-30’s, two kids are 9 & 6. We had been wanting to try a different cruise line for a while, and my parents are big Royal fans. So we decided to give this one a shot. Stops were Nassau, Coco Cay, Labadee, and Falmouth.
Obviously, the price was less. $4,500 including gratuities for an oceanview balcony room on deck 12 (12590). Even with an OBB, I don’t think I could get under $7,000 for a week on DCL since we’ve been cruising.
But despite the cost savings, we are “one and done” on Royal.
Before the Cruise
The problems started before the cruise began. Booking add-ons was a chore. Maddeningly, the pricing for things we had booked constantly changed. We initially bought a couple soda packages, but as I checked back in the weeks ahead I noticed that the price would change. I could rebook the package at the lower price, but every time I had a refund and a new charge. Same goes for specialty dining and shore excursions on Labadee. Was it worth the trouble to save a few bucks? I guess. But playing these sorts of pricing games is not something I’m interested in.
Also, having to pay for soda was the first sign of the constant nickel-and-diming at every turn.
Embarkation
Embarkation was brutal. Miami traffic turned a 1-hour trip into 2 hours. We should have arrive around 12:00, but it ended up being 1:00. Drop-off was a crawl. There were lines, lines, and then more lines. First to show passports, then to get through security. We had only cruised from Canaveral before, and never had the delays we had in Miami.
Physically getting on the ship was not exciting at all. You walk directly onto the jogging track, then down a third of the length of the ship, and into a stairwell. It’s not exactly the hero’s welcome you get walking aboard DCL.
Food / Soda package
By the time we finally got on, we were very hungry. So we headed to Windjammer, and proceeded to have the most flavorless meal I’ve ever had in my life. I also asked a couple employees about the soda package before discovering that I had to leave the restaurant to retrieve the soda package cups.
Using the soda package was infuriating at times. There were limited access points (deck 5 Sorrento's, deck 14 El Loco Fresh, deck 15 Solarium, deck 16 WJ) ... and the last two were not always open. So you have a soda package that you paid for on a giant ship, and often had only two locations to use it. Also, the cups did not always work. And then the Freestyle machines themselves didn’t work at times. Getting ice was a pain. And of course, we had to carry the stupid cups around! Lastly, we felt pressured to drink more soda, to “get our money’s worth”.
Back to the food: Much of the food was flavorless, and just not very good, for the first part of the cruise. Even in the MDR, the food was subpar. The mashed potatoes were billed as "creamy", but tasted like boxed potatoes. El Loco Fresh was tasteless.
There were some better dishes a bit later on. Night 6/7 dinner was very good. Park Cafe lunch was better. We enjoyed the boardwalk brats/hot dogs. The two specialty lunches we did were better—but not really outstanding, or worth the cost. And Windjammer never really improved.
Kid's Club
On the first night, my son said "I don't want to go back." We tried again, and it did get better as the cruise went on. But it just didn't compare, and both kids agreed that DCL’s kids club is more enjoyable.
Other annoyances:
- The drop-off/pick-up area was tiny, with only one family allowed at a time. This led to serious backups at time.
- The hours were limited. On sea days it closed from 12-2 and 5-7; Port days it closed 5-7. And they closed at 10 every night, unless you paid an extra $10 per kid/hour.
- On Coco Cay day, we went to drop the kids off during open hours, and there was a sign that they were at the buffet and would return later. What???
Rooms
The rooms were smaller, though admittedly we’ve only stayed in the larger DCL rooms (Family Balcony & Family OV). But still, watching reviews of standard DCL balcony rooms, this was TIGHT. Outlets and storage were subpar. Obviously we knew about the single bathroom and no curtain separating the spaces, but didn’t realize how much we’d miss those.
Smoke smell
On Deck 4 near the casino, you smelled the smoke. There was no way around it.
But worse than that, a large area of the pool deck was downwind of smoking area. We couldn’t really believe this. It rendered a couple of the pools useless for us.
Simple conveniences
Checking towels in/out is a stupid hassle, including bringing them off the ship with you at Coco Cay and Labadee.
Eating on the pool deck was not nearly as convenient as DCL. There is no easy grab & go. Had to leave to go to the buffet, or elsewhere.
Nickel and Diming
There are SO MANY ADD-ONS. It constantly felt like we were being upsold, everywhere. The soda package. So many of the food options. Activities. High-end stores. Even on Labadee, the vendors were a little aggressive. It was ridiculous.
Staff
Most of the staff was excellent. They did seem to ensure guests were satisfied at all times.
I'm very cognizant of my surroundings, especially on vacation, and try to be considerate of others. Meaning I don't like 'being in the way', stopping in doorways, cutting people off, etc. DCL's staff seems to be trained on this, because they ALWAYS defer to the guests, letting them pass first. But not Royal. Though the staff was almost always friendly, they also frequently cut in front of guests at times, putting themselves first. Maybe this is nitpicky, but it's a difference that I definitely noticed. Still, these staff members were friendly and attentive.
Was anything better?
Kind of.
- Coco Cay had some nice features. But also a lot of extra cost items. We had terrible windy weather that shut the island down at 1. Not RCCL's fault, but a bummer.
- Muster drill was much easier. But even then, I felt less prepared with their muster process than DCL.
- Laser tag was fun.
- Entertainment variety was great. The headliner, ice skating show, and aqua show were top notch. However, we enjoy the Disney entertainment just as much, so I'm not sure this was 'better.'
- We were looking forward to more pool space, the kids splash area, and slides. But we found that these were not as important as we thought. We were not able to relax on the pool deck like we could on Disney. With more people on board, it was difficult to find pool chairs. And the kids splash area was not operating at 100% capacity for most of the cruise (the water buckets were not operational). The last day, they were finally working. However, when we went to use them at 5PM, we were told the splash area was closed for the day! Of course.
- The different areas/neighborhoods of the ship are cool. It's a neat concept, and was fun to see. But I don't need to see it again. It's also just too big, with too many people.
I know this probably reads like we are negative and didn't give Royal a fair shot ... but we really, really did. We went in knowing it wouldn't be DCL. But you can't help but compare a new cruise line to the only one you've been on. And it was clear that while this cruise was cheaper, it was not a better value. I'd rather spend $7k on DCL than $4.5k on what we got last week. No question.
Bottom line: EVERYTHING on Royal was just a bigger hassle compared to DCL. Everything.
I often see questions on here asking for advice on trying a new cruise line, so I wanted to post this write-up as a reference. I know PLENTY of others enjoy Royal, and I'm not saying that any of you are wrong! I'm just saying that for my family, DCL is the only answer for the foreseeable future. So in a way, I'm glad we did this cruise--now we know.
359 days until the Treasure
Do you lug your own sheets to a hotel? As far as the room itself goes, that’s already included in the price of my cruise. I don’t tip anyone extra at a hotel for having my room clean and sheets on my bed, nor would I on a cruise ship.
Wow. I’m even more worried now. My DD is getting married on this same ship next year but going to Aruba and Curcao and Coco Cay. We’ve only done Alaska and it was a smaller ship. This doesn’t sound good at all.We are 3-time Disney cruisers (Dream ’17, Fantasy ’19 & ’23), who just returned from 7 nights on Oasis of the Seas on Sunday. Wife and I are mid-30’s, two kids are 9 & 6. We had been wanting to try a different cruise line for a while, and my parents are big Royal fans. So we decided to give this one a shot. Stops were Nassau, Coco Cay, Labadee, and Falmouth.
Obviously, the price was less. $4,500 including gratuities for an oceanview balcony room on deck 12 (12590). Even with an OBB, I don’t think I could get under $7,000 for a week on DCL since we’ve been cruising.
But despite the cost savings, we are “one and done” on Royal.
Before the Cruise
The problems started before the cruise began. Booking add-ons was a chore. Maddeningly, the pricing for things we had booked constantly changed. We initially bought a couple soda packages, but as I checked back in the weeks ahead I noticed that the price would change. I could rebook the package at the lower price, but every time I had a refund and a new charge. Same goes for specialty dining and shore excursions on Labadee. Was it worth the trouble to save a few bucks? I guess. But playing these sorts of pricing games is not something I’m interested in.
Also, having to pay for soda was the first sign of the constant nickel-and-diming at every turn.
Embarkation
Embarkation was brutal. Miami traffic turned a 1-hour trip into 2 hours. We should have arrive around 12:00, but it ended up being 1:00. Drop-off was a crawl. There were lines, lines, and then more lines. First to show passports, then to get through security. We had only cruised from Canaveral before, and never had the delays we had in Miami.
Physically getting on the ship was not exciting at all. You walk directly onto the jogging track, then down a third of the length of the ship, and into a stairwell. It’s not exactly the hero’s welcome you get walking aboard DCL.
Food / Soda package
By the time we finally got on, we were very hungry. So we headed to Windjammer, and proceeded to have the most flavorless meal I’ve ever had in my life. I also asked a couple employees about the soda package before discovering that I had to leave the restaurant to retrieve the soda package cups.
Using the soda package was infuriating at times. There were limited access points (deck 5 Sorrento's, deck 14 El Loco Fresh, deck 15 Solarium, deck 16 WJ) ... and the last two were not always open. So you have a soda package that you paid for on a giant ship, and often had only two locations to use it. Also, the cups did not always work. And then the Freestyle machines themselves didn’t work at times. Getting ice was a pain. And of course, we had to carry the stupid cups around! Lastly, we felt pressured to drink more soda, to “get our money’s worth”.
Back to the food: Much of the food was flavorless, and just not very good, for the first part of the cruise. Even in the MDR, the food was subpar. The mashed potatoes were billed as "creamy", but tasted like boxed potatoes. El Loco Fresh was tasteless.
There were some better dishes a bit later on. Night 6/7 dinner was very good. Park Cafe lunch was better. We enjoyed the boardwalk brats/hot dogs. The two specialty lunches we did were better—but not really outstanding, or worth the cost. And Windjammer never really improved.
Kid's Club
On the first night, my son said "I don't want to go back." We tried again, and it did get better as the cruise went on. But it just didn't compare, and both kids agreed that DCL’s kids club is more enjoyable.
Other annoyances:
- The drop-off/pick-up area was tiny, with only one family allowed at a time. This led to serious backups at time.
- The hours were limited. On sea days it closed from 12-2 and 5-7; Port days it closed 5-7. And they closed at 10 every night, unless you paid an extra $10 per kid/hour.
- On Coco Cay day, we went to drop the kids off during open hours, and there was a sign that they were at the buffet and would return later. What???
Rooms
The rooms were smaller, though admittedly we’ve only stayed in the larger DCL rooms (Family Balcony & Family OV). But still, watching reviews of standard DCL balcony rooms, this was TIGHT. Outlets and storage were subpar. Obviously we knew about the single bathroom and no curtain separating the spaces, but didn’t realize how much we’d miss those.
Smoke smell
On Deck 4 near the casino, you smelled the smoke. There was no way around it.
But worse than that, a large area of the pool deck was downwind of smoking area. We couldn’t really believe this. It rendered a couple of the pools useless for us.
Simple conveniences
Checking towels in/out is a stupid hassle, including bringing them off the ship with you at Coco Cay and Labadee.
Eating on the pool deck was not nearly as convenient as DCL. There is no easy grab & go. Had to leave to go to the buffet, or elsewhere.
Nickel and Diming
There are SO MANY ADD-ONS. It constantly felt like we were being upsold, everywhere. The soda package. So many of the food options. Activities. High-end stores. Even on Labadee, the vendors were a little aggressive. It was ridiculous.
Staff
Most of the staff was excellent. They did seem to ensure guests were satisfied at all times.
I'm very cognizant of my surroundings, especially on vacation, and try to be considerate of others. Meaning I don't like 'being in the way', stopping in doorways, cutting people off, etc. DCL's staff seems to be trained on this, because they ALWAYS defer to the guests, letting them pass first. But not Royal. Though the staff was almost always friendly, they also frequently cut in front of guests at times, putting themselves first. Maybe this is nitpicky, but it's a difference that I definitely noticed. Still, these staff members were friendly and attentive.
Was anything better?
Kind of.
- Coco Cay had some nice features. But also a lot of extra cost items. We had terrible windy weather that shut the island down at 1. Not RCCL's fault, but a bummer.
- Muster drill was much easier. But even then, I felt less prepared with their muster process than DCL.
- Laser tag was fun.
- Entertainment variety was great. The headliner, ice skating show, and aqua show were top notch. However, we enjoy the Disney entertainment just as much, so I'm not sure this was 'better.'
- We were looking forward to more pool space, the kids splash area, and slides. But we found that these were not as important as we thought. We were not able to relax on the pool deck like we could on Disney. With more people on board, it was difficult to find pool chairs. And the kids splash area was not operating at 100% capacity for most of the cruise (the water buckets were not operational). The last day, they were finally working. However, when we went to use them at 5PM, we were told the splash area was closed for the day! Of course.
- The different areas/neighborhoods of the ship are cool. It's a neat concept, and was fun to see. But I don't need to see it again. It's also just too big, with too many people.
I know this probably reads like we are negative and didn't give Royal a fair shot ... but we really, really did. We went in knowing it wouldn't be DCL. But you can't help but compare a new cruise line to the only one you've been on. And it was clear that while this cruise was cheaper, it was not a better value. I'd rather spend $7k on DCL than $4.5k on what we got last week. No question.
Bottom line: EVERYTHING on Royal was just a bigger hassle compared to DCL. Everything.
I often see questions on here asking for advice on trying a new cruise line, so I wanted to post this write-up as a reference. I know PLENTY of others enjoy Royal, and I'm not saying that any of you are wrong! I'm just saying that for my family, DCL is the only answer for the foreseeable future. So in a way, I'm glad we did this cruise--now we know.
359 days until the Treasure
We loved Celebrity cruise. It was laid back and relaxed.
Reason to never visit France.
Disney does pool tips for the bartenders. You can add to your bill if you would like to give the server a personal tip but make no mistake, those added tips are pooled.
Stop worrying.
I had the same server every night on Royal. We had second seating. If you do MT dining then I would assume they pool the tips. You have an option between first and second seating or my time.
It's definitely a negative, and I probably oversold how much people smoked there. No indoor smoking is a start, as it was here in North America. It was a great trip, I'm glad that we did it and I do recommend doing a multi-city vacation in France.
I'm not so sure about that.
