Has anyone done a cruise on Thanksgiving with Royal? Things to look forward to?
We have cruised with Royal Caribbean several times, and they're our preferred line -- nice ships, reasonable prices. However, we have cruised at Thanksgiving, and I would not do it again. Why? The cost, weather and crowds.
Cost: I typically pick our cabin and reserve it as soon as the dates open. With every other cruise we've taken, I've watched the prices and have been able to watch for sales and call in for a price drop. Nope, this holiday cruise only went up-up-up. So it was the most expensive cruise we've ever taken.
Weather: We have always sailed in the fall, but usually in September - October - early November. Thanksgiving, in late November, was definitely colder. Admittedly, this might've been an unusually cold year. Few people used the pools onboard. At one point, my water-loving daughter was the only person in the pool, and she was slightly blue with chattering teeth. The weather in the islands, however, was pleasant and moderate; their beaches were nice.
Crowds: When we sailed at Thanksgiving, the ship sailed "above capacity". The ship is considered "full" if two people are in every stateroom. As you might expect, lots of staterooms on a holiday cruise contained 3-4 people because families were sailing with kids. Those extra passengers were very evident everywhere on the ship: the elevators and the buffet were more crowded, it took more time to disembark for island stops, the bars and shows and other activities had longer lines /were more crowded. The worst for us was the dining room: On the first day, we went into the dining room to search for our table ... couldn't find it. We asked help from the head waiter, who was on hand for just this thing. He explained to us that we weren't in the main dining room; rather, we were pushed out to the side to a small, low-ceilinged room that looked like it was designed for groups cruising together. We didn't like this at all -- we'd packed nice dinner clothes and were excited for nice meals, and it felt kind of like being banished to the kid's table -- and we asked to be moved to the main dining room. Nope, couldn't do it. He's the one who explained "above capacity" to us. (If you want to see this little room on a deck plan, we sailed Mariner, and the room was called something like Melodies.) The larger crowd definitely decreased our enjoyment of the cruise -- very disappointing. We all agreed that we will never again sail on a holiday.
Other notes: They switched formal night to coincide with Thanksgiving dinner. They did serve turkey (though they had other options too), and it was an excellent meal. They started putting up Christmas decorations while we were sailing, and that was fun to see.
It was a spring break type crowd - very loud and rude and drunk. It was spring break so our mistake.
Yeah, avoid spring break. Always. I suspect it would be overcrowded and expensive just like a holiday.
We are on a 9nt Southeast coast and Bahamas on granduer
I suggest you choose a ship other than Grandeur. It's one of their older ships, which means fewer amenities and older facilities.
