When is Your Next Royal Cruise?

[FastPasser.]

We've sailed on several of the Oasis class ships (we are Diamond+ on Royal) and don't find the ships to be overwhelming at all. The ships are large enough, and have enough stuff to spread the crowds out nicely. The worst time is at ports when everybody tries to be the first off.

Good to hear.
As for getting off, we don't have any scheduled excursions so we'll get off at our leisure.

If doing any Specialty Dining make your reservations once you board the ship. Be sure to check out Central Park and also the Solarium I mentioned. Have a Great Cruise. we will be back on the Wonder this July.

Right now we don't have any speciality dining plans. We did plan to check out the Solarium though.

 

[DizneyNutz]

Good to hear.
As for getting off, we don't have any scheduled excursions so we'll get off at our leisure.

Right now we don't have any speciality dining plans. We did plan to check out the Solarium though.

And Central Park deck 8 midship. There is alos a cantilevered bar Port side just outside the Solarium that is a neat feature. When thinking of the design and art work the ship was originally designed to go to Asia but then Covid hit. They are still on Covid restrictions there. Have a great cruise.

 

[DizneyNutz]

Is the Solarium back open? It was closed when we sailed Oasis last year.

Yes we did the Inaugural on the Wonder in March, Indy in May, July and October in 2022 and everything is open.

 

[FastPasser.]

And Central Park deck 8 midship. There is alos a cantilevered bar Port side just outside the Solarium that is a neat feature. When thinking of the design and art work the ship was originally designed to go to Asia but then Covid hit. They are still on Covid restrictions there. Have a great cruise.

Thanks

 

[tinkerbellmamma]

Ovation of the Seas - Alaska - July 28 2023!

 

[mullysisters]

Enchantment of the Seas, Nov 13 - 27th 2023. Transatlantic Barcelona to Tampa. My travel agent Ashley is great.

 

[mandis77]

Southern Caribbean on Odyssey of the Seas in about 6 weeks. We've been on Mariner, Oasis, Enchantment and Allure in the past but this is our first since 2019.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Hello! Our next RCCL cruise is just around the corner. February 23 on Enchantment of the Seas out of Baltimore. We will be going with our good friends from Ohio. They will drive here on the 21st and we will drive to Baltimore that morning. Looking forward to getting away and seeing our friends on days we don’t have to cook and clean.

My friend will be wearing a leg boot, she cracked a bone in her leg, so it’s really about visiting. She has a wheelchair.

Has anyone here sailed the Enchantment recently?

I enjoy tea and booked the shore excursion to tea plantation in Charleston. Has anyone done that?

Sadly, we had to cancel because of DH’s health. Need to get the insurance forms to the physician.

 

[FastPasser.]

We've sailed on several of the Oasis class ships (we are Diamond+ on Royal) and don't find the ships to be overwhelming at all. The ships are large enough, and have enough stuff to spread the crowds out nicely. The worst time is at ports when everybody tries to be the first off.

You were correct. Got off today and had great cruise. Other than the pool areas, which we don't frequent anyway, we didn't find it to be all that crowded. It's just an amazing and beautiful ship, very impressive. So much to do. We're almost exclusively Disney cruisers but we'd do the Wonder of the Seas again.

 

[DizneyNutz]

You were correct. Got off today and had great cruise. Other than the pool areas, which we don't frequent anyway, we didn't find it to be all that crowded. It's just an amazing and beautiful ship, very impressive. So much to do. We're almost exclusively Disney cruisers but we'd do the Wonder of the Seas again.

Did you get a chance to check out Central Park and the Solarium? Glad you had a good cruise. Happy Cruising.

 

[FastPasser.]

Did you get a chance to check out Central Park and the Solarium? Glad you had a good cruise. Happy Cruising.

We did, we especially liked Central Park. We’re pretty active so we didn’t spend too much time at the Solarium. Had to do the huge slide a few times,

 

[DizneyNutz]

We did, we especially liked Central Park. We’re pretty active so we didn’t spend too much time at the Solarium. Had to do the huge slide a few times,

We normally have a Central Park balcony cabin when cruising on one of the Oasis Class ships.

 

[FastPasser.]

We normally have a Central Park balcony cabin when cruising on one of the Oasis Class ships.

Nice, it’s not possible but I would like a cabin with a verandah overlooking the ocean and a verandah overlooking Central Park.

 

[melissa723]

You were correct. Got off today and had great cruise. Other than the pool areas, which we don't frequent anyway, we didn't find it to be all that crowded. It's just an amazing and beautiful ship, very impressive. So much to do. We're almost exclusively Disney cruisers but we'd do the Wonder of the Seas again.

My BF and I just got off the Symphony on 2/11 and unfortunately our experience was not as good as yours. I'll preface this by saying I've been on over 10 RCL cruises and my boyfriend has been on even more than that, and we love Royal, but after this one we've decided to take a break from them for a bit. It was the most crowded I've ever seen a ship be. People were putting their towels out before 7am just to hold chairs and then never coming back to them, so this was the first time I've never sat at the pool on a cruise because I refused to do that, and getting food at the Windjammer was a test in patience. The worst part though was our entertainment. They didn't bring any headliners on the ship this time. We had the same two comedians every night and they did the same set every night. We also had pretty rough seas and most of the performances couldn't be done for the safety of the performers. Not a problem and completely understandable...and appreciated. HOWEVER, they didn't put any activities or events in place of those cancelled performances. So no one had anywhere to go besides other parts of the ship and it made it feel super crowded and conjested. One sea day they closed all of our pools. The kids clubs were so packed they were turning families away, but they didn't add any extra activities anywhere on the ship to give them something else to do. We heard several parents complaining to guest services about it. A good idea would have been for them to put movies on in the aquatheater like they did when we were on the Allure in November or add some extra family activities in the closed venues, but they did nothing. We had one trivia a day, and on the day when the pools were closed, the trivia was so packed people were sitting on the floor.

The final straw came when we actually stopped and spoke to the cruise director (Dennis) about all of this. He basically said that Royal is starting to cut back on it's entertainment (including entertainment staff), and since the Symphony is a flagship it's starting there. He said the reason for this is because they want to go after Disney and Carnival clientele, meaning, they want to get new cruisers on board that will spend money on their ships instead of trying to cater to the veteran RCL cruisers (Diamond and up) who don't spend as much onboard because of all their free perks. I said that cutting back on entertainment is the worst way to do this because Disney and Carnival are exceptional at that. Then when we asked about the lack of activites during our rough sea days, he said he never though of options like movies or extra activities, and that it probably would've been a good idea.

It takes A LOT for me to complain about a cruise and I really hope what Dennis said doesn't happen because I would love to do the Wonder and eventually the Icon when it comes out. I even promised my daughter that I would take her on another cruise this summer, after we did the Explorer in August, but after this RCL experience, we decided to book the Disney Fantasy for a week instead. I know Disney's product and I know that right now my money would be better spent with them to get exactly what I'm looking for.

Please don't let our experience sway anyone away from taking a RCL cruise, just be aware that this is a possibility and if it happens to please speak up so that we can keep those incredible entertainers on those ships.

 

[DVC-Don]

Quantum of the Seas, Alaska, August 14-21.

 

[Meriweather]

Ovation of the Seas, Alaska, Sept. 1-8

 

[FastPasser.]

My BF and I just got off the Symphony on 2/11 and unfortunately our experience was not as good as yours.

Yikes!, I guess it wasn't.
As Platinum level DIsney cruisers it doesn't sound like what they're doing to attract Disney cruisers is the way to go about it.

Have a great cruise on the Fantasy. We've sailed on her four times.

 

[melissa723]

Yikes!, I guess it wasn't.
As Platinum level DIsney cruisers it doesn't sound like what they're doing to attract Disney cruisers is the way to go about it.

Have a great cruise on the Fantasy. We've sailed on her four times.

Thanks! I've only done the Fantasy once before, but she's a beautiful ship!

 

[bobbiwoz]

With our Ohio Neighbors, we are trying again!

 

[Wreckem]

Just off Serenade this last Saturday.

Next up is Radiance B2B in July and then Independence for Thanksgiving.