When is Your Next Royal Cruise?

[LSUfan4444]

Well..looks like I need to update this thread as we got selected to be test cruisers on Mariner this Wednesday.

So now, as of yesterday, out next cruise leaves in 3 days

 

[Frozen2014]

Well..looks like I need to update this thread as we got selected to be test cruisers on Mariner this Wednesday.

So now, as of yesterday, out next cruise leaves in 3 days

That's awesome. Would love to hear about your experience. Have a great time! It's so nice to see cruises starting up again.

 

[LSUfan4444]

That's awesome. Would love to hear about your experience. Have a great time! It's so nice to see cruises starting up again.

I think I am going to start a thread documenting the process...it's less than 24 hours old but figured it would be worth noting for those interested

 

[starvenger]

Well, the cancellation is done. Since we haven't reached the pay in full date the process was easy peasy. Called at 9am, spoke with an agent right away and got our deposits refunded. Only hiccup was getting my wife to confirm my cancellation of the connecting stateroom that was under her name. Outside of that, no issues.

I now have no idea when my next cruise will be, but I'm looking up All-Inclusives for the winter.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

Just paid in full for our cruise 120 days from now.
It took 4 calls to get them to process our credit correctly, but it's done and we're looking forward to our first Royal Caribbean cruise!

 

[Meriweather]

heading to the airport in 10 minutes.
Cruising Alaska starting today

 

[Meriweather]

Didn't happen. We had to cancel at the airport.
Our flight kept running later and later.
So we are home and sad.
Talked to Royal......and they said the ship doors closed at 3:30. We couldn't make it so cancelled.
Luckily I bought insurance.
Trying now to cancel the shore excursions.

 

[Frozen2014]

Didn't happen. We had to cancel at the airport.
Our flight kept running later and later.
So we are home and sad.
Talked to Royal......and they said the ship doors closed at 3:30. We couldn't make it so cancelled.
Luckily I bought insurance.
Trying now to cancel the shore excursions.

Am so very sorry. Can only imagine your disappointment.

 

[Meriweather]

Am so very sorry. Can only imagine your disappointment.

 

[starvenger]

Didn't happen. We had to cancel at the airport.
Our flight kept running later and later.
So we are home and sad.
Talked to Royal......and they said the ship doors closed at 3:30. We couldn't make it so cancelled.
Luckily I bought insurance.
Trying now to cancel the shore excursions.

Sorry to hear that.

I think that at this point in time, we are all going to have to consider budgeting an extra day to travel for a cruise (which may mean we book shorter cruises). I don't think it was absolutely necessary in the past, but it seems like things are too volatile now to risk it.

 

[Masonmj84]

We're loyal DCL cruisers who just booked our first ever RCCL cruise (Alaska - summer 2022). The difference in price was just too much to justify DCL (around $15K for DCL versus around $5K for RCCL for a verandah stateroom for a family of 4 - as much as we love DCL, I just can't imagine how it can be worth roughly 3X as much as RCCL).

My wife is concerned it will be a letdown after DCL (the only line we've ever cruised). She especially doesn't like the idea of a Casino onboard and, along those lines, is concerned that RCCL won't be as family friendly.

For me, the most important part of a cruise is the food so I'm interested in how RCCL compares to DCL on that score.

 

[OKW Lover]

We're loyal DCL cruisers who just booked our first ever RCCL cruise (Alaska - summer 2022). The difference in price was just too much to justify DCL (around $15K for DCL versus around $5K for RCCL for a verandah stateroom for a family of 4 - as much as we love DCL, I just can't imagine how it can be worth roughly 3X as much as RCCL).

My wife is concerned it will be a letdown after DCL (the only line we've ever cruised). She especially doesn't like the idea of a Casino onboard and, along those lines, is concerned that RCCL won't be as family friendly.

For me, the most important part of a cruise is the food so I'm interested in how RCCL compares to DCL on that score.

We've long ago decided that DCL is not worth the premium for similar cruises. We sail in suites on RCL for significantly less than concierge on Disney.

Addressing your wife's concerns:​

The casino on board need not have any impact at all on your cruise. If you don't want to gamble, just don't go there.​

It would be hard for any other line to be as family friendly as DCL. But you'll find that there will be lots of families on board. Can you say specifically what constitutes "family friendly" for you?​

As far as food goes on RCL as compared to DCL, they are surprisingly similar. RCL doesn't have the rotational dining that DCL has, but you'll find more other dining options for an up-charge. You can also pick your own dining time (RCL calls it My Time Dining) rather than being forced into an early/late seating time.

Now, having said all that we still enjoy DCL occasionally. We are booked on two Wish cruises next year.

 

[Denise W]

We first cruised with Disney in 1998 on Magic, and did about 8 more DCL cruises over the years. We now cruise RCL (or Celebrity) and don’t miss DCL at all. I think the food on RCL is better than DCL and the variety of ships and ports are much better. We have done 9 RCL cruises and have 3 more booked.

 

[starvenger]

We're loyal DCL cruisers who just booked our first ever RCCL cruise (Alaska - summer 2022). The difference in price was just too much to justify DCL (around $15K for DCL versus around $5K for RCCL for a verandah stateroom for a family of 4 - as much as we love DCL, I just can't imagine how it can be worth roughly 3X as much as RCCL).

My wife is concerned it will be a letdown after DCL (the only line we've ever cruised). She especially doesn't like the idea of a Casino onboard and, along those lines, is concerned that RCCL won't be as family friendly.

For me, the most important part of a cruise is the food so I'm interested in how RCCL compares to DCL on that score.

I feel like Royal is family friendly, but compared to DCL there is certainly more that caters to adults, so the balance may feel off in that respect.

Casino should be easy to avoid if you're not looking to go there. That is one of the major smoking areas though, and if you're nearby you will likely smell the cigarettes.

Food is always subjective. I might love something, but it may not be your cup of tea. And something you loved on one cruise may be mediocre on that same ship one year later. So I think I might start asking the waiters to tell me what they DON'T recommend that night, as they'll have a better idea of what isn't great. As for the experience... if you love the gimmicks involved in rotational dining you'll find the "classic" cruise dining experience to be a bit boring. No real way around that.

Oh, and if you're into decorating your stateroom door - go for it! You won't find anything as over the top as on DCL, but it's your vacation, and you're more than entitled to have some fun with it.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Kind of freaking out...just booked our first cruise... EVER!

Booked July 24, 2022 on the Harmony. I'm really hoping I don't regret my choices. My husband initially wanted me to just book a stay at the Atlantis in the Bahamas, but the kids wanted Universal and I like to be on the move. It seemed like the best ship and itinerary option for our range of doable dates. I've always avoided cruising because I get a bit claustrophobic, but rather than cram the four of us into one room, I opted for connecting rooms. I figure extra space, two bathrooms, as well as some privacy will add to our enjoyment factor. I was so tempted to book a balcony, but I still can't shake my irrational fears with the kids doing something stupid, so I selected ocean view rooms...which will hopefully be less worrisome for me. I have to wait on our kids school camp and travel ball tournament schedules, but we'll also be spending a few days at Universal either before or after the cruise.

My parents are avid cruisers (not just Royal), but they are Pinnacle Club level on Royal Caribbean. It should be interesting, since they will probably be joining us...so, we'll be nothing and they'll have all kinds of access and priority to everything

 

[starvenger]

Kind of freaking out...just booked our first cruise... EVER!

Booked July 24, 2022 on the Harmony. I'm really hoping I don't regret my choices. My husband initially wanted me to just book a stay at the Atlantis in the Bahamas, but the kids wanted Universal and I like to be on the move. It seemed like the best ship and itinerary option for our range of doable dates. I've always avoided cruising because I get a bit claustrophobic, but rather than cram the four of us into one room, I opted for connecting rooms. I figure extra space, two bathrooms, as well as some privacy will add to our enjoyment factor. I was so tempted to book a balcony, but I still can't shake my irrational fears with the kids doing something stupid, so I selected ocean view rooms...which will hopefully be less worrisome for me. I have to wait on our kids school camp and travel ball tournament schedules, but we'll also be spending a few days at Universal either before or after the cruise.

My parents are avid cruisers (not just Royal), but they are Pinnacle Club level on Royal Caribbean. It should be interesting, since they will probably be joining us...so, we'll be nothing and they'll have all kinds of access and priority to everything

OK, so if you like to be on the move, Harmony will be ok for you. Just remember to move at resort speed, not theme park speed. One of my biggest rookie mistakes was rushing around a cruise ship trying to do... stuff.

Connecting rooms is a good call. There's a chance that you may not use the rooms much (since there's no balcony) but you'll appreciate the space (and 2nd bathroom) when you are in there.

 

[Dug720]

Feb 20, 2022 - Anthem of the Seas out of Cape Liberty, NJ. The first time I'll be able to take a 30-ish minute train ride and Lyft to the port!!!

 

[NancyIL]

I first posted on this thread in March 2020. Needless to say, all of my 2020 cruises were cancelled, as well as several that had been booked for 2021. I’m content to wait until 2022 to cruise on Voyager (Sept. Transatlantic) and Brilliance (October Adriatic), as well as a May 2022 cruise on Holland America.

 

[ksdaveb2003]

My next (first) Royal cruise is Nov. 12th out of Canaveral on the Independence. My actual next cruise is this coming Friday out of Miami on the MSC Meraviglia in their Yacht Club. This will be my first non-NCL cruise ever. It will be an interesting comparison.

 

[tinatark]

Symphony of the Seas this Saturday, Sept 25th out of Miami! Flying to Miami on Thursday... it's been toooo long!