We have two more cruises scheduled for Royal Caribbean for a 18 night transpacific on the Quantum and a 7 night next year on Harmony as well as 1 this summer on Carnival Celebration. After those next two RCI experiences, I will be able to decide for sure if I like Carnival over RCI. There are definitely things we prefer on Carnival as of now.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very easy. Love the new terminal in Galveston! We were on the ship in under 15 minutes.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The buffet was extremely disappointing. The space was extremely crammed into a very tight space. They only open one side of the room at one time.
The MDR new menus were okay, but the reasoning behind having to complete one appetizer and one main course before a second one could be brought to the table was a bit demeaning. If the intent is to discourage ordering multiple main dishes, it is not the way to go about it. My husband and I will sometime like to try the same dish and we will split it as a second dish to avoid waste.
I found the dining options included in the cruise fare limited on Royal Caribbean.
We are used to cruising on Carnival and there are numerous dining options for breakfast, lunch and dinner outside to the MDR which are not the specialty restaurants which have an up-charge.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We loved the number of pools and activities to do onboard. My husband did the private surf lessons so he could obtain the flowrider band and he loved it!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The best shows ever! Really amazing Broadway shows.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
After a couple of first night hiccups in the MDR, the rest of our trip had outstanding wait service. Our room steward was AMAZING and she really appreciated the gift bags that I gave her at the start of the trip and the extra tip for her was very well deserved.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
I would have preferred the reverse layout of our cabin with the bed near the balcony to give us more space near the closet, but the space and amount of storage was good.
The cabin was very clean and we loved being able to hear the ocean from our couch when we had the balcony door open.
Ship tip
Book your showtimes as soon as you are allowed to do so. We were shocked that we could not just attend the entertainment venues for comedy and shows by lining up before the showtimes. Not on RCI, you have to reserve and it is extrememly limiting. Normally, we enjoy a comedy show each evening on Carnival but with Royal Caribbean, you have to have a reserved spot for ONLY one comedy show for he ENTIRE cruise. That is unexpected and we do not like this feature at all.
We did a beach pass at NachiCocom. Had a wonderful time. The food could have been better here though. The winds were up so the surf was too strong to get into the water.
Allure will be our first oasis class ship to sail on next month. I have cruise a lot with Carnival and love going to the comedy club just about every night. I have reservations for the comedy club on the Allure on day one and seems like that will be it. I don’t like having to make reservations for everything you do. This upcoming cruise will determine if we like the bigger ships or stay with the mid size. Glad you enjoyed your cruise
Try smaller RC ships. Only Quantum and Oasis class ships require show reservations. I don't like that feature either. Our next cruise on Allure will be our last mega ship cruise. Love the entertainment on the Allure in spite of the booking issue.
Thanks for sharing your cruise experience and ship tip. You may also want to try one of Royal’s smaller ship classes such as the Freedom and Voyager classes. You don’t have to make reservations to see shows and the ship layouts are different that the Oasis and Quantum classes you will be experiencing. We’ve cruised on all classes but the Radiance class and enjoyed sailing the different Royal ships.
Appreciate your detailed and informative review. Happy to see you trying other options. Maybe you’ll pick a cruise depending on what experience you want, once you have a better feel for RCCL. How nice that would be. Glad you thoroughly enjoyed your cruise.
Hopefully, you will continue to enjoy Royal Caribbean. On your next Royal cruises, let the waitstaff know you would like all of your appetizers at one time and (if you ordered more than on entre) all of your entres at the same time. They will accommodate. I've read that their goal is to serve you in 75 minutes. As for the show reservations, not all (in fact most) Royal ships do not require reservations. The Royal app is a great resource for determining if a show requires reservations or if it is 1st come/1st served seating.
Think we’re on the Same Quantum cruise ( Oct 10 Honolulu to Brisbane?)…how far out were you able to book the entertainment and how did you do it, web site or App?..
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