School Me On : Cruising Edition

Lavender Room
1

Well not actually as I just came back from my first cruise after wanting to do this for several decades. Reviews from my side.

Value - After experiencing a cruise I do believe the value is there especially when shopping around. We did Royal Caribbean 4 night / 5 day so that’s what I am basing this on. Because I had two cabins and booked late I paid a premium. But I am currently seeing offers of a 7 day cruise for 2 at $1087 out the door. You can’t beat that. Hands down and I don’t care how old the boat is.

Food - Was better than expected. The quality on the buffet was very good considering it is mass produced. Not every option was up to snuff but there was plenty that ranked good and above. Presentation was also very nice. I have seen a lot of buffets that are such a mess you don’t want to go near them. Dining room waiter served was also acceptable to good.

Entertainment - We saw two shows, ice skating one and a broadway one “grease”. Top notch 5 stars. Very impressed. The boat had two theatres and they both were just as good as anything on land. The performers in both were also exceptional.

Activities - A bit on the oversubscribed side here. Rock wall climbing, flow rider, water slides, pickleball, ice skating all had solid demand with lines throughout. I hate standing in lines. Didn’t seem to bother many though with a lot of excitiement and anticipation in the lines.

Clientele - This one had me caught out. What’s the definition of a “rough” crowd these days? I am don’t know but the crowd was a fair amount “rougher” than I expected. Don’t judge a book by its cover and ya-da yada yada but definitely a lot of people I couldn’t see having much in common with besides a shared humanity. Morbid obesity does need to be addressed here as well as I would say a solid 15% of the cruisers were there if not teetering on it. When you combine that with a buffet I get uncomfortable.

Service - The crew was all smiles I would say. They aimed to please and although a bit understaffed in certain areas they did a great job. I always tried to greet them with a smile and respectful tone and that went a long way towards them taking care of us.

At the end of the day Royal Caribbean delivered for me on all their promises which I am finding to be something very rare these days. This is not an endorsement of cruising as one can only eat and drink so much in a tropical environment. But for your average family working a lot of hours with very little downtime I think a cruise would be a worthwhile vacation.

N.B. before you flame away I don’t think this forum has many “average” people on it.

Tell me your thoughts and experiences on cruising!

2

Well not actually as I just came back from my first cruise after wanting to do this for several decades. Reviews from my side.

Value - After experiencing a cruise I do believe the value is there especially when shopping around. We did Royal Caribbean 4 night / 5 day so that’s what I am basing this on. Because I had two cabins and booked late I paid a premium. But I am currently seeing offers of a 7 day cruise for 2 at $1087 out the door. You can’t beat that. Hands down and I don’t care how old the boat is.

Food - Was better than expected. The quality on the buffet was very good considering it is mass produced. Not every option was up to snuff but there was plenty that ranked good and above. Presentation was also very nice. I have seen a lot of buffets that are such a mess you don’t want to go near them. Dining room waiter served was also acceptable to good.

Entertainment - We saw two shows, ice skating one and a broadway one “grease”. Top notch 5 stars. Very impressed. The boat had two theatres and they both were just as good as anything on land. The performers in both were also exceptional.

Activities - A bit on the oversubscribed side here. Rock wall climbing, flow rider, water slides, pickleball, ice skating all had solid demand with lines throughout. I hate standing in lines. Didn’t seem to bother many though with a lot of excitiement and anticipation in the lines.

Clientele - This one had me caught out. What’s the definition of a “rough” crowd these days? I am don’t know but the crowd was a fair amount “rougher” than I expected. Don’t judge a book by its cover and ya-da yada yada but definitely a lot of people I couldn’t see having much in common with besides a shared humanity. Morbid obesity does need to be addressed here as well as I would say a solid 15% of the cruisers were there if not teetering on it. When you combine that with a buffet I get uncomfortable.

Service - The crew was all smiles I would say. They aimed to please and although a bit understaffed in certain areas they did a great job. I always tried to greet them with a smile and respectful tone and that went a long way towards them taking care of us.

At the end of the day Royal Caribbean delivered for me on all their promises which I am finding to be something very rare these days. This is not an endorsement of cruising as one can only eat and drink so much in a tropical environment. But for your average family working a lot of hours with very little downtime I think a cruise would be a worthwhile vacation.

N.B. before you flame away I don’t think this forum has many “average” people on it.

Tell me your thoughts and experiences on cruising!

I have never been on one as my wife feels like they are a floating petri dish. However, we would love to take a Viking cruise in Europe in the near future.

3

I am on a cruise right now, up in Alaska on Holland America. Food has been great. Got the drinks package so my liver is getting a work out. Staff is excellent. People seem nice.

Having a good time but not sure if I would do it again, not a fan of crowds.

4

Have been on one. We did a family cruise when I was in my early 20’s for my Dad’s 50th. Was really nice, European cruise. I had a blast. Was just before I met my wife. Think it was 12 days. But part of the experience was I was single and my brother and I met a few other people to hang out with days at the pool, at the gym, and then hit the clubs with at night. I remember enjoying the communal experience at that stage of life. Meals and time at ports were family time.

I can’t see it now as a vacation I would seek out. Too many other things and adventures, and less inclined to join a mass experience. With one exception. I do think it would be a good option for a large family reunion type vacation. It might be fun to go on one with a large group. There is something for everyone. Kids of all different ages would have activities they would find fun. Adults could all hang together. Much better to me than trying to force a vacation where young adults and teenagers are in a big VRBO with little kids by a beach or lake.

My wife is a Hard No.

5

We’ve done eight cruises if I recall correctly. Five on Royal Caribbean and three on Norwegian. All to the Caribbean with the exception of one of the Norwegian cruises was to Alaska.

I more or less agree with all your points. I like cruising but I’m kind of down with the Caribbean cruises. All the ports in all the countries tend to blend into each other. Alaska was far superior in that regard but the flip side was that the weather was nowhere near as nice.

The new megaships are a riot but they’re getting way too big and there’s too many people. Everyone tends to congregate around the same few areas and it’s too crowded.

We went on a cruise last August and I will say that we felt it wasn’t as nice as pre-COVID.

6

However, we would love to take a Viking cruise in Europe in the near future.

Have you priced it out? Viking and AMAWaterways are the two biggest and most well known. They’re kind of absurdly expensive, IMO.

I’ll spend money on two things in life: vacations and bicycles. Even I thought a Euro river cruise was ridiculous.

7

However, we would love to take a Viking cruise in Europe in the near future.

Have you priced it out? Viking and AMAWaterways are the two biggest and most well known. They’re kind of absurdly expensive, IMO.

I’ll spend money on two things in life: vacations and bicycles. Even I thought a Euro river cruise was ridiculous.

You are right, they are crazy expensive so you need to find when they are having a special.

8

I imagine a cruise like that would get rid of a lot of the more low brow passengers. And as others have posted not only due to the the destination but the price as well. Drawback for me would be the long flight over to Europe. I am certain to most that’s an appeal though.

9

After much consternation we passed on the drinks package. It was going to be $600+ out the door for my wife and I. We checked the menu and I had the feeling there was no way I could get my moneys worth without feeling rough every morning. It was the right call. Our bar bill was $400.38 and we didn’t forgo one drink due to trying to make our bet workout. If my wife hadn’t been ordering the fruity drinks it would have been maybe $100 less. If I was to go on another cruise with no kids and maybe another adult couple or two I would reconsider the drinks package. The make or break for it is if you start your morning with coffee or hair of the dog. And judging by the gourmet bloody mary stand out front of Windjammer I think many opted for the latter.

10

I saw several family reunions complete with the shirt to boot. I get that for certain. Especially because if Mom or Dad or Gram or Gramps has to foot the bill for a few of the derelict children and their families they can get a hard cap on their expenses.

11

However, we would love to take a Viking cruise in Europe in the near future.

Have you priced it out? Viking and AMAWaterways are the two biggest and most well known. They’re kind of absurdly expensive, IMO.

I’ll spend money on two things in life: vacations and bicycles. Even I thought a Euro river cruise was ridiculous.

200K on a pool ain’t spending money?

12

The close proximity to the boat is a big draw for us locals. The trade off is that we don’t get the tropical high that someone coming down from Nebraska or Michigan is going to get. We live it every day. I would like to try again and see some ports. Feeling like your “going somewhere” would have been a plus. Agreed that could get repetitive quick though. Can’t offer too much when you are hit with 3-4K cruisers in an 8 hour window.

13

You get to use of the pool everyday… for like 10 years before you gotta put more money into it.

Back on topic please! I will not tolerate hijacking of my post!

14

However, we would love to take a Viking cruise in Europe in the near future.

Have you priced it out? Viking and AMAWaterways are the two biggest and most well known. They’re kind of absurdly expensive, IMO.

I’ll spend money on two things in life: vacations and bicycles. Even I thought a Euro river cruise was ridiculous.

We started looking at those on this trip. Seems like they are about 10k, which seems a bit steep. I would rather rent a house with some friends.

I think this cruise was 6K without flights. I am glad I did not pull the trigger on the Silversea one, that was like 13k for the entry level cabin, that is nuts.

15

After much consternation we passed on the drinks package. It was going to be $600+ out the door for my wife and I. We checked the menu and I had the feeling there was no way I could get my moneys worth without feeling rough every morning. It was the right call. Our bar bill was $400.38 and we didn’t forgo one drink due to trying to make our bet workout. If my wife hadn’t been ordering the fruity drinks it would have been maybe $100 less. If I was to go on another cruise with no kids and maybe another adult couple or two I would reconsider the drinks package. The make or break for it is if you start your morning with coffee or hair of the dog. And judging by the gourmet bloody mary stand out front of Windjammer I think many opted for the latter.

We got the “have it all” package. We are on day three and already about to tap out……oops, spoke too fast. Wife just ordered her first drink of the day.

Going to need to detox after this

16

Been on one cruise, maybe a decade ago… Royal Carribean. It was fine. Was it worth flying from Atlanta to Miami and back to go on? Not even fucking close.

I didn’t pick the specific cruise out but we barely had any time to do anything off the ship… And everything on the ship was just meh.

17

My expectation of LR cruise discussions are private charter, or owned boats.

18

BINGO! Back to my discussion of clientele and acceptable types of people on a cruise.

LAVENDER ROOM 3 DAY EASTERN CARRIBEAN SPONSORED BY SLOWTWITCH.COM
Sailing aboard Royal Caribbean Arrhythmia of the Seas with a stop in Burnt Out Cay.

19

We’ve cruised twice with a 10 year old.

I generally agree with all your points. For us, it was all about the built in ecosystem. I hate catering to everyone’s schedule on vacation…seems like someone’s always hunger or wants to swim or needs a nap. On a cruise, everyone gets their way. Hungry…go get a slice a pizza. Tell me which pool you are going to visit. Moms in the room napping.

We did NCL this last time and I enjoyed the drink package. Bingo was more fun with a couple gin and tonics. We went to a few of the comedy shows and though the talent was decent. We did a behind the scenes tour of the boat that was cool. We only ate at the nicer restaurants twice, the buffet was adequate. Hardly ever waited for food.

The people would be the reason to NOT cruise. On our first cruise, we upgraded to a private access pool. The people were more aesthetically pleasing and had manners.

20

The people would be the reason to NOT cruise. On our first cruise, we upgraded to a private access pool. The people were more aesthetically pleasing and had manners.

For me this is the bugaboo moving ahead as I consider another cruise.I have been working on being more tolerant of people I consider “different” than me for all types of reasons. Full face tattoo, fine. 400lbs… you do you. But when we get in the elevator and every other adjective is a profanity, to the point you realize they don’t even realize… It’s difficult and the sad thing is for me personally is that the issues are all between my ears. None of these people ever did a single thing rude directly to me on the cruise. They all wanted to have a good time in their own manner.