Royal Caribbean Reviews/Advice?

Question

I'm embarking on a cruise later this week with Royal Caribbean and I was wondering if anyone has any past experiences or advice they would like to share to help me prepare or to let me know what to expect, such as the food, activities on board (see cruise details), or any other advice that could help avoid trouble, delays, etc. Also, I've had trouble finding details about all-inclusiveness. Are Royal Caribbean's cruises universally all-inclusive or not or am I just not seeing something? I'm also having trouble finding information about wifi on the ships.

Cruise details:

Four Nights

Ship: Enchantment of the Seas

Departure Port: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Ports of Call: Key West, Florida and Cozumel, Mexico

One day at sea

Any input is appreciated

Answer 1

Oooh!  Enchantment will be a very pretty ship.  She had a major refurb in 2005, which added the steak house ($25 extra, but very good stuff).

The food on RCI is, in general, pretty good.  In general, I'd say just order what you like and you can't go wrong.  I personally thought the room service chili was awesome ... but I'm really into both chili and room service.  =)

In terms of cruise costs, the "extras" to be aware of are:

- Gratuities - about $10 per person, per day

- Soda, bottled watter, and alcohol

- The steak restaurant (fyi, there's no Johnny Rockets on Enchantment)

- Shore excursions when you get off the ship

There's a more detailed article about cruise ship costs here: http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/in...

In terms of advice, I'd say read this "Know Before You Go" set of articles, especially the one on embarkation advice, but it also has a good packing checklist, tips on how to stay healthy and safe, etc:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/kn...

Oh, and you can check out bar prices and menus from Royal Caribbean here: http://www.cruisesavvy.com/gallery

just click on "drink prices" or whatever you want to see and then select Royal Caribbean.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

I have been on 3 cruises almost 4 and two almost three of them were with Royal Caribbean. I went on Enchantment right after she had been refurbished. It was very nice. Royal Caribbean is a great cruise line. Just have fun.....that is my only advice. Have a great time.

Answer 3

I have been on many cruises with Royal Caribbean.  I have not been on the Enchantment but have been on one of the other of RC's Vision Class ships.   Its one of their older ships but it is nice and has good features and service. I suggest that you take a look at this RC web site which gives the features of the ship and lets you take a 360 visual tour/view of it.  

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruis...  

Your standard cabin will be between 175 and 200 sq ft depending upon which category you selected, about the size of a 9 by 12 ft home bedroom.   It will have two beds which can be made into a queen, a bathroom with a shower stall, a closet and some drawer space, a TV and telephone, a safe for valuables, a mini-refrigerator, and a life jacket for each passenger.  Your cabin steward will clean your cabin  and provide fresh towels twice a day, and provide ice.

Regardless of which cruise line you select, the things that are included are pretty much the same. The price of your cruise includes your cabin, all meals (including breakfast, lunch dinner, snacks and free room service)(you do pay to eat in the specialty restaurants), all shows and entertainment, and free use of all facilities on ship. The things that you will have to pay for are:

GRATUITIES: They will amount to about $10 per person in your cabin per day; about $40 each for a 4 day cruise. When you check in at the pier they will set up an on-board charge account for you to cover any and everything you may buy on ship. They will issue you a "cruise card" which will also serve as your room key and pass to get on and off the ship. At the end of the cruise they will add the gratuity to your tab and you can pay with a credit card or cash, your choice.

ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND SOFT DRINKS: Coffee, tea, milk, juice, and lemonade and punch will be provided free but you must pay for soft drinks  and alcoholic beverages and they will add a 15% gratuity to each drink and  soft drink order.  You can save on alcoholic beverages by requesting the drinks in a plain glass rather than the fancy souvenir glass which adds about $2.00 to the price.  RC sells soft drink cards for unlimited soft drinks on the first day of the cruise only; so if you drink a lot of soft drinks you may want to consider getting one.

PHOTOGRAPHS: Cruise lines will take plenty of photographs of you all over the ship, in the dining room, and as you exit the ship in ports. These will cost a lot, like $15 to $20 for most.  You can save on photos by simply taking your own; ask other passengers to take pictures of you around the ship, they always agree to that.

TOURS/EXCURSIONS: You are not required to book any tours and can get off and on in the ports as much as you want. But the cruise line will offer a lot of tours and these are expensive. These are listed on your cruise line web site and you can reserve them well before the cruise and pay for them also. If you are going to the Caribbean, most places you can get a tour or taxi on the pier for a much lower price than on the ship.

SOUVENIRS: Anything you buy on ship from a gift shop or duty free shop goes on your on board account. Things that you buy on shore you pay cash or credit card for.

CASINO: If you plan to gamble on ship you will need cash for that.

OTHER: the ship has a  "specialty" restaurants  called Chops Grille and there  is a gratuity/service charge of about $20 each person each time to eat there.  All other food on board is free and its not really necessary to budget for food; you cannot eat all of the FREE FOOD that will be available.

SPA Services:  If you want/need to have your hair done, get a massage or wrap, or any services from the spa, you will have to pay for them. You can use the gym free but the spa stuff cost big bucks.

You cabin will likely have a minibar with soft drinks and munchies; you have to pay for them (but there is free room service 24/7).

INTERNET SVCS:  The ships will have an internet cafe and also WiFi but the there is a fee for internet access and it is very expensive (like about $50 to $60 an hour).  If you really want/need to get online wait until a port stop and you can probably get it for about $5. to $6 an hour; that's what we always do.

This is from RC's web site regarding WiFi:

"There will be six designated *"Hot Spots" which vary from ship to ship.

To use our WI-FI access, you'll need:

A laptop

Windows operating system

802.11b Wireless networking capability

The cost for Wi-Fi access through your own laptop is:

Base rate is $.55 per minute or choose from one of our prepaid packages:

$28.00 for 60 minutes

$38.00 for 90 minutes

$55.00 for 150 minutes

All prices are subject to change without notice."

Its been my experience that the internet service on ships is very slow, especially when the ship is moving and has to keep adjusting for its satellite connection.  SO try it before you decide to buy  a package.

There will be a free show for everyone each evening and the disco will start about 11:00 PM each evening; no cover or admission charge.  The cruise director will have organized games and activities around the pool.  You can use the gym and walking track; you can use the game room for board games; and there will be the pools and hot tubs.  This ship has a solarium which is a covered pool and hot tub area that is nice for quiet time.

Here are some packing tips:

Always pack your passport and cruise documents in your carry on bag ONLY.

The dress on ship is casual all day until 6:00PM, so take:

-swim wear (at least 2),

-shorts, tank tops and "T's"

-sandals,

-beach shoes,

-your snorkel equipment if you have it,

-sun glasses and sun screen,

-lotions,

-a cap or big hat for the sun,

-a book if you are a reader,

-your music player,

-sneakers and clothes to workout in if you like to use the gym,

-good walking shoes,

-your camera, and

-other personal toiletries including tooth paste, mouth wash or lotions.

Your cabin will have towels and soap provided, including pool and beach towels, and a hair dryer. It will also have a generic hair shampoo so you do not need to bring that unless you like a specific brand.

After 6:00 PM they request that you wear "sports or resort casual" attire. That's attire that you would expect a person to wear in a business office, (like a bank employee), shirt with a collar, slacks, skirt, blouse, etc. You can still wear shorts and swim wear in the pools and spas but not in public areas like dining rooms and restaurants, show rooms, bars, casino, etc. Don't over pack , take clothes that you can mix and match tops and bottoms and plan to wear each piece twice. If you are going to the Caribbean, beaches and tours you will likely be in shorts and/or swim wear most of every day so evening clothes don't usually get much wear.

Your cruise will have a formal night when you can wear your best stuff and get pictures taken, and maybe meet the ship’s Captain. The formal nights are REQUESTED not required attire. You will not be denied entry to the main dining room if you decide not to dress up, as long as you are at least sports casual. But most people do dress up. A gown or party dress for women and a suit or tux for men. Some people dress up both formal nights, some don't.

- Its best to pack using soft-sided luggage because with space limited in your cabin it fits under the beds better if its not hard sided luggage.

- Pack using the vacuum clothing bags (about $20 for 3 at Target) so that you can get more in your bag AND so that if the TSA at the airport opens your bag they can see what's inside without rummaging through your things.

-Take a small carry-on bag for the last night of the cruise. On the last evening you will be required to put your luggage outside your cabin by about 2:00 AM so that they can start taking it down to the lower deck for offloading the next morning. So you will need a small bag for your toiletries and your clothes that you sleep in.

- If you are taking your cell phone, MP3 player or other item that needs to be plugged in take an extension cord as the plugs in the cabin are generally not in the best places and there are usually only one or two.

- Take a small bottle of hand sanitizer and/or hand-wipes. There are generally sanitizer dispensers at the entrances of restaurants, the buffets and dining room, but some times the are not there or not working. The sanitizer helps prevent the spread of the Norwalk Virus that sometimes occur on cruise ships.

-If you plan to get into the pools or hot tub as soon as you get on ship (they will be open), bring those clothes in your carry on bag; you other luggage may not get to your cabin until much later in the afternoon.

- Take a can of air freshener for your cabin bathroom. The bathrooms do not have exhaust fans.

- Take a few zip lock bags of various sizes; they always come in handy.

- Take some one dollar bills (also maybe a few $5's) for tipping the porters in the airport, at the pier (they do not work for the ship), and they will come in handy in port stops for buying small items in the markets and at vendor stands; especially bartering places.

Answer 4

Have never sailed with RC, but the mass-market cruises are "all-inclusive" only in that your cabin, most food, and most activities are included.  You'll pay for "premium" restaurants [I think that includes Johnny Rocket's on RC, but I may be wrong], most drinks [soda/alcohol/wine], spa services, bingo, excursions in port, some gym activities [e.g. Yoga, Pilates], and, of course, tips of about $10/person/day.

Activities will probably include wine tastings, karaoke, trivia games, pool games, art auctions, game shows, various type of musical acts and shows, etc, etc.

A great source for info about all aspects of cruising is available at CruiseCritic.com.  Click on "Boards" at the top of the page and then choose your topic.  You might also be interested in "Reviews" [be sure and read "Member Reviews" there, too].  You should be able to find info about WiFi and other computer stuff there.  Computer use on board will be extremely expensive, but you can find places in port where you can check e-mail, etc, for relatively little cost.

Have a great cruise.

Answer 5

not everything is inclusive, the dining room(also serves breakfast and lunch) in included, usually theres a windjammers cafe with is also included, you need to pay for any specialty drinks(alcohol,virgin drinks,fancy coffees)

tipping at the end of the cruise really adds up, its not included in your booking price....but do make sure to tip, i know sometimes people don't, but the waiters and room staff work hard and the tips they receive is their main pay.

spa services you have to pay for, bingo too....most of the act. are free...

as for the internet, every ship has different options, check with guest relations as soon as you can after boarding.