Royal caribbean cruises!?

Question

tell me all the good (and bad..) stuff about them! please!

Answer 1

There is too much to list.  So instead I'll provide links to my reviews of my last two Royal Caribbean cruises.  They are fairly long, but should give you a good idea of what happens on the ship.  The links are below  ...

December 2007 - Monarch of the Seas

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreview...

June 2007 - Freedom of the Seas

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreview...

Answer 2

I definitely recommend royal caribbean. The ships are great with tons of things to do. It's hard to get bored, if anything you won't be able to do everything you want because of so many choices. The crew were nice and extremely helpful. The food was excellent, always fresh and plenty of variety. Even the entertainment was good, and the nightclub was always jumping. You really get your monies worth on royal caribbean cruises. Also per what a previous poster said, tips are not mandatory meaning they are not automatically taken off your card unless you go to the pursers desk and request it. Otherwise you are given envelopes and are able to tip whomever and whatever you like.

Answer 3

I've cruised with them, and I LOVED it!  There was always something to do, three restaurants to choose from which are all-you-can-eat; and the food was great by the way!  The nice thing about Royal Car. is there's not mandatory tipping like on other cruise lines.  Do you really want your maid to get a 18% tip??? I didn't!  On Carnival, tipping is automatically charged to your credit card, and the total tips is around $400!  On RC, you tip who you want/ what you want!  I loved Royal Car... highly recommended!

Just read the post below me, and don't know how to respond, so I'm editing my post.  I did NOT have to tip mandatorily.  I was given envelopes for each of my staff members (head waiter, assistant waiter, room attendant, maid, etc... there are lots!)  There were recommended ammounts on the nevelopes for me to stuff cash into, but I opted not to follow the recs on some.  I never even saw some of these people, whereas I knew my waiter by name, as well as he knew me by first name.  He derserved a huge tip.  The last time I went (in 2003) it was called "Honorarium Tipping" meaning it was NOT mandatory.  They may have changed it since then, but that was my experience.

Answer 4

We are going on our fifth RCCL Cruise. They have excellent rooms and there is never a shortage of things to do.

Michele is incorrect. There is always mandatory tipping. It's just done differently. You can have it done with vouchers or cash. They do work very hard for their tips. For most of them that is how the make all of their income.

We are going on Explorer of The Seas for the second time. Skating in the Caribbean has a strange sound to it.

If you don't see what you want, ask, they will get it. You want something every day at dinner, tell them and they will have it.

The only real downside we have seen is when we disembark.

If people followed instructions it would be a lot less scrambled. Each cabin has it's departure time but many think they know better and stand right by the exit which causes major congestion.

Except for that we have always had a terrific time. Our biggest cost is the land excursions and then cost of ship pictures.

You really have to plan your shore excursions to make the best of them. If you go out on your own and are late, the boat leaves, no excuses. We saw it happen and the ship made no apologies. They have a strict schedule and time allotted for the dock. If they waited for stragglers we were told it costs upwards of 10 thousand per hour and payable at one minute after.

Besides that always ask for something because they will get it for you.

Answer 5

My husband,myself and my 15 year old daughter and 11 year old son have been on several cruises on Royal Caribbean and Carnival,we prefer Royal Caribbean. I find them alot classier and not so much partying on them,it's not stuffy and full of old people (my husband is 28 and I'm 37) so it's basically just alot of fun without being over the top. We love the rock wall,the view up there is breathtaking,there is also ping-pong,basketball,theaters,dance clubs,sports bar,shopping,there are even some Royal Caribbean ships with ice skating,roller blading,surfing and bowling. The staff have always been great and the food is amazing.I have never had a bad cruise with Royal Caribbean.

Answer 6

Its very warm down there and if your lucky, you might see some spots where they filmed Pirates of the Carabean!