Royal Caribbean Cruise

shazkhan111

Hello,

I am looking at a Royal Caribbean cruise and has a few questions if I may?

- Has anyone been - what are your thoughts on Royal Caribbean?
- I am looking at a drinks package but they are very expensive - is there a cheaper way to get this?
- I am looking at Explorer of the Seas - any good?

Any other tips would also be helpful.:beer:

Thanks

Caz3121

cruisecritic.co.uk the best resource for cruises, reviews and forum boards. you will find loads of information there

gettingtheresometime

We've been with RC but it was in the Southern Hemisphere so I don't know if that made a difference but it did seem to be a lot more relaxed than say P&O.

As far as the drinks package is concerned it really depends on your drinking habits as to whether it's worth getting. You do have the advantage of knowing that everything is paid for but if you're sharing a cabin, you all have to have the same drinks package so if one of you doesn't drink alcohol then it can be expensive.

The other thing I found was that it almost encourages you to drink which isn't a good thing really.

eric4395

I booked explorer of the seas a few weeks ago for a cruise in October and the drinks package was included in the price.. Roughly you will need to drink 7/8 drinks a day to get any value on a bought package.

HoofeHearted

I've been on the Anthem of the Seas.
Enjoyed the cruise, but will not use RC again as I thougth the ship was too big. I prefer smaller ships.


Drinks package info for most cruises is here.
https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles.cfm?ID=1470


This says that on RC, there is no need for everyone in the cabin to have the drinks package.


If you don't have a drinks package, you pay for each drink + service charge.
With a drinks package, the package incudes an amount for service charge. So, if you have a lot of drinks, you get the added benefit that you will not be paying a service charge on all drinks, just some of them.

woolythoughts

Did it, hated it

I love cruising but I hated them.

Ship I was on was Navigator of the Seas

BAd points:

1. Too many sea days - out of 14 days at sea, only 6 were in port
2. Port timings - when we were in port, we were lucky if we got 5 hours in most places
3. Food - I actually lost weight on that cruise as the food was blah!

Would never go with them again.

gettingtheresometime

HoofeHearted wrote: »

Drinks package info for most cruises is here.
https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles.cfm?ID=1470


This says that on RC, there is no need for everyone in the cabin to have the drinks package.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/beverage-packages/deluxe-beverage-packages-cruises.pdf


t&cs say you do.

Neil49

woolythoughts wrote: »

Did it, hated it

I love cruising but I hated them.

Ship I was on was Navigator of the Seas

BAd points:

1. Too many sea days - out of 14 days at sea, only 6 were in port
2. Port timings - when we were in port, we were lucky if we got 5 hours in most places
3. Food - I actually lost weight on that cruise as the food was blah!

Would never go with them again.

I can't comment on the food aspect but I would argue that points one and two were down to you picking the wrong itinerary!

HoofeHearted

gettingtheresometime wrote: »

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/beverage-packages/deluxe-beverage-packages-cruises.pdf

t&cs say you do.

Very confusing. The Cruise Critic article says it was updated on March 13th 2019, so I thought it was up to date.


It was 2016 when I was on the Anthem and we both purchased the drinks package. Can't remember if it was compulsory, as we both wanted it.

ibizafan_2

Personally, we wouldn’t go on a Royal Caribbean cruise because the ships are far too large for us. We much prefer the cruise lines with small ships, and preferably UK based ones, as the drinks are much more reasonably priced. We have cruised with Saga, Fred Olsen, Marella and Holland America. We liked all of them because of the size of their ships, but Holland America drinks prices were steep, with the added gratuities. Their drinks packages were a ridiculous price, and I can imagine that Royal Caribbean is similar.

gettingtheresometime

HoofeHearted wrote: »

Very confusing. The Cruise Critic article says it was updated on March 13th 2019, so I thought it was up to date.


It was 2013 when I was on the Anthem and we both purchased the drinks package. Can't remember if it was compulsory, as we both wanted it.

Ah no worries - just goes to show even if you read an 'updated' article then before you part with your money t&cs need to be read.


whilst I can understand this rule to a certain extent, it doesn't take into account people who don't drink a lot or those cases where one person doesn't drink (for whatever reason) but their travelling partner does.


It would make more sense if cruise lines offered a package where by two people could share a daily allowance (say 8 drinks) as this would then cover those situations.