r/royalcaribbean

Going on the symphony of the seas next August for the 10 night repositioning cruise back to Ft Lauderdale… for those who have been on the ship how are the specialty dining restaurants and which were your favorites.. I’ve been to some of them on other ships but seems quality varies. Debating whether or not to do a dining package at all if the daily or just for 3 days.. going with in laws and others, my FIL likes his food and doesn’t mind paying more for better quality than the MDR. He wasn’t thrilled with the MDR on the Anthem to Alaska last year, and honestly neither was I, and I’ve had very few issues with RCL MDR in the past and was on the anthem numerous times without issue. Just wanted to see everyone’s thoughts on some of the specialty dining on symphony, especially chefs table if you have done it.

This morning at the windjammer I saw a lady pick up a piece of French toast with her hands, didn't like what she felt, and then put it back into the pile 🤢🤢🤢

I had one of the attendants throw that piece away. What an unsanitary person 😒

We recently sailed on Allure and while we had a great time, we noticed a solid decrease in the quality of food onboard and I wondered if anyone else has had this experience?

We’ve sailed a lot (this was our 9th cruise, 3rd on an Oasis class) and granted, our previous two sailings were Virgin and Disney, but we remembered loving Royal’s food both in the main dining and in the Windjammer and we didn’t have that experience this time. The meat was tough or chewy anytime we got steak (various cuts), and overall everything was just kind of eh?

Note to add: service was INCREDIBLE and it has nothing to do with that or even the chefs, everything was prepared beautifully but the taste just continually fell flat. Sign of the current times and a sad side effect? Royal just being cheap? Would love to know anyone else’s thoughts!

I suspected early into the cruise that the system for checking in and out the blue towels is all for show.

Today I checked in 1 and checked out 5, but the guy didnt do anything with the computer, but had me scan my card.

This has to be a scare tactic used to convince people to return their towels.

Edit my family currently has 5 blue towels. I went and asked the towel stand how many towels we have checked out, they checked, and the system showed 0. Blue towel conspiracy proven true 😎

So we all know about the liquor limit on cruises, but I had no idea they could cut you off from Red Bulls lol Just got off Icon of the Seas. On the second to last night, a friend and I went a little too hard and decided to stay up and pull an all nighter. So by the time we got to the last day of the cruise, we were absolutely wrecked.

We were hanging out in the casino that morning/afternoon trying to survive, and my friend ended up having 7 Red Bulls back to back. Around 4pm, the bartender told him he was cut off for the rest of the night. We thought it was kinda funny and assumed maybe it was just that bartender, so after dinner he went to another bar and tried to order another one. They told him he was cut off too 😂 Has anyone else had this happen? Is there actually a limit on Red Bulls/energy drinks on Royal Caribbean, or were they just looking out for my idiot friend?

Ive noticed that old people love to walk to the front of lines in order to not have to wait at places like guest services.

Im all for inviting an elderly person to take my place in line. It just seems a bit odd if there are already elderly people in line, for some other elderly person to think its okay to skip everyone.

Please note im not saying old people shouldn't go first, im just saying it is odd that they would skip ahead of other old people without issue.

Just your friendly reminder to keep checking your sailings prices before your final payment date and call when they lower! I have called 5 times over the last year so far to rebook for a lower price, even when there's only a $20 price difference I call because it definitely adds up! So far, I have saved $480! I have sailed with Royal 4 other times before and never really paid any attention to the price changes until now. I think it's something even the most seasoned cruises don't take advantage of :)

We have our first cruise next week to Bermuda and going on Independence of the Seas. We travel a lot throughout the year, but this is our first cruise. Is there anything out of the ordinary we should pack? I’m hearing mixed reviews on the food which is a little discouraging. We have a 10 year old so hoping there’s plenty to keep him occupied. Also how is the casino? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you! Stupid question but are there hangers to use or should I buy some travel ones?

Anyone have a good recommendation for a good magsafe wallet just for the cruise?

Something that'll fit my seapass and some tipping cash and is easy to get seapass out?

I just want to make sure I’m understanding this correctly.

I just got off a 7-day cruise and I shared a balcony room with someone. So that gets me 7 points easy enough.

I booked a trip during double points and I’m solo on a balcony. Does that mean I’m getting 14 points or 21 points? Since it’s double points for solo travel? Or is it more or less?

Thanks for helping me understand this.

I booked this in July

We had an incredible time with our 18mo.

The highs
- staff’s hospitality was beyond excellent. 12 out of 10, truly. Special shout out to May, Shawn, and Mischelle in Coastal Kitchen, and JR in Izumi.
- food was delicious everywhere. Coastal Kitchen replaced our use of main dining room.
- the Grove for suite guests was quiet like the old solariums even though our son and a few other kids were there
- there was so much to see. The art around the ship was very cool and the room had a book about it that was enjoyable to flip through.
- musician playing strings in Central Park in the evenings was such an elegant touch, solo harpist or quartet.
- we had a sunset corner suite at the aft and the balcony was wildly large. Our weather was so perfect we used it every day. The room and bathroom are ample too.

The lows
- felt a bit salesly with servers outright asking for a 10 on the post-cruise survey because it directly impacts their comp
- the photo package I bought in advance did not apply to the specialty restaurants and no photogs were in the suite spaces so that was a waste of money
- no one uses stairs. The elevators were packed and people were extremely pushy. The sheer volume of people could be felt evenings and seas day(s).
- no swim diapers in the pools. Our son loves swimming but could only play in the splash pad. If baby bay could have a swim diaper pool that would have been amazing.
- we couldn’t experience the shows and nightlife based on our son’s sleep schedule & not being willing to use AO but that’s an us problem!

Biggest takeaways:

1. booking a suite provides a totally separate cruise experience than the masses. You have access to Coastal Kitchen, which is a small and quiet version of the main dining room with a relatively extensive menu that changes every night. The ultra-quiet grove pool, hot tub, and sun decks let you escape the masses - over 100 open chairs at prime times on a sea day with a full buffet and bar. Also at disembarkation we went from our breakfast table to the curb in 5 minutes, which included locating our bags.
2. We did a few nights in BCN prior and coming from the US we definitely needed it to adjust to the time difference. Had we flown in and gotten right on the boat we would have slept through time on the ship and that would have been a major waste!
3. when traveling with a toddler, like other posters have said, you’re on their schedule. We had to pivot on dinner plans and an excursion based on his sleep needs. They were pretty good about waiving cancellation fees for that. If you’re wondering about booking with a little one, we would say just do it - it was a beautiful experience for our little family.

I tried searching this but did not know what to really search for so sorry if this has been asked.

My wife and I booked 2 rooms with 2 separate offers on our next cruise, we are going with another couple and when we arrive we will go to customer service and swap rooms and what not.

My question is, what if the people in Room 1, let's call them John and James, buy the drink package because they are in there same room. Then when we get on the boat, John stays in room 1 and James goes to room 2. Will this affect the already purchased drink packages at all?

Thank you!!