However, I did like that you can split the bed into two twin beds.
FYI I think Royal is getting rid of that option as they redo ships.
We did New Zealand on Explorer of the Sea. We enjoyed the ship a lot, watched the ice skating show and DD and I went ice skating ( you get about 15 minutes on the ice then it’s another groups turn).
That’s quite a difference from Freedom! Freedom had much longer skate sessions from what I recall.
what extras? Soda? It's hard to know what you are referring to when you don't list them.
Agreed.
RCL videos give me the appearance that there are a lot of $250 inside rooms sold to people there to binge drink for the weekend, not throwing stones, just worried what the kids see walking around.
What Royal videos are you watching?
The ONE drunk person I have seen onboard a Royal ship was a mom with her kid. She had already been cut off. She was loud and annoying. And every other parent in the area was watching out for her son, out of the goodness of our hearts, because she wasn’t quite capable.
That’s it.
On Disney I don’t pay attention to others because the cruises are so short I don’t have time to take care of anyone but me and my family. There might have been drunk people, but I wouldn’t have noticed.
My kid has seen nothing disturbing.
I cant wait to visit the kids areas of RCL though to see how they are different.
My son has been in the kid clubs three times on Royal. 4 times on Disney Dream. And the teen club once on Royal.
His take. Disney club and lab is quite visually nice, and he loves the dance floor since he’s a dancer. This makes him quite popular with girls there. But. Apart from scheduled scheduled activity times, it’s a free for all. Family groups (siblings, cousins etc) don’t open their fun to stranger-kids, which makes it a bummer for only kids like mine. He never once got a shot at playing video games.
And after two bits of nonsense when he was there over a mealtime, he refused to go there at such times. The first time they wouldn’t let him have an offered cheese sandwich because he said he was a vegetarian. Given that cheese sandwiches are part of his main diet, lol, that was odd. They called us to make sure it was ok. They called out stateroom phone. Not the wave phone. We got the message hours later. They didn’t let him eat. (Though right now I wonder if someone got confused between vegetarian and vegan. Maybe always let the actual vegetarian know what they can eat, Disney? At the time I thought that he should have meat and couldn’t figure out why they would have a cheese sandwich at all) The second time, because of that first time, we fed him before he went. And they made ALL the kids stop, go through the food area, look at the food, and sit. My son wasn’t hungry. And they made him sit. (His once chance at videogames, thwarted.)
Before that second time, we had been on Freedom. Because we homeschool we could go at school times. Which meant the kid clubs were empty. So the 6-8 year olds were put on with the 9-11. Vice versa, actually. Big age span.
The rooms are stark and kinda boring. But the counselors are 100% involved. They lead games and activities and keep the kids involved and engaged the whole time. My son loved this.
So when we went back to Dream he started ONLY going to the Lab during a scheduled activity. Then he would use his no-SIM old cell phone to use the Navigator app to have us come get him. He enjoyed it more than the old way, but far preferred the way it works on Royal.
Then he aged into the teen club on Royal. Went one night. He’s tall and his voice changed early. They thought he was older. It was not comfy. He hangs out with lots of older kids at home, because of dance, but these kids made him feel uncomfortable because of thinking he was older.
Anyway, that’s one kid’s take on the clubs!
Cabanas are available to rent from RCL private island for about $400-$450. They dont look like they have a fridge full of soda though. All 3 cruises I have signed up for with DCL had no cabanas available, as of 2 minutes after being able to check in. They are pretty rare.
I think that sort of cabana on
Coco is nearly brand new.
I think I heard RCL charges $3.50 / can of soda. Free with DCL.
Cans on Disney are not free. If you want soda delivered to your room on either line you’ll pay for it.
People have reported that Royal allows one adult to get the drink package provided that the other adult purchases a non-alcoholic package. But you do have to provide a reason for doing so - "my wife doesn't drink" has allegedly been an acceptable answer.
Have they switched back again? Last I heard that wasn’t allowed.
At the end of the day, they're still getting our money, so the cruise line still wins in the end.
Well, hopefully the cruiser is getting an experience with the money, so everyone wins.
Fwiw I like paying as I book, personally.
Like I said before most of your onboard spending is optional no matter what ship you sail on.
So true.
On Disney I get tervis cups. On Royal I get blingy lanyards and my now-ex got sucked into watches. Bah.
On both I order drinks a la carte because the ex doesn’t drink, neither he nor our son drink soda, and I cannot make a drinks package work for me no matter how much I try. I pay for espresso drinks on both (except for the two times the now-ex wanted concierge so I drank meh cappuccinos in the lounge “for free”). We don’t eat the included ice cream or soft serve on either because of ingredient issues. On Royal I get the Evian package assuming they still have it. On Disney now I’d be bringing that on since last I checked they stopped selling Evian and only have Dasani. I *have to* drink spring water onboard. When I drink the water on a ship I swell massively. When I drink bottled spring water, I only swell normally. There’s a difference, I don’t care why, but spring water makes the difference. Dasani is filtered municipal water and I don’t see the point.
YMMV here. But expect sticker shock at some point.
