Just got back from RCCL cruise, any ???

[kajohn]

Hi,

Just got back from our Adventure of the Seas Cruise out of San Juan Pueto Rico. Although it was not a DCL cruise, I know there are many people here who are interested in sailing another line, so I thought that there might be some questions.

We sailed Feb 1-8th, and went to Aruba, Curacao, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. We didn't take our kids on this trip, but I did check out the kids areas and watch the kids on board, since we are taking our kids on the sister ship the Explorer of the Seas next year.

 

[markmyboy]

Just wondering what you did in Aruba? We will be on the Voyager in October & will be in Aruba from 7 am until 1 am!! Have heard rave reviews of Aruba & also that it is one of the worst ports of call??? We are thinking of renting a "jeep" for the day & seeing the sights, stop at a few beaches!?

Also, how was dinner? Always in the same restaurant? Same servers every night? and of course...how's the food?

Thanks for the offer for information....

 

[kajohn]

markmyboy,

In Aruba we shopped in the main town, and took a taxi to Palm Beach and hung 0ut on the Beach for a few hours.

I loved Aruba, but it seemed to be a love it or hate it island after talking to many people.

The main city and the hotels on the beach reminded me of a very tropical, clean area, almost seemed like being in a resort area of the US. Not poor like many of the carribean islands. the island is flat, not mountainous like many carribean islands.

The island lies below the Hurricane belt, so the island is very arrid, and so the vegitation is different than other islands. I think this is why many people don't like this island. We did not venture out of the tourist areas, so we didn't see the dessert like areas that many people saw. Maybe that is why I liked it so much.

The beach we went to was beautiful, with palm trees, and crystal blue water. The hotels all front the beach, but the beach is public, so you get dropped off at the hotels, then walk through to the beach and rent chairs there. There was a peir with a bar on it nearby that we stopped at for a drink.

To answer your other questions: yes the dinners are at the same restaurant every night. You are assigned a table in one of the three levels of the dinning room (each level has a different name, but it is all one big dining room). You have the same servers every night, just as with DCL. Our servers were excellent. I thought the food was wonderful, a nice variety and presented very beautifully.

Feel free to ask any other questions, I love sharing my cruises with others!

 

[RKB]

If your kids our addicted to Disney Cruises do you think that they would be able to enjoy a RCCL vacation? My DS 10 does not even want to think about a different ship. We have only been on the Magic and the Wonder for cruises. I am trying to figure out what he likes the most. He seemed to get very attached to our servers. He also enjoyed the shows (are RCCL shows as family friendly?). Do they show movies on the RCCL ships? I do like the idea of saving some money, but afraid that the kids have been too spoiled with Disney.... What's your opinion?

 

[SNicksed]

How are the "kids areas" ? Are they similar to Disney clubs? Is there an additional charge? hours?

Thanks!

 

[kiddisney]

hi - we also have a problem - all five of the cruises that our kids have taken have been on dcl - and the kids are kind of hesitant on going on rccl - can you really fit four people in a standard stateroom - like on dcl - do you get two bunks or like dcl do you get a double - a sofa bed - and a bunk - thanks for your help

 

[westjones]

What kind of difference in pricing did you find for this? Many of said that RCCL is less expensive. We have never cruised on any other cruiseline, so we only know Disney. Next year's prices have gone up and I am wondering what is ahead for 2006!

DJ

 

[SandraLee]

Yes, I am very interested in the shows. Can you tell me how you would feel about bringing kids into the shows. I have DD5 and DS9 and we LOVE the shows on DCL.

And, I read about the 4-person configuration in the cabins -- seems the couch pulls out instead of the bed dropping from the ceiling. The representative thought the bed pulling out was better. I told her she was crazy and must not have kids that don't want to sleep together. LOL.

Thanks for posting. I am very ready to do another cruise, but want to be smart about spending my $$.

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

Hi Kelli, thanks for letting us all pounce on you with questions!

We're doing a cruise out of San Juan in Sept., and I'm wondering if you had any problems at/with the airport during either arrival or departure.

 

[CheapMom]

I've heard about this skating rink and rock wall-- was that on your ship? Do they charge for that? I don't think I saw this answer yet but do you know if they charge a fee for the kids clubs?

 

[kajohn]

Hi, I will try to answer the questions that I can:

The shows:

The shows vary greatly on RCCL ships. There are usually 2 production shows on a 7 day trip, with singers/dancers. I saw both, and didn't see anything that I wouldn't take my kids to, but I don't think they would enjoy them much. Singing and dancing to songs they don't know isn't very appealing IMHO.

The other shows we had were:

Welcome aboard show that was the cruise director (cruise directors on RCCL ships are usually funny outgoing types, usually entertaining, they don't wear stuffy uniforms like on DCL). Then there was a comedian, and maybe a dance number by the production people. (I missed this show in person, but caught some of it on repeat on the TV, it was the superbowl that night, so we were watching that).

The group the Coasters performed in another show.

We had the comic Rondell Sheridan at another show. He has been on Hollywood squares, tonight show etc. Very Very funny, not really racy, but not geared toward kids.

The ice show was very very good, and most kids would enjoy it I think.

Farewell show, again had the cruise director, then the production people and then another comic. Again, nothing bad for the kids really, just not geared toward them.

The entertainment changes every week, and you never know what you will get ahead of time with the exception of the production shows.

The kids clubs:

There is only a charge for the kids clubs after 10pm I believe. They are set up similar to disney with the kids broken down by age groups.

I don't know about room configuration becuase I have always just had 2 in a cabin, but I do know that the number of cabins that sleep more than 2 is not very many compared to DCL.

RKB : That is a hard questions regarding whether your DS will miss Disney. I guess I will compare it like this: My kids loved going to WDW. Then, we went to Florida to visit family and took them to Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios. They loved it there, and said they had the best time they ever had at a theme park, even without the mouse. So while they had always said they loved WDW the best, once they tried something else, they realized WDW wasn't the only thing out there. Soooo, while my kids may miss the mouse at first on their cruise next year, when they talk about what they liked on their DCL cruise, it was the beach, the food, the kids clubs etc. not really the characters. Only you know your child best. As for the servers, you do have the same ones all week, and while they are all good, like on DCL, there are some that are more personable than others, (ours on DCL last year weren't very friendly to us or our kids, but they were proficient servers).


DMS_cruisers04: The airport is packed on debarkation day. There were 4 ships that were debarking the same day, and everyone was flying out that day. We were fortunate to have access to Continental's Club, so we didn't really have to be in the mass of people. I have heard that it is best to fly down a day early and leave a day late to avoid the crowds. We did fly down a day early, and didn't have any problems at all.

CheapMom - yes the ship we were on had the rock wall, skating rink, inline skating etc. There are no charges for these actvities, and all gear is provided including inline, or ice skates, helmets, etc. They even had a sessions just for families for ice skating.

Well, I hope I answered all the questions so far that I could. If I missed anything, or there are any more questions ask away! My friends are sick of hearing about my cruise obbession, so it is nice to have people to talk to who enjoy them as much as I do!

That was a great thing about our trip, so many people we met in taxis, on the ship, at the airport etc. were all cruise nuts like my husband and I. The big topic was which cruise lines and how many cruises each had taken! I was glad to know we weren't alone!

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

Thanks again Kelli, appreciate the info.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

We were going to cruise RCCL again but once we found out about the kids club hours we changed our mind. They operate for approx 2-3 hours then close for 2 hours, then open again for another 2-3 hours then close again...you get the idea. For us we like to be able to plan whatever we want, whenever we want and not have to worry about scheduling around the kids club. Maybe when the kids get a little older we'll go back to RCCL but for now they're enjoying staying in the clubs and making new friends.

 

[TinkHappy]

Hi Kelli ~ I know that RCCL is a little less expensive then DCL, but I have heard that RCCL charges you all those little extras, like soda at dinner, ice cream, ect...is this true? Did you feel as though RCCL was "nickel and dimeing" you to death?

 

[SNicksed]

Thank you, Kelli!

 

[kajohn]

TinkHappy


I didn't feel like I was being nickel and dimed at all. Yes, soda costs extra, but they offer a soda card for children at about $21 for 7 days and adults at $42 for 7 days. If you drink a lot of soda, this is an option. For a family of 4 that would be $126 for the soda cards. Considering the cruise is usually $1000 to $2000 cheaper, I think that is well worth it.

As for the ice cream, there was no charge on our ship for the soft serve ice cream. I had heard they were trying out having Ben and Jerry's ice cream you could pay for, but I don't know if they are still doing that since it wasn't on our ship.

The ice cream is actually much more available than on DCL. There was a soft serve machine available in the Windjammer whenever it was open, which is most of the day and evening. Then there is a self serve soft serve machine on the pool deck open during the days, then there is one on the royal promenade with a sprinkle machine next to it to put sprinkles on it. This soft serve station was open until at least midnight everyday.

As for food, there is much more food readily available. The royal promenade has pizza, sandwiches (tuna, hame and cheese, etc.) as well as cookies and desserts available 24 hours a day. Just walk up, and ask for something you see in the case and take it with you, or sit in the eating area there. There is also Johnny rockets, which has great food. As soon as you sit down they bring your table a large bowl of french fries and onion rings, and keep filling it up while you are dining. You can then order off their menu your hamburgers and sandwiches. There is no charge unless you order soda or a milk shake. It is just like eating at their restaurants on land, they play the music, and every so often they play a song they dance to. Very fun, and the best part is walking away at the end of the meal with no bill!

The room service menu is also much larger, and no charge for anything but drinks (just like on DCL). You can even order during dinner hours from the main dining room menu if you would like.

There was no charge for ice skating, rock climbing, inline skating, putt putt golf etc.

So, no I did not feel they were nickel and diming me at all. With the exception of soda at dinner, it was the same as DCL.

 

[CheapMom]

Hey LuckyMommy2x-
Hello fellow Marylander- The reason I am asking all these questions is because you can take RCCL cruises from the port of Baltimore now. I think it sounds great--cruising with no airfare.

KAJOHN--- Thank you so much for sharing this information!!!!

 

[SandraLee]

Thanks for such great information! I have family in Balt and have considered cruising there, too.

Can you tell me about the bed configuration? Does the couch pull out? Or, is there a dropdown from the ceiling?

I love the way the couch converts on DCL and the one drops from the ceiling. I would think a pullout couch would take ALL the room.

 

[pamlet]

We're considering RCCL out of Galveston in the fall. We've never been on a cruise, and we can drive to Galveston!

I seriously looked into the DCL cruise, and for us it wouldn't be as good a value... RCCL is MUCH less expensive for us. I think if our kids were younger DCL would be the way to go, but our boys are 15 and 20 - so really it seems like there is more for the teens to do on RCCL - plus it seems the cabins might be a LITTLE bigger.

Our only other options out of the Houston/Galveston areas are Norwegian and Carnival - and neither one of those look appealing to us at all!!

Thanks again!!!

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

We acutally plan on doing the AOS next year. We will be going to the same places you went. I am so looking forward to going. Glad to here good remarks about it.
Matt