cloud_nine

Disappointed that there's no Park Cafe or R-Bar. What about the champagne bar? Has it been changed to Vintages like the deck plans suggest? And if it has, can you get tapas there or just wine?

Trojan - At the moment the drinks package is only included on 2016 sailings. I haven't seen any drink package promotions offered for next year yet, and I've been looking at lots of different cruise sites to check. Are you looking at cruises next year or this year?

If you're not booking with a US based TA I would definitely wait to book. Prices right now are not cheap. I have my eye on a Med cruise in July on Navigator that has gone up by about £2000 in the last few months. Plus as others have said the promotions that give free drinks packages, grats and/or OBC generally don't get offered this early. A couple of years ago I booked a year or more in advance and then kicked myself later as we missed out on the free drinks package and gratutities. Prices are generally cheaper nearer to sail date as well.

I was on Explorer last year and they were doing the suite breakfast in one of the specialty restaurants, I forget which.

Thank you for this. We are in a suite on Jewel in August and was wondering whether they offered breakfast in Chops.

My favorites tend to be from the R Bar/ Champagne bar: Kir Royale, Flirtini and Let's get fizzical. I assume these are girly enough? I think one of the latter drinks came with a heart shaped straw too - the Flirtini I think.

We had the same email, and we too were confused. We ended up calling RCI because we wanted to change our stateroom anyway and they basically said that you don't need to give them passport info before 90 days - you can do it when online check in opens up. We ended up giving them our passport info there and then since we were already on the phone with them but I understand your hesitancy to call them - the call centre can be awful! If I were you, I'd just leave it until online check in opens up, unless you need to call them for another reason first.

The pattern I found as reported on this board was 9+ day sailings with the exception of:

 

Allure of the Seas - 7 day cruises - April through May 22. The discount seemed to start after Spring Break then go away Memorial weekend, probably as a start to summer.

 

Jewel of the Seas - 7 day cruise - 7/17/2016 (I haven't caught if any other Jewel dates have been reported).

It's also offered on my Jewel 7 night sailing on 28th of August 2016.

It says three new restaurants on the website - so that's Izumi, Giovanni's and which other? I was hoping it was going to be Park Cafe. I'm also disappointed there's not going to be an R Bar - that was my favourite bar on Explorer.

Just checked and it's available on my 7 night cruise on 28th August 2016 on the Jewel. I don't need it on that cruise as I already got the select drink package as part of a promo when booking. But thought I'd mention it for anyone who's booked on that cruise who didn't get the promotion.

Not available for my November 19th on Adventure either, which is a shame because had a discount been offered I probably would have got a package, but as it is we'll only have one sea day and we're in a suite so we'll have the CL. Doubt I'll drink enough to warrant a package at the current rates.

I'm vegetarian (lacto-ovo) and I only cruise Royal because of how good they are with vegetarian food. I'm quite fussy and don't particularly like Indian food yet I still find food that I like most nights. When you board go check out the dining room and if the maitre d is there have a word with them. Tell them your vegetarian and a bit concerned about finding enough to eat and they'll help. Last cruise our normal waiter was absolutely rubbish and after I sent back a dish I didn't like and ordered something else the head waiter stepped in and told me that she would bring me the menu for the next day the night before and if there was nothing I liked on there I could have something made specially. This was a great help. You can even ask if something on the menu that wasn't veggie could be made that way. So one night pasta with a lemon sauce and shrimp was made for me instead with broccoli and so on. Plus you can always order extra veg with your meal. Appetizers are usually great - lots of amazing fruit soups and bisques on the menu (I always double check that they are suitable) - the Brie and Asparagus tart if they do it on your cruise I can't recommend enough - yum. Also had soft shell tortillas with grilled veggies one night which was really good. Also the linguini pomodoro is always on the menu (which is really good - if you like pasta) so that is always my fall back if there is nothing on the menu I like for the first night (it can even be made with a different pasta if you ask).

The MDR opens for lunch on sea days and do take advantage of that! They have a huge salad bar if you like that, a create your own pasta and a set menu that has one or two veggie options. Look out for the vegetable empanadas! They were amazing - the best dish I had the whole cruise! On The Liberty you'll also have Johnny Rockets which does great veggie burgers (the Soy Bocca burgers) and grilled cheese sandwiches and all the fries and onion rings you can eat. They also do a nice apple pie and sundaes. Eating here does incur a fee however, I don't know what the price is now - I'm sure someone can tell you. When I sailed last I believe it was 6.95 or thereabouts.

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here (though someone may have said it while I was writing this) is to be careful with desserts. A lot of them contain gelatine. I know some veggies don't care about this but I do so I thought I'd mention it. They do some great sorbets/sherberts in fruit flavours which I loved, they do a good fruit crumble one night (usually) which doesn't contain gelatine and often they do some nice souffles. However, if gelatine is a concern for you ask the waiters or head waiter to find out if a dessert you are considering is made with it. A lot of desserts you wouldn't think would be made with gelatine are so that's just something to watch out for.

I'm sure you'll find lots to eat so don't worry too much and I hope you have a great cruise!

Sounds good, might see you on there!

The weather in the Canaries will still be warm enough in September - I've done Tenerife in September before and the weather was still in the mid to late 20's (celsius). It may be cooler on the way back though as it will be nearly October. Temperatures will be warmer for the Med Beaches cruise as its in July but then you can never really predict the weather.

Did you find it it was a bit chillier not being in the Med? x

For the first few days yes. This was our first cruise from Southampton - all other times we've done fly/cruises in the Med. But it was expected - the UK weather wasn't great and the first two days we were a bit chilly out on deck but once we got to Madeira (our first stop) it was a bit warmer. Vigo was also a bit cooler and cloudier than we'd have liked but as we were just shopping that day we didn't mind so much.

I too am looking at the Med Beaches one for next year to cruise with my mum! We did a very similar Canarian cruise last August for 10 nights stopping at Madeira, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Vigo. It was a good cruise though a little bumpy on the way down - the Bay of Biscay can be a bit dicey sometimes. All are great ports though I personally wasn't fussed on Vigo - thats probably personal preference though. I'm sure that whichever you choose you'll have a great time.

We're going on Adventure in November, so looking forward to reading your review!

Will be on the Adventure for the first time in November - just booked my flights today! Can't wait! Have been trying to read the posts on this board but it's so long!

I would definitely make Antigua one of your beach/snorkelling days as there are so many beautiful beaches there .From what I remember Tortola has a nice area around the port with shops dotted about. The other two ports I haven't been to, but will be stopping at St Kitts on my November cruise and there looks to be a few interesting tours other than the beach.

On my last cruise in August on the Explorer, there wasn't a white party at all. There have been on all the other ships I've been on so I was wondering, is it only certain ships that have the white/glow party?

My very first cruise was with Carnival so at the time I had nothing to compare it with. However, having sailed with RCI since, I would never go back to Carnival. RCI is in an entirely different class to Carnival. I did enjoy my cruise on Carnival but this was mainly because of the company. We were lucky enough to meet a lot of really nice people but had this not been the case it wouldn't have been a great cruise at all. The main issue: the food. The buffet was awful. Every time we tried eating there, the food was almost cold and the variety was terrible. MDR was a bit better but there was only one vegetarian option (for both main and starter - Royal has more choice) and occasionally none at all! Whilst our waiter was nice he never offered to have something veggie made for me when there was nothing available, and even when I asked if something on the menu could be made without the meat/fish I was told no it can't be done. Royal Caribbean is an entirely different story. I was just on the Explorer in August and our Head Waiter was a star. She always gave me the next night's menu to look at at the end of dinner and if there was nothing I liked the look of I could have something made for me. The entertainment on Royal is better than I remember it being on Carnival and as others have said the ships are much prettier on Royal. The only thing I thought Carnival did better on was desserts. Their chocolate melting pot thing was to die for - had it every night I think! My biggest bugbear with it was the food so this probably won't apply to you but it really is all down to personal preference. Personally if anyone asked me which cruise line to go with my answer would always be RCI but that's just me. Others will have completely different ideas.

Hi Cymru, just wondering which evening was your first formal night on? I know on other ships it was either the 2nd or 3rd night onboard but that was on 7 night cruises and we're doing a 10 night in August so it might be different. I ask because it will be my mum's birthday on our second night on board and she was hoping it would be a formal. :)

Loved reading your review, cymru cruiser - I loved how detailed it was - I would have completely forgotten half of what happened if it were me :. My mum and I will be sailing on the Explorer on the 23rd August. We've cruised on the Liberty and the Navigator before but this will be our first time on the Explorer so it was very interesting to read your thoughts on it - especially from another Welsh cruiser (we're from Swansea).

Thank you for the information, clarea. Would that be available all day or just at certain times?

Hi there, I was looking at Med sailings on the Splendour for next year, but I wanted to ask, is there a pizzeria on board? Having sailed on the Liberty a few years ago, I loved going to Sorrento's for a couple of slices of pizza, but can't seem to find anything like it on the deck plan for the Splendour.

If someone who has sailed with the Splendour recently could let me know if there's a pizza place on board, I'd be very grateful.

Thanks.