LAKaye

I have taken 4 cruises alone over the past few years, not part of any group--so truly alone.  

I wanted to cruise, but could not interest anyone to go with me.

I am not a very outgoing person, and I will say that those solo cruises were difficult for me.

What helped a bit was asking for early seating at a large table, so at least I got to eat dinner with the same people every night.

On one cruise on the Brilliance out of Tampa two years ago, I found myself seated with a number of other solo travelers:  The Maitre'D had made this arrangement on his own.  On the second and third night, other solos were found and brought to join our 10-top.  It was brilliant.  

One of us then said "I'll be here tomorrow for breakfast at 9AM.  Anyone interested?", and yes....

We were off and running.

So ask if there is a "solo" table on your sailing.

I have not eaten in an RCI specialty restaurant in too very long a time.  

I'm sailing on Radiance on April 8th, Panama Canal.

Please recommend to me some "never fails" menu choices, as I am sailing with my best friend, and I want no disappointment for the upcharge.

Please comment on appetizers, mains, and desserts.

Thank you for helping me show my dear friend the best possible good time.  If it matters, we will be looking for an early reservation.

I so very much appreciate your recommendations.

Leslie

Hey Ashley!

Thank you so much for the first hand information!

🩷

Leslie

Hi Don,

I am on your cruise.  I'm going to bring my own binoculars.

They always feel so heavy to me.  I thought for sure they weighed 5 pounds.   So last night I put them on the kitchen scale and found that they weigh 1.94 pounds.  That's not too bad, so into the suitcase they go!

Leslie

1 hour ago, kcpvwill said:

I regularly get a hot chocolate from the lounge on deck 1 as my bedtime drink. They make it with hot milk.  Sometimes it is not very hot but they quickly get used to me so I don’t have to stress the ‘hot’ 

Further into the cruise I sometimes just have hot milk to limit the calories as the hot chocolate is rather sweet.  
 

World Cafe also has sachets (occasionally need to ask for them) which you can take to your room and make yourself if you’ve asked for a kettle.  The coffee maker boils water but trying to make chocolate or tea using this does not work well so we usually request a kettle. 

Wow, you were able to request and get a kettle in your stateroom?  

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Based on passenger satisfaction surveys/ratings, Vision has officially been named Ship of the Year.

I am happy to hear this, but could you kindly give a bit more information about this survey/poll/award/whatever?  Thank you!

I love the Radiance class.  They are sleek, elegant, and I feel that I am on a ship at sea.  

The open access for all to go on the helipad is pretty special, with benches to sit on.

The Solarium pool is deep, with stairs to walk in and walk out, and it's enclosed for all weather.  They are the loveliest solariums in the fleet.

The Windjammer has lots of outdoor seating, and the food stations are the roomiest.  The ice cream is right next to the desserts.

Radiance class has a large, traditional dining room.  

The Viking Crown lounge has great forward views; the Schooner Bar has floor to ceiling windows to the side; and the Colony club has views of the wake.

The promenade deck is roomy and there are deck chairs to relax on.

The Cafe-Lattetudes serves Starbucks coffees - Yay!

I was not able to be on the Serenade of the Seas for the current sailing of the Ultimate World Cruise.  *sniffle*

It would be lovely if there were another such voyage in the planning stages.  Have you heard anything?

Thank you~

🩷

When I was younger and traveled with my husband, he liked to board as early as possible.  There were two of us, so we could take our luggage to the Windjammer, find a table, and take turns getting something to eat.

Now I cruise alone, so it's better for me to board a bit later and drop off the bag in the room before going up for lunch.

😊

Recently, I was on a cruise - the Liberty OTS I think, and the time of day and venue selected by the ship (how do they come up with these times?) was not convenient for us who came on the first day.

So we changed the meeting to another time, and "announced" it by leaving a big note at the venue with room phone numbers, and on the announcement board each day.  In effect, there were two meetings per day--a very good thing.  Guest services were not able to change the meeting stats for the app.

I take my responsibility pledge seriously.

L

I wish that all Royal ships had a Covered Solarium Pool.  Nothing worse than being on a cruise and not feeling warm enough to use a swimming pool!  Right?

Helipads on all ships and free access for all passengers.

5 hours ago, little britain said:

The Voyager prices for autumn 2025 are mad! $3300+ for 7n in a balcony. They do have a great itinerary with overnight Istanbul which I was very tempted with though…! 
 

But a Suez repo could be even more tempting! 

That price is for both persons, correct?

I agree, it is quite steep!!

Hey Y'all~

Thank you very much for all of your replies.

I have decided to avoid this cruise.  

🙏🏻🩷

What happens with the crew?  

Does the dining room staff stay on board/remain somehow (with their expertise) over the dry dock or are contracts ended, with a brand crew coming on board for the season in the Mediterranean?

Thank you~

Hello everyone~

I was planning on booking the 15-night TA on the Brilliance in April of 2025, which just became available, but I've learned that she will be going into a two-week dry dock following that cruise.

I greatly prefer to cruise on a Radiance class ship, which is why I'm not easily jumping over to another Royal TA.

Does anyone have experience of how the food quality/availability and the service is before a hiatus like this?  I'm worried that quality will fall off.

Thank you 🙏🏻

Leslie

1 hour ago, little britain said:

Love it! 
Virgin and Saga are using it as a port more. Should be a very interesting sail in through the little channel past Gunwharf and all the Royal Navy ships.  There is a motorway 🛣️ literally outside the port and it is a short cab 🚕 ride to the train station for good links to London. 
 

And it’s only 30 minutes from my house! 
 

No next cruise as she’s going into short dry dock. 

Thank you for this great information.  I didn't know about the dry dock.  Yikes!  

🙏🏻

On 10/26/2023 at 1:14 PM, Ashland said:

Can someone post the release schedule...Thanks.

Hello all~~

Firstly, I couldn't get rid of the above ↑ text in my reply box.  Sorry.

Question for my friends in England:  Regarding Brilliance eastbound TA, what do you make of the ship coming into Portsmouth on April 27, 2025?  

Also, I cannot see what the next cruise is for the Brilliance.  

Thank you~
Leslie

Does anyone know about the forward access on Gershwin, Mozart, or Schubert decks?

Hello HAL veterans!

On the promenade deck of the Rotterdam and sister ships, are there any sections of the promenade with deck chairs to look out to the sea?

Is it possible on any of the decks to go outside and face forward on the ship?  I looked at deck plans, and I'm seeing it might be possible on Gershwin, Mozart, or Schubert deck.  Is the deck above the Crow's nest available to passengers?

Thank you~~

Leslie

Is there a quick access from the Deck 13 forward staterooms to the portion of the Solarium on Deck 13, or does one walk back to the forward stairs/elevator and go up a deck?

I've yet to sail on a Quantum class ship.  I'm interested in a cruise on the Ovation.  The deck plans have me intrigued.  I will likely book an Ocean View Balcony forward, which is why I am curious.

Are all five ships the same in this regard?

Thank you~

Leslie

On 9/25/2023 at 9:00 PM, vjmatty said:

Yeah, luckily my refusal to sail anything less than Club Class due to the dining issue automatically means at least a mini suite (similar to JS) which includes a full couch. It’s ridiculous though….even Carnival inside cabins have a couch. 

My inside room on Lido deck Carnival Horizon had only a backless vanity pouf!

Thank you very much---we will bring swimsuits!

🙏🏻

Thank you for the great review with so much useful info.

My sister and I are booked for Feb 2024 on this itinerary.  Was the mail pool heated so that passengers could swim in it?

Thank you~

LA

Thank you everyone!!

Leslie Ann

Thank you all for this information.

Of all of the legs of this journey, this particular transfer is the Achilles Heel of the trip.  The great thing about the Viking transfer is that I and the transfer vehicle don't have to "find each other" in the morning darkness in March.  

If I use a local private car service, I will be stressing out about finding them and worrying about how they are going to find me.  Yikes!

The more I think about it, my sister (coming from the Left Coast) and I must have been misinformed by the Viking cruise agent/or did not understand the fine points of this because both of us were settling for poor flight itineraries in order to get the Viking transfers.  

So, one must book Viking Air to get the transfers from LHR to hotel and hotel to Tilbury cruise port at top of cruise--they're not available for separate purchase.  However, one can purchase a transfer for end of cruise shuttling to the Bergen airport.  Whew~

I so appreciate the help of all of you.  

🤗

Leslie Ann