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Joebucks

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  • Location
    OH
  • Interests
    Cruising
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Carnival

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  1. I've had this discussion a bunch of times with people around what is best, land or sea trips. As with anything in life, there is rarely a "best" for every scenario. Hawaii and Mediterranean are often the topics of discussion. Everyone loves to share why their choices are the best. However, much context is often ignored. As with anything, it depends on the scenario, and what you are looking for. Land trips are great if you want to explore every nook and cranny of every city you encounter. However, you will absolutely spend more of your day traveling by car, plane, train etc., if you want to visit multiple cities. As you posted with your example, no one is going to be able to accomplish as much at those ports by doing a land trip. The majority of people are going to be able to do most of what they want to do in 8 hours at a port, while traveling to the next while they sleep. Let's be real, most people aren't doing "stuff" for 10-12 hours a day on vacation. Day for day, I find it hard to believe that the average person is really getting that much more of an experience on a land trip vs those on a cruise. Now if you want to compare 14 days on land to 7 days at sea, yes, there is a bigger difference.
  2. Drawing lines in the sand about specific topics just because is all the rage on the internet. I cruise because I enjoy the overall experience at a reasonable price.
  3. Or could also...... be blocking access to a hallway for those with scooters!
  4. Crack down on scooters or crack down on giant obstructions in the hallway? Either way, this will not go over well.
  5. This is the whole world. Rules and laws are turning into polite asks. To enforce them is fascist.
  6. I know the popular thing to say online is everyone only cruises tiny ships that explore the wilderness with a machete. Hell, one of my most fond cruises was the South Caribbean out of PR, aboard the Fascination. It was also one of the most boring as the night life doesn't have half as much to do. I think it's a big assumption too that more smaller ships would open up more exotic itineraries. Frankly, I think this new model rejuvenates the short cruises for me. Sometimes, short cruises are nice as an extra option when you can't always sail 7+ days. Personally, I enjoy a nice beach day. Having to go to ports like Cozumel, Nassau, and Freeport can be annoying when you have to pay all of this money and waste all of this time for taxis, beach entry, etc. If I can get on an Excel class, with all of its amenities, and have a beach within walking distance, that's a great option for me. I am not a new cruiser either. Those other longer itineraries aren't going away. Celebration Key is not a bad thing. It's a new option.
  7. I wouldn't spend the $1200 even if we didn't have DOU. What is also silly is spending "$500" to "trick" yourself that you have a mini all-inclusive package.
  8. I think it's hard to draw any line in the sand of where 4000 people may or may not be. I doubt they all have the same plans.
  9. I actually did not care for Shaq's fries. Their chicken on the other hand. What a game-changer.
  10. While this is good insight, I wonder what the precedent is behind 4000 escaped inmates. Surely, they aren't all in plain sight in Haiti, just waiting around?
  11. I loathe 3+ people in rooms and pulldown beds. Unfortunately, I did just that on an older Royal Caribbean ship. The pulldown is worst when you're up there and are up earlier and/or have to use the bathroom. It's so much noise. On my previous Carnival cruises, the couch flipped over into a bed. This was vastly supervisor.
  12. Bring your own chips or buy them at a port
  13. After just coming back from a Royal Caribbean cruise and only having access to Windjammer burgers, I can unequivocally say you're in much better hands with Guy's.
  14. There is a very common misconception about travel insurance that it moves the sun and the moon, and squashes your every inconvenience. I never travel without my credit card, that includes many travel insurances, 0% foreign exchange fees, reward points, and a sizable credit limit.
  15. I have only cruised with Carnival in the past. I always meant to try other lines sooner. With large itinerary choices, lower prices (special offers), and the enjoyment we had in the past, it kept working out to stick to Carnival. For this cruise, we decided it was time to try something different. So we did a 5-day out of Galveston on the Voyager of the Seas. I refuse to do the 2000-passenger ships anymore, when possible. Having done previous 4 and 5-day cruises, I fully understood it is not the ship with all of the bells and whistles. Let me first say I had a great time. It is a good product. It is more similar to Carnival than it is different. I plan to sail with Royal again, preferably on Oasis or larger. I always try to consider both sides and remove as much bias as I can. However, I must say that from what I have experienced, Royal Caribbean is overrated. Royal fans often pretend that it was a brand created by the gods. Honestly, I could not recall many areas where it felt superior to Carnival. Let alone the additional price it commanded. Food I can't stand people complaining about the food and how everything is inedible. It happens on most lines. There is plenty of complementary food available, and I always find options that are fine. Overall, I'd say the MDR and buffet were similar between the two brands. We ended up doing more buffet than ever before because we chose anytime dining. I really missed the quick meals you get on Carnival's lido, such as the Burgers and Tacos. The burger I had in the Windjammer was dry and lacked the options and sauces. The breakfast MDR menu on Royal was about as basic as you could get for breakfast. Carnival's Sea Day brunch handily trumps it. I'd say the Carnival pizza was slightly better. Carnival's Deli also stomped the promenade "deli" options. People have been whining and crying that there aren't enough food options on Carnival outside of peak hours. Somehow, that was worse here. Maybe the specialty dining is better on Royal? I did not experience those, so I cannot comment. The room This was an older ship. However, it still felt like an experience I had over 5 years ago. Two outlets in the room, no usb, small TV, older looking all around. We got a balcony room. The balcony was standard. This room was noticeably smaller than the Carnival rooms I've had as of late. We also had 3 people and had to use the upper pullout bed, which is not my favorite. Carnival's couches were big enough to flip into another bed. This couch was not. Bathrooms were about the same. The glass door was nicer than the usual shower curtain. There was a bit less closet space for clothes. Entertainment This is the area I was probably most excited about on Royal, as I have heard much bragging of their world-renowned performances. Maybe I missed something, but this was not my experience. I think one huge advantage here was the ice skating rink. That show was pretty cool and was also another nice theater when needed. The stage shows I watched were mostly average. There was only 1 comedian who did 3 shows throughout the 5 days. He was great. However, being a big fan of comedy, I prefer Carnival's higher frequency of comedians. A 5-day usually has at least 2 comedians, doing equal or more shows each. Bars I'd say overall, the experience was about equal. However, Royal did not have an experience that matched Alchemy for me. Schooner was the closest (and I really liked Schooner a lot). The Pig and Whistle was also a cool bar experience that spilled into the promenade. I think the Tavern was supposed to be the sports bar. It was a nice venue, but did not seem to me to have that sports bar energy that Carnival has. Other Venues I really did enjoy the open promenade as a whole. Having most of the stuff centrally located or close was nice. I might consider that as an advantage as Carnival often has things all over the place. If you are a kid, I'd say the Flowrider and Rock climbing are advantages. I did not use those. While the Solarium is not my #1 preference, I could definitely understand why it has such value. Not everyone wants to be in the sun, especially at all times. We never really had issues finding seating anywhere on the main deck. In some of the smaller venues were tougher to find seats at night, which is fairly common. Again, let me restate: I had a great time. More things were similar than they were different. I also understand a lot of my wishes would be solved in an Oasis class. However, when I do shorter cruises, that is not always a viable option. Nor do I expect it to become my first choice to get some of the things I already enjoy at double the price. Honestly, I believe there are a few reasons why people talk so highly about Royal, and I have my theories: - Their marketing team is good. They have the best loyalty program, and people LOVE boasting about and consuming their free stuff. The diamond drink vouchers are an outstanding perk. On the topic of marketing, some people have negative perceptions about Carnival, without experiencing it. - The crowd seemed a bit better than I would normally find on a 5-day cruise. I'm not sure if that was due to it being Galveston (first time) or Royal. Other than this, honestly, I could not find many times where I was like "wow this is better than Carnival." Which should be happening at a higher price point. You may now commence attack on me
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