MarilynTX

I haven't been on the Dream but I've been on RCCL Oasis of the Sea and I had the same issue with crowds and lines. You can find quiet spots on the large ships but I ended up going back to my cabin at times because I just couldn't stand the lack of personal space.

I was going to comment on how I was crucified for using the word honest on a review. I finally had to close the thread. The rudeness was unbelievable. I don't know why the people were so defensive but it wasn't worth it to continue my review. There were some people that liked my review and wanted to read it but there were some terrible bullies.

Thank you for your "honest" review.

Paradise Beach is a decent option for a relaxing time although it won't be adults only. You just catch a cab which is $15 each way. You pay $15 for a wrist band to use the water toys but it's not required if you just want to chill on the beach. They expect you to eat and drink. They have a pool and the beach with plenty of chairs. The fresh water pool is a nice break from the salt water pools on the ship. I like all the trees for shade because I burn easily. You can para sail from there also.

I've sailed on Carnival Triumph many times. It's fine. I'm not biased to any specific cruise line. I'm a past guest of several. If you are sailing strictly for the ship you will certainly find larger and nicer ships. If you are sailing to get away and forget about your problems and/or responsibilities and have people take care of you it's excellent.

We sail out of Galveston most often because it's convenient. It's 4 hours from door to port. Sometimes we make it in 3 1/2 if I'm not paying attention to my husbands speed and we only need one bathroom break. My husband and sons dive so Cozumel is their favorite dive spot. It's world class diving. The last time we sailed on the Triumph was December 2014. We came home very relaxed and feeling reconnected with our boys.

New Orleans is on my list of debarkation ports. I've heard the Mississippi is cool sailing.

You can see we're sailing on the Triumph without the kids in 2 weeks for our 25th. I'm going parasailing this time. I'm probably going to book an early January cruise on the Triumph to take everyone diving again during their winter break from college.

I really do expect food to be good! If some cruise lines can do it, they all should be able to do it. Though I do think that quality suffers when you're feeding 6,000+ people three times a day.

It's not wrong to expect an edible meal.

Never said I was offended. You seem a lot more worked up about it than I ever way. I don't mind at all hearing people's experiences good or bad. I do think the OP started things off on a bad note with the title, but what's done is done.

If the title tainted your opinion of the review please just stop reading. You won't be able to enjoy it because I "started things off on a bad note".

You and several other people don't like my title. I get it.

Can we just stop with the personal criticisms? I'm not here to personally criticize anyone on this board. I'm not calling anyone a liar. I'm not offended if you like something I don't like. I'm not trying to offend anyone that likes something I don't like.

I hoped I could entertain a few people and maybe share my experience.

Can we just stop analyzing the word honest. It doesn't mean anything.

I was just trying to have fun. How do I delete the post?

Great photo.

I laughed at your comment earlier that you are in to computers but couldn't figure out how to embed a picture because I AM THE SAME. I am sure I will have the same issue (and I'm also in computers for a living)....so totally get it. :)

 

Not sure why all the rude comments, but I am one who is liking your review to see your thougths. Thank you.

My kids really tease me about my technology skills. "What do you do for a living Mom?" You should see me with my iPhone.

You guys are handling the hecklers pretty well. ;)

I'll continue the review later this evening but I wanted to prove that I can embed an image. It's grainy and small but it's the lighthouse in Nassau from my balcony in cabin 9716. I took it with my iPhone 5C. We have our pictures on 5 different devices and we're still compiling them.

I also want to clarify that I'm critiquing my vacation not any individuals. I don't know you so how can I possibly offend you. I would ask that if you find my opinions and comments offensive please don't continue reading. My humor isn't for everyone. I've walked out on bad comedians.

I've received some positive feedback so I'll keep posting.

There are some valid questions. "Didn't you read the reviews?" is definitely a valid question.

Agreed, it's not the behavior of the kids but the lack of consideration from the parents. Screaming is what kids do, that's correct. Correcting children's behavior to the current situation is what parents are supposed to do.

It was just a funny story to tell. "We couldn't escape the shrill sounds of the screaming children". We were just outside the children's play area and sound really travels in the boardwalk area.

See, movement is one of the things I love! When I'm on a ship I want to know I'm on a ship. Otherwise I'll just take a land-based vacation. :)

That's was part of my son's complaint with the ship being "too damn big". I'm prone to motion sickness which is ironic because I cruise so often. :confused:

I didn't get that either. There is NOTHING wrong with JetBlue! It is an awesome airline - I'd save the smarmy for Spirit or Southwest...but that's just me, and price be d%$^ed I would never choose to fly them. (ETA: Just saw your response, and now I get it.)

 

I'm also enjoying the review. :) You'd never catch me on a Behemoth of the Seas, but it's fun to read others' experiences.

I love Jet Blue. I wish we could have flown Jet Blue. I saved $800 on Spirit after the up charges for bags and seat selections. I know this because I know how much my friends paid and their return flight was on Delta. I didn't think the flight experience was bad and it wasn't actually Spirit's fault the bags got stuck. That's on DFW. One of my sons was non stop complaining about Spirit. I thought I was going to have to tell him to shut up. The staff on Spirit was funny. One attendant told us we could open our air vents free of charge. :) It wasn't Jet Blue and with the exception of having to pay for drinks the actual flight wasn't any different than American or Delta for me. We arrived on time going. We were delayed for weather (they can't control that) coming home but we arrived only 30 minutes late.

We could have spent the money on either the flight or the boardwalk balcony for the boys. I reminded my son Mr. Complainer that they chose the upgraded cabin. He chose a few hours of non first class travel for a week in an awesome cabin.

That being said I will probably not fly Spirit again if I can possibly avoid it unless it saves me $800.

I was wondering the same thing! The Trip Advisor reviews for that Days Inn are horrific.

I did read the horrific reviews about Days Inn. Did you read where I only paid $50 and received 2 round trips rides to the airport and a ride to the port. That was well worth more than $50.

I warned the family and we all agreed that it was just for a few hours. Apparently my humor isn't working.

I deal with stressful situations by making jokes about them when they are over. While I was in the hospital following cancer surgery I pretended to be on a cruise ship. The food was basically the same tasteless mass produced slop. I played with the high tech lighting in the room and created a shady spot over my bed. I pretended to be in port in Cozumel under an umbrella.

I make mistakes and I know better. Why would I go back to the MDR without a reservation expecting a different result? It's because I'm human and being human is funny.

I didn't get that either. There is NOTHING wrong with JetBlue! It is an awesome airline - I'd save the smarmy for Spirit or Southwest...but that's just me, and price be d%$^ed I would never choose to fly them. (ETA: Just saw your response, and now I get it.)

 

I'm also enjoying the review. :) You'd never catch me on a Behemoth of the Seas, but it's fun to read others' experiences.

Oasis of the Seas isn't for everyone. One of my sons said "This ship is too damn big". The other son "loved it more than any ship". It was definitely a different experience. I liked that I didn't feel any movement. We'll see what it's like stepping down in size.

Considering tapas are supposed to be Spanish food, that is a compliment :p

 

While I myself have no grudges against you not being a Royal cheerleader, I also wondered about your choice of words.

Just because people don't have anything to complain about in their reports, it doesn't mean they are not being honest. Or frank. Or direct.

 

I myself haven't had much to complain about but I guarantee I've written about the negatives if and when there have been any.

 

So maybe it's just that people thought you were calling them dishonest compared to yourself. We all know how well THAT goes down in this forum :rolleyes:;)

 

Do wish though that you'll find out soon how to post photos!!

Once again sorry if the word honest caused controversy. Is it really a big deal?

I'm really enjoying your cruise review and sense of humor. Do you by chance have some NY in you? The humor is the same; snarky and sarcastic; love it. Keep it coming!

 

I hope to go on an Oasis class cruise once, just to try it. It will certainly be more about the ship than the ports.

 

Also, as far as dining, just give your opinion as you experienced it. Once we went to Ruth Chris in NY and not my first time there, 4 couples and all ordered Filet Mignon. Our friends still rave about it, but my piece of meat was awful, with fat and grizzle. I just got unlucky but never said a word or caused a scene ... sh** happens. Would I go back? ... only if someone else pays, lol; still not worth the price even for a good piece of meat.

I'm not from NY but we have Ruth Chris in Texas. My experience with that restaurant was that it was nice and the food was tasty (however I didn't get a fatty hunk of meat) but not worth the $$$$.

"I've cruise enough to know the food probably won't be good"....When I read comments like these on a post my one and only thought is god help the crew that has to deal with passengers such as yourself....:rolleyes::rolleyes::eek:

I'm not sure why you think I'm rude to the crew. It's not the wait staffs fault that food is mass produced and under seasoned or dry. It's not the seating staffs fault the system is flawed. I never saw one single staff member in the restaurants doing anything less that their best. Those people were working their tails off. I don't complain or ask for something different. I just push it aside, thank the server and go to the show.

I'll take this opportunity to say that it's not a personal insult to anyone if you like the food and I didn't. I know it's not reasonable to expect good food on any cruise ship. You can't feed that many people and have food that will please everyone. My comments are jokes intended to make the best of a less than pleasant dining experience.

I am not a problem cruiser. I'm thoughtful to the staff and a damn good tipper. Obviously I love it or I wouldn't keep cruising.

Do you do any research before you travel?

In the past I used to research for months. I always read cruise critic of course and I like to read Trip Advisor. I find you will get the most direct opinion. I also know that some people can't be pleased no matter what and some people love everything no matter what. I've read several reviews on Oasis of the Seas and it was on par with what I've read for me.

First off, I never said to go into a cruise expecting bad food or to adjust your expectation for good food. I just said to have reasonable expectations. It is alright to have different opinions regarding food, and I was telling it how it is. Sure, it isn't food that would be served in a 5-star restaurant, but the food is perfectly suitable for many people. Some find the food deplorable, some find it fair, some find it good, some find it great, and some find it excellent.

 

And second, I was providing my feedback to another poster who was worried about the quality of food. I was not putting my thoughts out there to contradict the OP's review. I just wanted to provide additional info to help that poster see the opinions from two different people and show that the food can be terrible for one person, but great for another...

 

 

And this right here is why I usually don't bother to participate in these sort of threads.

Our friend that traveled with us loved the food at every restaurant. He had 3 plates for breakfast one morning. He didn't have one single complaint. I'm not sure he actually tasted the food at the rate he was shoveling it down. :D

Considering tapas are supposed to be Spanish food, that is a compliment :p

 

While I myself have no grudges against you not being a Royal cheerleader, I also wondered about your choice of words.

Just because people don't have anything to complain about in their reports, it doesn't mean they are not being honest. Or frank. Or direct.

 

I myself haven't had much to complain about but I guarantee I've written about the negatives if and when there have been any.

 

So maybe it's just that people thought you were calling them dishonest compared to yourself. We all know how well THAT goes down in this forum :rolleyes:;)

 

Do wish though that you'll find out soon how to post photos!!

I used "honest" to let you know that I would have some complaints. It was mostly for people who don't want to hear anything negative. Clearly I had a great time and I liked the ship very much.

I apologize for causing controversy by using the word honest.

True, food is so subjective. I loved Vintages, with the exception of the octopus. I do not understand the OP hating everything in Vintages. As hard as I tried I could not sample everything on the menu.

We ate there the last night and I was pretty burned out. I actually tried the octupus. It really didn't have a taste. We share the 8 piece sampler. I didn't like the meats. It was very similar to the food in Spain. It just wasn't for me or any of us. :p

I see these comments whenever someone says the food was not great. Why should I have my expectation of good food adjusted down so I won't be disappointed? If the food is not good as shared by OP then it's not great period for them. No one should have to go into the cruise expecting bad food. Let the OP share "their" thoughts without reproach.

I've cruised enough to know the food probably won't be good. I'm not sure I've ever eaten at a 5 star restaurant. One of my sons says the food starts out good and gets worse each day because they are unstacking the boxes. :D

We had this same experience out of DFW on American Airlines, flying in on the first day of the cruise. We got our bags on time -- just barely.

I don't even want to think about how bad I would have freaked out. The nail technician in the spa said it is not unusual for guests to receive their bags at the first port of call.

Day 1 and then I have to close for the day.

Embarkation was very easy. I cruise out of Galveston at least once a year and it's the most inefficient port in my experience. The porters were at the curb to get our bags off the dump motels most excellent free shuttle. We are gold members because it was our second RCL cruise so we were able to go to the express line. There were only about 6 families ahead of us. The other line looked like it might take about 20 minutes. That's not bad considering I've waited over an hour at other ports. We were at the desk with our Sea Pass (pronounced seepus) cards in less than 10 minutes.

Our friends had just finished checking in and were waiting for us just past the check in counter. We had our traditional embarkation photo taken and we were on board. We felt much better.

We were told the Windjammer was very crowded and we were directed to the Solarium lounge. It wasn't crowded at all. It had a decent selection. It was typical cruise buffet food. It was around 12:45 and we were very hungry at this point after a stressful morning. We ate it like it was good and soaked up the atmosphere. I was still traumatized from the dump hotel but I was starting to feel better. :)

The solarium area is my favorite part of the ship. It's not as crowded and it feels like a fancy hotel to me. We ate breakfast and lounged around there on another day. It's always very clean. The whole ship is very clean. I think it's because there are plenty of garbage cans. I've been on ships that you couldn't find a garbage can. There was also a very large custodial staff. One guy from Macedonia stopped to chat with us one morning. He told us how much he hated his job. We sympathized with him and laughed about it when he left.

They opened the rooms at 1:30. I think we received the infamous bags before the muster drill. The muster drill was a video in a dining room and very easy. Total time was about 15 minutes. My last muster drill on RCL was out on the deck and I was standing directly under the speaker and a very tall shipmates armpit as the instructions were given in 3 languages. My brain was rattling around inside my skull. I realize it's important. I just prefer the video.

We spent the rest of the day exploring. We had dinner in the MDR and that was problematic. We had reservations for the Aqua show at 9:00. We were told in the Solarium by the restaurant staff at lunch that we wouldn't need to make dinner reservation if we ate at 6 o'clock. That wasn't true. My recommendation is to make a dinner reservation if you have show reservations. We waited 45 minutes for a table for 6. There was a line for people with reservations and a line for the rest of us poor suckers. The reservations were seated first of course. Once we were seated it was typical cruise dining speed. We opted to skip dessert because I really wanted to see that show. You would think I would learn my lesson because the next time we went to the MDR it happened again. I'm a slow learner. I don't even remember what I ate. I think it was dry chicken. I don't see the point in reservations for my time dining. Don't call it my time dining if you need a reservation. Norwegian has the market in this area. You just show up and eat dinner.

The Aqua show was the bomb. They were amazing athletes. The stage raises and lowers underwater. It gives the illusion that they are dancing on water and you think the diver is diving into shallow water. The shows were my favorite part of the cruise. I have noticed that the entertainment is improving on most cruise ships. RCL definitely invests in this area. I was very entertained and I quickly forgot about the dining experience. I don't care about the food anyway. I just didn't want to miss the show.

We spent time on our balcony and then went to bed. I didn't sleep as well as I wanted the first few nights but it was definitely better than the dump and I rarely heard a sound at night. The next day we asked our most excellent cabin steward to put an egg crate on the bed. She was awesome.

Tomorrow is Nassau. I promise I have pictures and I think I've figured out this embedding business. :cool:

Really enjoying your review so far .. it sounds like quite an ordeal u had to endure for ur first night !

 

I appreciate the honesty u are being chided for here .. we know that the RC cheerleaders on here will go for anyones throat who dare criticize "their" line .. especially Oasis or Allure .. so I see how this took a bit of courage ... keep it coming !

 

 

My only question is: why the smarmy voice when saying this? U confused me a little on this one! ;)

The smarmy voice was because I was jealous that they had a nice relaxing experience on a comfortable airline. I didn't really begrudge them. I was just pretending to be a sore head. ;)

I'm (reluctantly) still reading...

You really should stop reading. It's not going to get better.