superduper123

I've done many Royal Caribbean cruises, and one Celebrity so far. Thinking of trying Princess. How similar, or different is the experience? Can anyone offer comparisons on dining, onboard activities, entertainment, etc? Also demographics of fellow cruisers? Looking at Western Caribbean in January from Galveston. Thanks for any feedback.

Great and helpful review! I've enjoyed reading.

11 hours ago, Painter4me said:

I switched from RCL to Celebrity because of the number of kids on RCL and not enforcing no children in the Solarium.  They’re allowed in the other pools. Why can’t there be one area where they’re not allowed? 

We are making a switch as well.  After 20 plus cruises exclusively on Royal, then one on Celebrity so far. We are empty nesters and prefer a more mature crowd.

I am booked on Infinity over Christmas / New Year. I have only been on one Celebrity cruise so far, the Summit, and loved it! I am prepared that the Infinity might not be as nice, but I booked for the itinerary, rather than the ship. We will make the best of what it is. 

This question is for excursions booked through Royal Caribbean. Is there a best time frame to book? We usually pre-book before boarding if we know we want something specific, so it doesn't sell out. Curious if you get better "last minute" deals if you wait and book onboard. Also, it seems like more excursion choices get added as the date gets closer. Thoughts?

Where can I find this info on the app? I am curious to see if it is mentioned on my next cruise.  Thanks

3 minutes ago, fpcruiser said:

They charged that to your Diamond drink. If you didn't want it to count against and you want to pay for those, you have to tell them.   So taking them off at Guest Services, you were getting extra free drinks?

 

Yes, they charged my Diamond drink, in error. I would order a glass of wine at dinner. I check the app later, and see I got "charged" for two diamond drinks in the MDR. I am not sure how they seemed to double charge me several nights. They did not take my seapass card, or have me sign anything.

3 minutes ago, rolloman said:

Multiple times on multiple Royal ships I have been charged in the MDR instead of using a voucher. Therefore, I now get a drink and bring it into the dining room to alleviate the problem. Funny story, on my recent Odessey cruise, the waiter asked why I was getting my own drinks and I explained the history. He said it would not be a problem this cruise so just order from the table. I took the bait and ordered a martini, the drink finally came during desert. They brought an apple martini...sigh. The next night I ordered a beer and guess what...they charged me instead of using the voucher. Moral of the story, you want the free drink, stick to the plan, bring a drink with you or don't order one (from the MDR)

This seems to be the best, and maybe only solution. The first time it happened, I said something to the waiter the next night, assuming this would resolve the issue. But no such luck, it continued to be a problem. 

19 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Were they charging/giving Free Drink with someone you are traveling/sitting with? Don't think really a common issue, know never happens to me... Just pay atten every time you sign slips, look at free count and save them

They didn't have me sign anything.

3 minutes ago, mafig said:

Yes, but they have the ability to bill you if you go over a certain price, but I've never heard of them doing that unbeknownst to the person who ordered the drink.

However, Celebrity does seem to bill you for mini bar items incorrectly.

Good to know.

4 minutes ago, mafig said:

As far as I know, this seems to be a problem on Royal Caribbean only.

Interesting. Other than Royal, I've only been on Celebrity once. And I had the "all included" price, so no counting of drinks required. 😀

7 minutes ago, SG65CB said:

When you get a diamond drink they often (but not always) print a receipt for you and at the bottom of the receipt is the number of free drinks you have remaining for the day. 

 

If they don't give the receipt they usually tell me how many free drinks I have left.

 

If you ordered drinks in the MDR they would count against your free drinks. 

I did not get a receipt when I ordered a drink in the MDR. And more evenings than not, there was a problem with being charged for more than I actually had.

36 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

So,,, when you went to Guest Services, did you find out exactly where the drinks were being charged or double charged? They don't disappear from your account, someone has to be removing them. Find out what you're doing or what you are saying that is causing them to be double-removed from your account. 

Yes, they were being charged in the MDR. 

3 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

we never order our drinks in the MDR. We’ll stop at a bar on the way there and bring one with us.  We’ve had that same thing happen to us there.  

Yes, I should have learned after the first few times... 🫣

2 minutes ago, villager70 said:

I had someone use  my drink  pack at 1130pm one night on the Independence. Used it again the next night at the sky bar around 1110 pm.I went to guess services and they can put a notification on my Card that when the card  or number  is used  they must check ID. No more  problem the rest of cruise. The problem often arises when a lazy servers ask the party What is your room number. I got told by a senior staff member at CS that often people put signs on their cabin door of how many cruises etc they have and the dishonest know cabin #---- get at least 4 to 6 drinks and using their number will proberly be good. They always find a way

Wow. 

1 minute ago, poocher said:

Keep count of how many drinks you’ve had?  If you were charged for a drink, you should have had to sign a slip for it.  And if you were charged in error, did the charge show in your on board account?  Did you tell whomever got the drink for you in the MDR to use a voucher?

That was a problem. They were not taking my seapass, and I was not signing a receipt. The first night, when I ordered a glass of wine, they made note of my cabin number and that was it. 

Anyone else have issues with their number of free drinks getting calculated incorrectly? Last month on the Vision, several nights, I was getting "charged" for one or more free drinks in the MDR in error.  So when I go to the Schooner or another bar later, I think I still have free drinks available, but they tell me I've used them all. Not sure how it happened, but it was very frustrating, and I found myself at guest services too many times getting the charges removed. How can this be avoided going forward? I do not get the beverage package, just my five free daily.

We were on Summit last June. It was our first, and to date, only Celebrity cruise. We had a similar observation. Very pleased with our Celebrity experience, and looking forward to our next one.

9 hours ago, bentl1 said:

Finally, quite a bit of calls to corporate resolved this problem. I keep a list of EVERYONE I meet on every ship who works for RCCL, every person (phone & extension) I speak to on the phone & and keep a list of every sales rep in the US. Upgraded cabin, internet & drink package. It shouldn't have been this hard. 

Great news!

I have never been, and have no desire.

Having previously sailed exclusively with Royal Caribbean, we thoroughly enjoyed the Summit last June. We are booked on the Infinity in December. How does Infinity compare to the Summit? Should we expect a similar experience?

2 hours ago, runner15km said:

I prefer to hold on to my money as long as I can. 😃

Absolutely! We never prepay. 

I recently booked Quantum while onboard the Vision, primarily for the itinerary, but also because I want to try something different. My cruise history is mostly  Radiance & Vision class (19) in addition to three Voyager class, and one Freedom class.

It's not until Oct 2024, but I wonder how much of a shock I am in for, as far as differences with onboard experiences. I did peak at the deck plans, but I'm not sure it's giving me a good prediction of what to expect.

2 hours ago, George C said:

Roll calls have been getting smaller and smaller over last few years , I think some of them went to Facebook. Only a couple of responses to last couple that I started.

I agree. I participate in both, and the social media platform seems much more active for roll calls than this site. 

None. Whatever foods I enjoy at home or in a local restaurant, I will also eat on a ship. I have never been sick in or after a cruise. (knock on wood)