It's been an amazing ride CCL, but we need to move on...RCL show me what you got!

[jenale80]

So after our first cruise in 2010, we were hooked!

 

Now with so many new options so close to home, in Texas, I figured it was time to branch out. I am so excited to be able to take our first short cruise with Royal Caribbean in a little under a year, but I feel like I know nothing about RCL. I have done so much research and met so many great people, that I feel like I am already a CCL pro and I want to go into this first RCL cruise with the same feeling.

 

Please tell me everything and anything I should know as a first time RCL cruiser!

 

What can/can't I pack, take with me onboard?

Fees?

Kids Activities?

What restaurants are included?

What restaurants have fees?

etc......

 

Oh and we will be sailing on the Navigator of the Seas.

[Rick-n-Lisa]

So after our first cruise in 2010, we were hooked!

 

 

What can/can't I pack, take with me onboard? This list is probably similar to CCLs but you cannot pack beer, liquor, irons, candles...the biggies, there is a list on RC website. You Can CARRY ON 2 bottles of wine per stateroom.

Fees? Not sure what you mean by fees. Excursions are extra, Bingo is extra and things like that

Kids Activities? The RC kids club/programs are awesome

What restaurants are included? Windjammer Buffet, Cafe Promenade which is on the promenade and serves pizza, mini sandwiches and cookies, the Main Dining Room, and Room Service, although they do charge a $3.95 service charge on orders between midnight and 5AM.(For the whole order, not each item)

What restaurants have fees? Chops and Portofinos (I'm guessing Portofinos s still on Nav.)

etc......

 

Oh and we will be sailing on the Navigator of the Seas.

 

 

We sailed Mariner of the Seas THREE times in a row (which is the sister ship of Navigator of the Seas) and absolutely LOVED it! I think you will too!:)

[printingchick]

 

Please tell me everything and anything I should know as a first time RCL cruiser!

 

What can/can't I pack, take with me onboard?

Fees?

Kids Activities?

What restaurants are included?

What restaurants have fees?

etc......

 

Oh and we will be sailing on the Navigator of the Seas.

 

Rick and Lisa answered all your questions very well. I cruised on six Carnival cruises before becoming a Loyal Royal. Some things you should take note of on RCL coming from CCL:

• Hairy Chest Contest = Sexy Legs Contest
  
• Not sure how old your kids are, but if you can get away with only the adults, don't miss the Quest Show.
  
• Even though you'll see prices posted for gourmet coffees at Cafe Promenade, the other stuff is NOT fee-based. Stop by for an afternoon cookie to hold you over until dinner!
  
• Your whole family will enjoy the parades on the Promenade.
  
• One of my favorite activities, having attending high school in the 70s, is the 70's party. I always pack some retro clothes to wear to the event.
  
• Another fun activity is the crew-versus-passenger sporting event. It will likely either be dodge ball, water volleyball or both.
  
• Ice skating at sea is a lot of fun. And don't miss the ice show. Really incredible.
  

[138east]

Johnny Rockets is $4.95 with shakes extra.

 

You need long pants in order to skate.

 

Mini golf is free.

 

There is a large indoor hot tub in the Fitness center. There are also large showers, a steam room, and a sauna with lots of towels. If your family is sharing one cabin, this is a good place to relieve the pressure on your one bathroom.

[jenale80]

.....We sailed Mariner of the Seas THREE times in a row (which is the sister ship of Navigator of the Seas) and absolutely LOVED it! I think you will too!:)

 

Thanks for all the info. Didn't think RCL did the carry on wine, thing so that i definitely useful info.

[jenale80]

Rick and Lisa answered all your questions very well. I cruised on six Carnival cruises before becoming a Loyal Royal. Some things you should take note of on RCL coming from CCL:

• Hairy Chest Contest = Sexy Legs Contest
  
• Not sure how old your kids are, but if you can get away with only the adults, don't miss the Quest Show.
  
• Even though you'll see prices posted for gourmet coffees at Cafe Promenade, the other stuff is NOT fee-based. Stop by for an afternoon cookie to hold you over until dinner!
  
• Your whole family will enjoy the parades on the Promenade.
  
• One of my favorite activities, having attending high school in the 70s, is the 70's party. I always pack some retro clothes to wear to the event.
  
• Another fun activity is the crew-versus-passenger sporting event. It will likely either be dodge ball, water volleyball or both.
  
• Ice skating at sea is a lot of fun. And don't miss the ice show. Really incredible.
  

Great additional info. Thanks! We will be on a short sailing, only 4 nights, so not sure if all that good stuff you listed will happen on our cruise, but sure wish we could experience some of it. Our boys will be 10 and 6 when we cruise. They will absolutely love parades at sea, how cool is that? And Ice skating - awesome!

[jenale80]

Johnny Rockets is $4.95 with shakes extra.

 

You need long pants in order to skate.

 

Mini golf is free.

 

There is a large indoor hot tub in the Fitness center. There are also large showers, a steam room, and a sauna with lots of towels. If your family is sharing one cabin, this is a good place to relieve the pressure on your one bathroom.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the long pants, that is good to know stuff. We will definitely want to try ice skating at sea. Are the ice shows, free to watch? Do you just show up to those shows? For some reason, I thought I read something about getting tickets for them, as in maybe to reserve a spot for it or something?

[ricardin]

Thanks for all the info. Didn't think RCL did the carry on wine, thing so that i definitely useful info.

 

 

Yes, you can take 2 x 750ml bottles of wine per stateroom, not per person. Be sure to take them in your hand luggage rather than your suitcase to avoid any hassles being sent to the naughty room.

[akcruz]

Great additional info. Thanks! We will be on a short sailing, only 4 nights, so not sure if all that good stuff you listed will happen on our cruise, but sure wish we could experience some of it. Our boys will be 10 and 6 when we cruise. They will absolutely love parades at sea, how cool is that? And Ice skating - awesome!

 

Not sure which ship you are looking at, but if you are doing a 4 night, it may not have an ice rink. It is the Voyager, Freedom and Oasis class ships that has them, and they mostly do the 7 night cruises. Sorry :(.

 

Even without that, my kids took their first cruise on a 4 nighter without the bells and whistles and it was all they needed to become regular cruisers. As a matter of fact, can't shake them now, they keep wanting to come with us even though they aren't "kids" any more :cool:. So, go and enjoy. You will never know if it is for you without trying.

[The Sunset Glow]

So after our first cruise in 2010, we were hooked!

 

Now with so many new options so close to home, in Texas, I figured it was time to branch out. I am so excited to be able to take our first short cruise with Royal Caribbean in a little under a year, but I feel like I know nothing about RCL. I have done so much research and met so many great people, that I feel like I am already a CCL pro and I want to go into this first RCL cruise with the same feeling.

 

Please tell me everything and anything I should know as a first time RCL cruiser!

 

What can/can't I pack, take with me onboard?

Fees?

Kids Activities?

What restaurants are included?

What restaurants have fees?

etc......

 

Oh and we will be sailing on the Navigator of the Seas.

 

In addition to the ice skating there's also in-line skating (roller blading), mini golf, full size basketball court, table tennis and rock climbing. All free with the equipment provided.

 

The kids program, Adventure Ocean, is awesome. It closes at 10pm but they offer after hours until 1am for $6 per child per hour.

 

AO also offers "my family time dining" as a free service. You arrange this advance (I believe you sign up every day). You must have early seating for this. When you arrive at 6 for supper tell your wait staff promptly that the kids are doing the family time dining and going to AO. The wait staff will expedite the kid's meals and they will be done in about 40 minutes. You then bring the kids to the dining room entrance where there will be an AO staff member waiting for the kids and they take them back to AO for some evening fun while you enjoy your meal at a leisurely pace.:D We love this and use it often. Our kids really don't want to sit through a 2 hour meal - they want to have fun! AO also offers for the kids to eat some meals with the AO staff and you'll have to sign up for that as well - we have not used this except on a port day once but it is available.

[akcruz]

Not sure which ship you are looking at, but if you are doing a 4 night, it may not have an ice rink. It is the Voyager, Freedom and Oasis class ships that has them, and they mostly do the 7 night cruises. Sorry :(.

 

Even without that, my kids took their first cruise on a 4 nighter without the bells and whistles and it was all they needed to become regular cruisers. As a matter of fact, can't shake them now, they keep wanting to come with us even though they aren't "kids" any more :cool:. So, go and enjoy. You will never know if it is for you without trying.

 

Just realized you are looking at Navigator, that is a voyager class so there WILL be an ice rink. Sorry for any confusion.

[dfishner]

Make sure you sign up for the Crown and Anchor society when you are on the ship. It is RCL loyalty program and there are pretty goods perks as you rise in rank.

 

The NOS is our favorite ship, we enjoy the royal promenade with the lounges and shops, We like the english pub also enjoy cafe promenade with those little sandwiches, coffee and a cookie you can sit outside and people watch which is fun..

 

Ice show are free and you do not need reservations we really enjoy the shows

 

My time dining is RCL flexible dining program and we use it all the time in the MDR. If you like your waiter and section you can request it for every night.

 

If you like Asian food part of Windjammer is called Jade as served decent asian fare in the evening.. I cannot remember if it is available for lunch.

 

Schooner bar has pretty good entertainment we enjoy having a drink and watching the performer.

 

From what I remember they do an art tour of the ship which was great it was posted in the daily activities.

[elleluv]

Never mind... :)

[The Sunset Glow]

So after our first cruise in 2010, we were hooked!

 

Now with so many new options so close to home, in Texas, I figured it was time to branch out. I am so excited to be able to take our first short cruise with Royal Caribbean in a little under a year, but I feel like I know nothing about RCL. I have done so much research and met so many great people, that I feel like I am already a CCL pro and I want to go into this first RCL cruise with the same feeling.

 

Please tell me everything and anything I should know as a first time RCL cruiser!

 

What can/can't I pack, take with me onboard?

Fees?

Kids Activities?

What restaurants are included?

What restaurants have fees?

etc......

 

Oh and we will be sailing on the Navigator of the Seas.

 

 

I answered already but forgot a couple of things.....

 

For the ice show you don't need tickets but it is highly recommended. They will announce it on the PA and int he daily compass when and where to get your tickets. The tickets are free but they "sell" out so to speak. If you don't get any you can still go line up and hope the ticket holders don't show and you get seats. They open the theater up to the ticket holders first who get the best seats as they are first come-first serve. They they let the people in the waiting line in and they get what's left over (often single seats and undesirable seats, etc.) people start to line up for the show about 30 minutes prior to start. Get your tickets before hand as it's a "must-see" show!

 

Jade restaurant is in the windjammer on both sides as you walk in. It's free and has asian themed food for breakfast, lunch and supper with a sushi bar in the evenings.

 

The Cafe Promenade is free and is open 24 hours. It offers sandwiches, pizza, deserts and coffee. The brownie is yummy and so much better than the one they serve in the WJ:D

 

For the parades try to get there a little early to get a good spot for the kids to see. It gets crowded!

 

We just sailed Navigator in February with 9 & 10 year olds. Any questions, please ask away.

[rrodriquez2]

We have found the kids programs on the Royal to be better. They're more active. We found the CCL ones to be oriented around indoor stuff like video games.

 

You may not like the food options on Royal if you were liking being able to get food whenever. On Royal you'll find yourself leaving the pool deck areas and going down to the Promenade to get a snack. The cafeteria style buffets at the Windjammer are only open a couple of hours each cycle. There's no upper deck 24/7 buffets like you had on the Carnival ships.

 

Other than that very similar. Same food, same drink, same shows.

 

ALSO if you are booking the Allure or Oasis make sure you book the AO early. The Allure has had a tendency to be "booked" for the week pretty quickly leaving parents on the busy trips stuck. First come first served and they do have a capacity limit.

[printingchick]

Last time I sailed a Voyager Class ship, they didn't do the tickets for the ice show. There were several showings (it was a 7-day cruise) and it was just first come-first seated. No advance tickets needed.

[jenale80]

In addition to the ice skating there's also in-line skating (roller blading), mini golf, full size basketball court, table tennis and rock climbing. All free with the equipment provided.

 

The kids program, Adventure Ocean, is awesome. It closes at 10pm but they offer after hours until 1am for $6 per child per hour.

 

AO also offers "my family time dining" as a free service. You arrange this advance (I believe you sign up every day). You must have early seating for this. When you arrive at 6 for supper tell your wait staff promptly that the kids are doing the family time dining and going to AO. The wait staff will expedite the kid's meals and they will be done in about 40 minutes. You then bring the kids to the dining room entrance where there will be an AO staff member waiting for the kids and they take them back to AO for some evening fun while you enjoy your meal at a leisurely pace.:D We love this and use it often. Our kids really don't want to sit through a 2 hour meal - they want to have fun! AO also offers for the kids to eat some meals with the AO staff and you'll have to sign up for that as well - we have not used this except on a port day once but it is available.

Thanks for telling me how the family time dining works. I did sign up for this option when I booked. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that RCL does this. Usually my only complaint with CCL after a cruise is that MDR service was slow and long and that make the boys anxious and the parents frustrated!

 

Just realized you are looking at Navigator, that is a voyager class so there WILL be an ice rink. Sorry for any confusion.

Yeah, we will be on the Navigator of the Seas, I think the ship is coming out of dry dock and coming to Galveston and the first iten. they are doing/offering a short 4 day. We had to jump on the opportunity to try her out. :D

[jenale80]

Make sure you sign up for the Crown and Anchor society when you are on the ship. It is RCL loyalty program and there are pretty goods perks as you rise in rank.

 

The NOS is our favorite ship, we enjoy the royal promenade with the lounges and shops, We like the english pub also enjoy cafe promenade with those little sandwiches, coffee and a cookie you can sit outside and people watch which is fun..

 

Ice show are free and you do not need reservations we really enjoy the shows

 

My time dining is RCL flexible dining program and we use it all the time in the MDR. If you like your waiter and section you can request it for every night.

 

If you like Asian food part of Windjammer is called Jade as served decent asian fare in the evening.. I cannot remember if it is available for lunch.

 

Schooner bar has pretty good entertainment we enjoy having a drink and watching the performer.

 

From what I remember they do an art tour of the ship which was great it was posted in the daily activities.

 

Didn't realize we had to sign up for the crown and anchor society on the ship, good advice, I will definitely take advantage of that.

 

I love Asian food, so will also be checking out the Jade section in Windjammer, hope they have it available for lunch after all (as we do enjoy our dinners in MDR - well I assume we will with RCl just as much as we do with CCL):D

[jenale80]

We have found the kids programs on the Royal to be better. They're more active. We found the CCL ones to be oriented around indoor stuff like video games.

 

You may not like the food options on Royal if you were liking being able to get food whenever. On Royal you'll find yourself leaving the pool deck areas and going down to the Promenade to get a snack. The cafeteria style buffets at the Windjammer are only open a couple of hours each cycle. There's no upper deck 24/7 buffets like you had on the Carnival ships.

 

Other than that very similar. Same food, same drink, same shows.

 

ALSO if you are booking the Allure or Oasis make sure you book the AO early. The Allure has had a tendency to be "booked" for the week pretty quickly leaving parents on the busy trips stuck. First come first served and they do have a capacity limit.

That's great, our boys really enjoy Camp Carnival, so I imagine that will have a blast with RCL's kids program.

Thanks for the additional info. I really appreciate it.

Wish I could be sailing on an AO class, not this time, but maybe in our future.;)

 

Last time I sailed a Voyager Class ship, they didn't do the tickets for the ice show. There were several showings (it was a 7-day cruise) and it was just first come-first seated. No advance tickets needed.

Ok, so the ticket thing, wasn't just something I made up, lol. I thought I saw that somewhere.... good to know that that shouldn't be an issue on this ship. Thanks!

[jenale80]

Hey to all of you posting! I really do appreciate all the info. I am starting to feel very acquainted with RCL, and I still have a long time till we cruise, by cruise time I will feel like an RCL pro. :D

 

Thanks, again!

[Jimnbigd]

RCI has more and better musicians, singers, and dancers, I think.

[jenale80]

RCI has more and better musicians, singers, and dancers, I think.

 

I have heard that a lot... can't wait to find out.

 

BTW I keep writing RCL, but notice a lot of people write RCI, is that for inc. or international :confused: Anyhow, I assume I have been using the wrong acronym (but y'all know what I meant :D)

[The Sunset Glow]

I have heard that a lot... can't wait to find out.

 

BTW I keep writing RCL, but notice a lot of people write RCI, is that for inc. or international :confused: Anyhow, I assume I have been using the wrong acronym (but y'all know what I meant :D)

 

Yes, RCI is correct - Royal Caribbean International - that's the cruise line. You will see just about everything on here so no worries.;) You're on the RCI board so we know what you're talking about. You may also see RCCL used a lot - that's the parent company that owns RCI, Celebrity, Azamara and others. But the confusion sets in when, once upon a time, RCI used to be call RCCL:eek: and a lot of the cruisers from "the old days" can't break the habit, which is understandable. Then to totally confuse you RCL is what is used on the NYSE:eek: Are you still with me? Use what ever you want - we'll get what you mean.:D

[jenale80]

Yes, RCI is correct - Royal Caribbean International - that's the cruise line. You will see just about everything on here so no worries.;) You're on the RCI board so we know what you're talking about. You may also see RCCL used a lot - that's the parent company that owns RCI, Celebrity, Azamara and others. But the confusion sets in when, once upon a time, RCI used to be call RCCL:eek: and a lot of the cruisers from "the old days" can't break the habit, which is understandable. Then to totally confuse you RCL is what is used on the NYSE:eek: Are you still with me? Use what ever you want - we'll get what you mean.:D

 

Hahaha, thanks for the RC education. I suppose I will use RCI, just so I don't appear as such a RCI noob. ;)

[lalalisa]

Didn't realize we had to sign up for the crown and anchor society on the ship, good advice, I will definitely take advantage of that.

 

I love Asian food, so will also be checking out the Jade section in Windjammer, hope they have it available for lunch after all (as we do enjoy our dinners in MDR - well I assume we will with RCl just as much as we do with CCL):D

 

You can wait until you are home from your cruise and sign up for C&A on their website....you don't have to sign up on board. Each day of your cruise is worth 1 point.