Folks do NOT ignore the older ships

[ChipLondon]

Over the past few years as Royal have brought out additional ships we have tended to mostly sail on the newer and larger ones, that we consider offer better facilities.

 

However having just completed a Thanksgiving cruise on The Enchantment I have to say that we were really pleasantly surprised with the overall cruise experience. Sure as an older ship there are signs of wear and tear in some areas, but the ship is generally well maintained, However the best part of the ship is the crew.

 

On this cruise I realised the real meaning of the word LeaderSHIP as the crew are guided by some of the best Senior Officers on any ship.

The 3/4 striped officers are all over the ship, ensuring that things happen the way they should. Not only are they are involved in supervising their teams but also visably involved in a variety of activities. They are used as "bring me a" in The Quest, and even add to the fun with other involvement that we have not seen on other ships.

 

The CD on this sailing was the very energetic John Blair and his wife Katrina is the Activities manager, who both hosted an exceptional Thanksgiving Flag Parade with some extra special "add ons" from the normal.

 

But without doubt the energy and attitude come from the very top Captain Shawn McDuff and Hotel Director Mark Rook, along with Nithan (F&B) and Georgy the Bar Manager are a real asset to Royal Caribbean and ensure that the Enchantment Team continue to deliver the WOW. I also want to mention Reyno the Concierge who was the initial reason that we decided to take this sailing, he never fails to deliver

 

Massive thanks to everyone on The Enchantment, we will be back :D

[CntPAcruiser]

We've done Oasis and Allure and frankly, we're done with them. I wasn't particularly excited about going on Allure after our Oasis experience, and that was only confirmed--they're not for us. We really like Voyager class, and I'm especially looking forward to our next cruise, on Explorer. One of these days, we'll likely get around to trying some of the even smaller classes of ships, because of the itineraries, probably.

[Esilef]

I totally disagree! Please Americans avoid the older ships. Book on the new sets and biggest ones you can.

 

Then send more of your older ships to Australia. Seriously none of you want the voyager, radiance or rhapsody back. We will keep these older ships for you.

 

See how selfless us Australians are.

 

Now start sending more old ships down under!

 

P.s. They are not old to us they are in brilliant shape and the best ships to sail the pacific. Australians are loving the royal WOW treatment & ships

[SSVacation]

Over the past few years as Royal have brought out additional ships we have tended to mostly sail on the newer and larger ones, that we consider offer better facilities.

 

However having just completed a Thanksgiving cruise on The Enchantment I have to say that we were really pleasantly surprised with the overall cruise experience. Sure as an older ship there are signs of wear and tear in some areas, but the ship is generally well maintained, However the best part of the ship is the crew.

 

On this cruise I realised the real meaning of the word LeaderSHIP as the crew are guided by some of the best Senior Officers on any ship.

The 3/4 striped officers are all over the ship, ensuring that things happen the way they should. Not only are they are involved in supervising their teams but also visably involved in a variety of activities. They are used as "bring me a" in The Quest, and even add to the fun with other involvement that we have not seen on other ships.

 

The CD on this sailing was the very energetic John Blair and his wife Katrina is the Activities manager, who both hosted an exceptional Thanksgiving Flag Parade with some extra special "add ons" from the normal.

 

But without doubt the energy and attitude come from the very top Captain Shawn McDuff and Hotel Director Mark Rook, along with Nithan (F&B) and Georgy the Bar Manager are a real asset to Royal Caribbean and ensure that the Enchantment Team continue to deliver the WOW. I also want to mention Reyno the Concierge who was the initial reason that we decided to take this sailing, he never fails to deliver

 

Massive thanks to everyone on The Enchantment, we will be back :D

 

I can't agree with you more! You hit the nail on the head! The older ships and especially the experienced crews are great! We have been on the Enchantment and met Reynolds, he is exceptional! We will not travel on the larger ships, the Voyager and Radiance class ships are big enough for us, and offer a lot more in different ways than the larger mega ships.

 

Great information for future cruisers, thanks for posting that!

[SPacificbound]

Having only cruised on an older ship, Rhapsody OTC, we found it beautiful! Neither of us have any desire to cruise on Oasis, Allure or any mega ship.

Oh, and we were cruising out of Sydney which made it even more special.:)

[bigeagle12]

We love the Radiance and Voyager class but are looking forward to trying the Enchantment. Still no desire to try Oasis or Allure, however, we are talking about a family trip with kids and grand kids and will probably give in and try one of them.

 

Still like more of a traditional ship and mostly enjoy sailing the Caribbean. Do not need a zillion things to entertain us or a zillion restaurants to feed us.

[goouchjac]

I totally disagree! Please Americans avoid the older ships. Book on the new sets and biggest ones you can.

 

Then send more of your older ships to Australia. Seriously none of you want the voyager, radiance or rhapsody back. We will keep these older ships for you.

 

See how selfless us Australians are.

 

Now start sending more old ships down under!

 

P.s. They are not old to us they are in brilliant shape and the best ships to sail the pacific. Australians are loving the royal WOW treatment & ships

 

Funny,,but we love our "older ships",,sorry....:D

[ChipLondon]

I know that some people are not attracted to the Mega ships, but we are lucky enough to have sailed on all of the fleet, we love the big ships and the wonderful facilities they have.

 

But I just wanted to say that the smaller older ships also have so much to offer.

 

Obviously a cruise holiday is often controlled by budget, and the newer ships do still attract higher pricing, I just think that if a short break can be considered then some of the earlier ships have a lot to offer.:D

 

Having only cruised on an older ship, Rhapsody OTC, we found it beautiful! Neither of us have any desire to cruise on Oasis, Allure or any mega ship.

Oh, and we were cruising out of Sydney which made it even more special.:)

[Desert Cruizers]

I will agree with everyone. We have only sailed two Radiance Class ( Brilliance & Radiance ) & 1 Freedom class, the Liberty.We have had beautiful cruises on everyone we have sailed but the Radiance Class provides us with plenty of elegance. The Liberty was a beaugiful ship, crew, entertainment, were excellant but DH & I felt closed in with the Royal Promenade.

[Esilef]

Funny,,but we love our "older ships",,sorry....:D

 

That's it we are keeping the voyager radiance & rhapsody!!

[The Big Booper]

I love it when people refer to a Voyager class ship as "smaller".

 

In the late 90's, the Voyager class was referred to as "a monstrously big ship!:eek:" .

 

Times do change.;)

[The Big Booper]

Another point, the main cruise line in Australia is P & O, which uses old hand me downs from Carnival. Next to those, the Voyager class seems like the Allure. Right Oz folk?

[Scotty G]

However the best part of the ship is the crew.

 

On this cruise I realised the real meaning of the word LeaderSHIP as the crew are guided by some of the best Senior Officers on any ship.

The 3/4 striped officers are all over the ship, ensuring that things happen the way they should. Not only are they are involved in supervising their teams but also visibly involved in a variety of activities.

 

But without doubt the energy and attitude come from the very top Captain Shawn McDuff and Hotel Director Mark Rook, along with Nithan (F&B) and Georgy the Bar Manager are a real asset to Royal Caribbean and ensure that the Enchantment Team continue to deliver the WOW. I also want to mention Reyno the Concierge who was the initial reason that we decided to take this sailing, he never fails to deliver :D

 

Some of our favorites here!!!! Their leadership flows down the ranks and all the staff are just as energetic! Thanks for recognizing them Chip!!!

[onyourtoes]

Over the past few years as Royal have brought out additional ships we have tended to mostly sail on the newer and larger ones, that we consider offer better facilities.

 

However having just completed a Thanksgiving cruise on The Enchantment I have to say that we were really pleasantly surprised with the overall cruise experience. Sure as an older ship there are signs of wear and tear in some areas, but the ship is generally well maintained, However the best part of the ship is the crew.

 

On this cruise I realised the real meaning of the word LeaderSHIP as the crew are guided by some of the best Senior Officers on any ship.

The 3/4 striped officers are all over the ship, ensuring that things happen the way they should. Not only are they are involved in supervising their teams but also visably involved in a variety of activities. They are used as "bring me a" in The Quest, and even add to the fun with other involvement that we have not seen on other ships.

 

The CD on this sailing was the very energetic John Blair and his wife Katrina is the Activities manager, who both hosted an exceptional Thanksgiving Flag Parade with some extra special "add ons" from the normal.

 

But without doubt the energy and attitude come from the very top Captain Shawn McDuff and Hotel Director Mark Rook, along with Nithan (F&B) and Georgy the Bar Manager are a real asset to Royal Caribbean and ensure that the Enchantment Team continue to deliver the WOW. I also want to mention Reyno the Concierge who was the initial reason that we decided to take this sailing, he never fails to deliver

 

Massive thanks to everyone on The Enchantment, we will be back :D

 

 

Thank you for posting this. I have sailed Enchantment (once in 2004) and have been on Voyager and Freedom classes since. I will be back on Enchantment in late April next year and after seeing some of the pictures posted of her since her "lengthening" I am really looking forward to sailing her again and going back to the Bahamas. I'm sure I will sail Mariner and Freedom again, (I love the promenade), but for the time being, I will be sticking with the "smaller" ships. Safe cruising and Happy Holidays to all.

[pollux]

Please,please send all the older ship back to California.

I know this will bring many voters.

[Fat Paul]

enchantment, grandure and rhapsody. loved them all.

[Beachin2]

++++++++1. We have sailed all of the Radiance class at least once - no desire to do the "mega" ships. Freedom was actually too big for our liking.

 

Smaller ship = more intimate atmosphere = what we are looking for in a cruise!

[Ander026]

I to also like the smaller ships. I had the pleasure of sailing for the first time on Enchantment about mid November. I loved that cruise and really like the Enchantment. I have also sailed the Freedom, Voyager, Vision, and Sovereign Class of ships. I will be on Oasis for the first time in about a week, then Radiance next November. Then I will have sailed at least 1 ship in each of the classes.

[Pumbaamd]

Had tons of fun being on Empress three times.

Rick and Deirdra

[Esilef]

Another point, the main cruise line in Australia is P & O, which uses old hand me downs from Carnival. Next to those, the Voyager class seems like the Allure. Right Oz folk?

 

The p&o ships can not compare to RCI ships. They are not in the same class.

[GiannaD]

We also really love the Grandeur and Enchantment!

[maureencruiser]

I totally disagree! Please Americans avoid the older ships. Book on the new sets and biggest ones you can.

 

 

I call Shenanigans on you! :D

 

I just think that if a short break can be considered then some of the earlier ships have a lot to offer.:D

 

Earlier ships - I like that! :) This year, I have sailed the Jewel, the Enchantment, the Allure and now, I'm off to the Grandeur. I've debated with myself whether or not people would be interested in a live review from the Grandeur, because every week, we have live reviews of Oasis and Allure. Nobody seems interested in the older, oops, earlier ships. But, this thread has given me hope, maybe people would be interested. :D

[travelplus]

I agree with you with regards to sailing on the older ships.

 

When my Father and I took our first cruise I booked us on the Serenade Of The Seas from San Juan Puerto Rico to Barcelona . This past April we took the Navigator Of The Seas from New Orleans- Rome.

 

This April were on the Splendour Of The Seas from Sao Paulo(Santos)-Barcelona.

 

What I have found is to try different ships from different classes to see which one suits you the best. First of all if the itinerary is good and the ship gets good reviews then go for it.

 

I would love to take the Allure, Quantum and Oasis but am going to wait for the prices to come down and go on those ships. In my opinion bigger is not always better.

 

I loved the size of the Serenade and Navigator and am looking forward to sailing on the Splendour with its new revitalization.

 

I'm 29 and I really am not loosing sleep if my ship has a Flowrider or Ice Skating Rink. While I love the Promenade on The Navigator with the Cafe Promenade I look forward to going to Park Cafe which has great food too.

 

What I like about Royal Caribbean is that they try and take a lot of the venues from their new ships and put it to their older ships like the Park Cafe.

 

Park Cafe has exactly what I'm looking for Salads, Bagels Cream Cheese Lox, Sandwiches, Cookies, Coffee etc.

 

I also love Chops and the reason for going to Giovanni's both times on my last cruise was just in case Giovanni's was not on my next cruise which turns out it's not. So I took a break from Chops and am looking forward to going back to Chops. They had such good steak and dessert and sides and that large Baked Idaho Potato was to die for. We also enjoyed the Chops Brunch on one Sea Day with Champagne Bellini's and Mimosas for $35 per person and included a kitchen tour.

 

I love the Solarium, Viking Crown Lounge and Schooner Bar and the Splendour has all of that. I look forward to seeing the new Centrium shows.

 

I also love the BBQ's up on deck man those ribs they had on my last cruise were very delicious.

 

I also love the Tutti Frutti Salad Bar and Lunches in the Main Dining Room on Sea Days.

 

We got such attentive service on both the Serenade and Navigator and hope we get the same on the Splendour. I love how the Splendour is not that big.

 

We got a Large Oceanview room on Deck 3 and its easy to walk up the stairs to the dining room and pool. There are plenty of elevators as well.

 

Smaller is better because you can embark and disembark quicker. Why wait in lines to board the Oasis when you can go onboard a more intimate cruise.

 

I really can't see myself taking the Oasis across the pond but you never know. Now the Quantum with it's Loft Suites looks really nice but it's not like I have to have one of those suites.

 

I don't mind taking a shower in the stateroom but I do use the Gym shower as its larger and easier to maneuver in.

[Clarea]

We recently finished a thoroughly enjoyable transatlantic cruise on Legend, the smallest ship in the fleet. We look forward to whenever we can fit in another cruise on Legend.

[The_Big_M]

I love it when people refer to a Voyager class ship as "smaller".

 

In the late 90's, the Voyager class was referred to as "a monstrously big ship!:eek:" .

 

Times do change.;)

 

Very true.

 

I enjoyed reading the plaque on Voyager, which talked about her being the largest cruise ship. Of course, that plaque was made when she launched.