What makes a "WOW" Cruise for You?

[Paulette3028]

Royal uses the WOW phrase in describing their cruise line. There marketing is all about the WOW -- they VOW to WOW....but what really is WOW to you the cruiser?

 

Is it more than just the 'impressive walk onto the ship"?

Is it more than fantastic entertainment -- and on some ships, the entertainment isn't Broadways shows, so then what?

 

So, what would make a WOW cruise for you?

 

For DH and I, it starts as a vacation we are looking forward to, to be away from work and home. No phones, no shopping, no cooking, no cleaning AND not having to look in the newspaper for activities to do in our free time. It is a CHANGE of pace of the regular time at home.

 

Food needs to be good -- it starts out good, since we did not do the shopping, nor the cooking, nor the cleanup.

 

I start at 100% happy walking on board. Rarely does that 100% drop below 90% and if it does -- it has never dropped below 85%. Probably some of the issues, Royal has no control over. Those still qualify as "WOW" -- not perfect, but WOW.

 

Maybe we are too easy to be WOWed.

[marci22]

Yes, it does sound like you are very easy to please. You are a businessman's dream customer.

[delirious9876]

What WOW's us is just being on a ship on the sea. The sea mesmerises me and I could sit for hours just looking out or watching the wake of the ship.

 

It helps as a bonus WOW to do this from a Royal Caribbean ship :) :) :)

[NemoCrownie]

• A staff and crew with smiles on their faces acting like they are happy to see me and love their job.
  
• Good food - doesn't have to be great but a nice variety of foods of good quality that are readily available. I also love to see the fruit carvings and ice sculptures.
  
• A pleasant cabin attendant that can make up our room early in the morning - by 11 or so. It is a great feeling to come back from breakfast to a clean room.
  
• A waiter that remembers my requests - for me it is coffee and cream when I sit down and for DH it is iced tea - and is efficient with a smile.
  
• A clean ship.
  
• A steel drum band always makes me happy in the Caribbean.
  
• The sounds of lively live music in multiple venues always makes me feel happy too.
  
• Coffee on my balcony pulling into port is my number 1 personal WOW.
  

 

What a great topic as I am sure we all have different expectations for our WOW factor. A vacation means I don't cook, shop or clean so that aspect will never WOW me as that is just a basic requirement for any type of vacation we choose.

[tm3750]

Fair Seas, Blue Water, White Sand and the warmth of the sun. Oh , I also like the Food!!

[cruisingsince94]

I love just being on the ship enjoying the time away from all the normal day to day grind. Having someone else to do all the cleaning, cooking, dishes, etc. The food needs to be good, I'm not expecting great. A friendly staff is a plus and we have been very fortunate so far in that regard in all our cruises to date. Our stateroom attendants and dining room waiters have always been extremely nice and efficient. We tend to prefer Voyager class and below as we have found them to be right for us.

We never board with "expectations" because we are aware of the cost saving measures RCCL has implemented of late. If we focused on the cutbacks in food, service, and entertainment it would only lessen our enjoyment of the cruise. Give me a clean room, decent food, and my balcony and I am more than happy. I don't care where the ship goes and I do not need to see the same type of entertainment over and over again.

[ivanrocko]

WOW Cruise is a ship that looks amazing in and out, with the best itinerary, food, service, shows and entertainment.

 

 

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[Paulette3028]

Yes, it does sound like you are very easy to please. You are a businessman's dream customer.

 

Life is good if I can cruise. I enjoy being entertained and amused on board -- it sometimes feels like 'adult camp' with the choice of things to do on the Compass. The Cruise Director and Activities Manager are the 'head counselors' in charge of the activities to choose from.

 

But life is good if I can cruise.....I will return to the real world in a few days.

 

I have been in sales long enough to know that to be able to please a customer the CUSTOMER must know what will please themselves first. On our first cruise we had no idea what was in store....we came with an open mind and a willingness to enjoy.

 

Every cruise is like our first one.

[Paulette3028]

Fair Seas, Blue Water, White Sand and the warmth of the sun. Oh , I also like the Food!!

 

I like this, but unfortunately the cruiseline has no control over 'fair seas' or 'the warmth of the sun'. Last weekend it was very windy and chilly.....but still we had a great time!

[John Reid]

If I can win the ubiquitous RCI key chain at trivia!:)

[nednrom]

We cruise to get away from the hustle of bustle and stress of work and to take a break from the wintery weather. We are grateful that we are actually in a position to do that. As soon as we check in, excitement fills the air. Once we're aboard, these are our expectations:

 

*to be able to relax on the balcony with a cup of morning coffee

*have a relaxing dinner with good food/ wine/service

*have our cabin cleaned with ice brought in once a day

*watch at least one sunset and sunrise, sit under the stars at night

*relax in the solarium hoping that parents don't let their kids get into the solarium jacuzzi

*hope that the crew is not pressured and yelled at by the passengers complaining about chair hoggers by the pool

*hope that a fight doesn't break out behind me in the theater because a passenger wants to save a whole row of seats resulting in a drink getting dumped on my dress

 

So as you can see, I've had more problems with passengers than crew on ships. I like to relax and just chill. I won't let little things get under my skin -- I'm on vacation surrounded by ocean :)

Edited December 6, 2014 by nednrom

[JamesEM]

Not having any problems and a friendly staff and crew.

[Toddcan]

1. Great company (DW)
   
2. Things to do all of the time - if I want to
   
3. Unplugging from our jobs
   
4. Great food
   
5. Relaxing on a lounger
   

 

Some of the basics I expect to be there, which I likely take for granted:

• Clean cabin
  
• Friendly staff
  

[lucymorgan]

friendly welcome, comfortable clean cabin, responsive service if there is a problem, short or fast moving queues, interesting lectures and tours, coming back to a friendly ship after a great visit or tour ashore, great music variety onboard and.....

 

Meeting new people at dinner in the MDR and getting to know them over the cruise!

[Paulette3028]

If I can win the ubiquitous RCI key chain at trivia!:)

 

In a previous reply a poster said that I was a business man's dream because I was easy to please.....but I give YOU that honor as far as this goes.....IF by chance you don't win that RCI key chain, let me know -- we've got plenty to share!

[Paulette3028]

We cruise to get away from the hustle of bustle and stress of work and to take a break from the wintery weather. We are grateful that we are actually in a position to do that. As soon as we check in, excitement fills the air. Once we're aboard, these are our expectations:

 

*to be able to relax on the balcony with a cup of morning coffee

*have a relaxing dinner with good food/ wine/service

*have our cabin cleaned with ice brought in once a day

*watch at least one sunset and sunrise, sit under the stars at night

*relax in the solarium hoping that parents don't let their kids get into the solarium jacuzzi

*hope that the crew is not pressured and yelled at by the passengers complaining about chair hoggers by the pool

*hope that a fight doesn't break out behind me in the theater because a passenger wants to save a whole row of seats resulting in a drink getting dumped on my dress

 

So as you can see, I've had more problems with passengers than crew on ships. I like to relax and just chill. I won't let little things get under my skin -- I'm on vacation surrounded by ocean :)

 

In truth what you point out is the case for most people -- that most problems come up because of other passengers and then the staff is in a difficult postion when trying to solve it. As you say, I try not to have any of it get under my skin. And yes, everything is better surrounded by OCEAN!

[jules71]

Great thread! What makes a Wow cruise for me:

 

Great food and service

Beautiful ship

Interesting itinerary

Live music ( love the steel drum band on deck)

Dancing

Meeting crew and fellow passengers

Variety of places around the ship to sit and watch the world go by

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited December 6, 2014 by jules71

[AquaAdventurer]

If I can win the ubiquitous RCI key chain at trivia!:)

 

As a brief aside from the main topic of the thread. Trivia is such a popular event on board all the ships wouldn't it be nice to have a Trivia Award keychain with cruise line logo. On second thought, maybe not, the competition would be more vicious than it already is ! :eek:

[AquaAdventurer]

The OCEAN, the OCEAN, and let's see . . . the OCEAN :D

 

Okay, the ports are an attractive add-on :rolleyes:

[sjb317]

Every cruise has been a "Wow" cruise for me. I am just happy to be there! I love being out on the ocean, away from phones, TV, etc. I love not having to plan, cook, and clean up. I don't stress over anything when we are on a cruise!:D

 

Sherri:)

[Lionesss]

On all of our cruising experiences it would come down to two events.

 

1. Being picked to be a judge for the belly flop contest (Freedom).

 

2. Enjoying dinner at the captains table. (Freedom).

 

That kinda sums it up.

 

Since then just being on a cruise and seeing the waves off the balcony.

 

Sea Ya

[cruiseapril]

WOW cruise:

 

interesting itinerary and good ship excursions

available loungers on deck for sunning

a variety of music, including steel band for Caribbean cruises

nice library and internet area

[homeschoolmama]

Wow! I agree with everything posted, plus am adding a Wow for a thread where people are actually positive. It is great to hear so many describe just being happy to be cruising, without expectations of unreasonable entitlements. Thanks to whoever started this thread and for giving me a smile as I remember the hundreds of wows we have experienced cruising!

 

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[daisy-mae]

Interesting itinerary.

 

No "manufactured" ports of call.

 

Being able to sit OUTSIDE while enjoying breakfast and lunch.

 

Not having to go out of my way to see the OCEAN from inside the ship.

[Desert Cruizers]

Walking onboard, seeing new ports, meeting new friends, friendly staff.