Why did you Return to Royal Caribbean?

[johnjen]

One glance at our cruise itinerary tells a story. We started our cruise journey with Royal Caribbean then one time we tried a Carnival cruise, now you see we've come back to our senses. What were your reasons for coming back to RCL after trying another cruise line? Mine were:

 

- Going to formal night on Carnival Glory, dressed to the nines, and seeing passengers wearing flip flops and shorts;

 

- Being seated, ALONE, when we specifically asked for (and were booked for) group table dining;

 

- Getting LATE dining when we specifically asked for (and were booked for) EARLY dining;

 

- The food was ok, but NOT as good as RCL.

 

Post your reasons why you left briefly from RCL - and then went back!

[mcatmcat]

- I found fried sweet plantain in majesty and I was expecting the same among all the ship

-the ships were beautifully

- service was amazing and the food fantastic ( years ago)

-lots of activities

-professional MDR crew and room attendant

[Wilson]

We tried two other lines first. We have since been loyal to Royal as our signature shows.

 

We felt the food, service and shows were better, less kids than Carnival and younger crowd than Norwegian. Better loyalty program and especially when we combined the Royal Visa card points.

Edited October 17, 2015 by WilsonFamilyNRH

[graphicguy]

Looking at the times I can cruise and ports I can cruise from. So, this time around, it looks like RCCL fits better. Although not 100%, it looks like I'll be on the Anthem in Decemnber.

 

However, I do love me some NCL Haven.

 

They all have their strengths and weaknesses and are unique in their own rights.

 

BTW, I've been on a lot of lines, and I've yet to see thongs and/or backwards ball caps on dress up nights in MDRs. I do see a lot of nice slacks and button shirts on men, and sun dresses for women on dress up night. But, that goes along with the current trend of cruising becoming much more casual. No harm, no foul for me.

[roosterhead]

price ports

[George C]

Entertainment, we do like trying other lines we like a bargain ( but want suites or mini suites) , I just think RCCL is best overall line, but I am sure I will do another line at some point but next few will be on RCCL

[BLAMBKY]

One glance at our cruise itinerary tells a story. We started our cruise journey with Royal Caribbean then one time we tried a Carnival cruise, now you see we've come back to our senses. What were your reasons for coming back to RCL after trying another cruise line? Mine were:

 

- Going to formal night on Carnival Glory, dressed to the nines, and seeing passengers wearing flip flops and shorts;

 

- Being seated, ALONE, when we specifically asked for (and were booked for) group table dining;

 

- Getting LATE dining when we specifically asked for (and were booked for) EARLY dining;

 

- The food was ok, but NOT as good as RCL.

 

Post your reasons why you left briefly from RCL - and then went back!

 

Specifically the activities/ship amenities. We have a teen/young adults and Celebrity (smaller ship) was not enough entertainment. Also, I heard that it was a "step above" but did not see where. Happy to be back to Royal....but when it is just the two of us, we will probably try other lines.

[ken_nyc]

We first started on Carnival and then decided to try Royal Caribbean. I love Royal Caribbean's ships better, easier to navigate (no dining room in the center of the ship and have to remember what decks go straight through from aft to bow). Don't get me wrong we did not dislike Carnival, we enjoyed each cruise!

[gatour]

Bad question

 

While our last few cruises have been on RCCL and in the years past we did a series of RCC curises, I don't consider that we have "gone back to RCCL". We are just trying different experiences for different reasons. We can just as easily "go back" to Princess, Disney, and Carnival after our next cruise. Or even do another HAL or Cunard cruise

[kalliekae]

We go back and forth betwen Royal and HAL. Two different cruise experiences, but both offer things we like. Royal's ships are much more entertaining and have that WOW factor, but HAL's ships offer a better old world cruising experience and the crews are friendlier and see to your every wish. I'm sure there are other cruise lines that offer amenities we would enjoy and we will probably get around to trying them someday.

Edited October 17, 2015 by kalliekae

[KMVigs]

Because the price was cheaper for a 12 day repositioning cruise than a 7 day Bahamas & Florida cruise.

[Big_G]

After trying Princess and then Carnival, we thought we got a better value, more innovative ships, and better service on Royal. We're mixing in some Celebrity because we think the service is a step up from Royal and it's a more relaxed cruise but more importantly, reciprocal benefits. That said, we're looking to wander off again and try NCL.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited October 17, 2015 by Big_G

[Trainman-2]

RCI is our cruise line of choice!

[DeepWaterMariner]

I'm mostly an HAL cruiser at the moment. Longer and better itineraries and a great fit for my demographic. I'm back on RCI because the next cruise is a family Thanksgiving cruise and RCI is a much better fit for a family cruise with kids. It sails from close by Galveston so its the best choice. After that its back to HAL for long cruises.

[mek]

Our next two cruises are on RCL, not because we think it is the best cruise line, but because our last four cruises have been on Carnival, followed by three Princess cruises,(which is actually our favorite line), and we like to switch around. We also specifically wanted to do a couple of 10 night cruises and the itineraries on RCL were the best fit.

[chanat]

After doing 7 or so RC cruises decided to try Carnival and Princess. The entertainment on RC was far better and we love the Freedom and Oasis class ships. Our last 3 cruises were on these wonderful ships and one booked for Jan. Would still like to try NCL once but my husband has no interest on trying another line again. Looks like a girls cruise may be coming up!

[OCruisers]

It's always a good thing to keep an open mind and cruise on a variety of cruise lines!

You'll never know what you will really like best if you don't "Sleep Around"! :D

 

LuLu

[maryjo881]

In April of 2011 I was on a Carnival cruise with my sister and remember waiting in line in Cozumel to get back on the ship. Royal Caribbean was next to us at the port and passangers too were waiting to board their ship. It was so incredible hot that day and everyone was sweating and miserable. I remember Royal Caribbean staff walking down their line handing out bottles of water and towels and how incredible jealous I was. That moment I decided I will be cruising with Royal Caribbean.

[dln929]

We started out cruising on the Voyager of the Seas and fell in love with this wonderful kind of vacation. We were happy with Royal Caribbean in every way except for the smoking situation. The straw that broke the camel's back was when we booked a coveted deck 7 corner aft on the Independence and the chain smokers below us forced us off the balcony for most of the cruise. I was furious!! By that time we'd gotten up to a nice loyalty level so we scooted over to Celebrity, enjoyed the reciprocal benefits and stayed with them until we became Elite.

 

The day RCI banned smoking on the balconies we were back! We've also sailed on Azamara in the interim but at the end of the day we prefer Royal Caribbean. We always have the best fun on their ships.

[catjohnsn2]

We first tried RCCL out of Galveston after airports and flying became too difficult for my parents. We are in Texas and have been on a variety of RCCL ships out of Galveston for the past 11 years. It's an easy drive and no airfare means we can spend a little more on our cabins and get suites.

 

We sailed HAL for many years and back then they had amazing and magnificent small ships that were literally floating art galleries and the service was the best I've ever experienced, however HAL has made changes like most of the cruise lines, and I feel that these changes have compromised many areas of the HAL experience. We tried Carnival out of Galveston and it just wasn't for us although there were plenty of passengers that were having a mighty good time!

 

We are not itinerary driven....we just want a week away with great service, decent food, and good amenities. I wish RCCL would broaden their Galveston itineraries but I'd rather drive to Galveston for RCCL than spend two days of my vacation in an airport, getting to the airport, parking at the airport, etc.

 

RCCL is a great product and we will continue to spend our vacation time on their ships departing out of Galveston.

[roquejo]

It simply has the best loyalty program in the market. All things equal, why sail other lines if you cannot get the same perks as RCCL for us Diamonds and higher.

 

Only when the IT is not avail on RCCL or the prices are way way cheaper that I try other lines once in a while.

[BecciBoo]

Goldilocks and the 3 bears:D

 

It was juuuusssstttt right!

[loveJake]

I left RCI after 1 cruise, still call it the cruise from H---. We are very satisfied with Princess and Carnival, never had a customer service problem. Disney prices have gone thru the roof, although it is the best cruise line we were ever on. So we are giving RCI 1 more try in January, will see how it goes.

[sjb317]

All of our 38 cruises have been on Royal with one exception, we decided to try Celebrity in 2012. We had a great cruise but really did not see enough difference between the two cruise lines to justify the higher price for our Celebrity cruise.

 

We will go on Celebrity again but so far, have not found an itinerary and price that we are interested in. Plus, I hate their website more than I hate Royal's!:D

 

Sherri:)

[BecciBoo]

I agree with Sbj.

 

We tried Carni....never again...worst cruise ever.

 

Then Reflection and the only reason we are on Solstice is because of the unbeatable deal we got booking on board for our Alaska cruise. Thought about changing to Radiance again for half the price but decided we'd have to pay back some of the OBC we were given on Reflection, so we stayed with Celebrity.

 

RCCL is perfect for us. We are trying NCL because of the ship we chose and I'm not so sure we will do that one...

Edited October 22, 2015 by BecciBoo