I Just Sailed With Royal Caribbean For The First Time, Would I Sail With The Line Again?
It also means you will be sailing onboard a new ship and having lots of new experiences, which will often make for a great getaway that is exciting throughout and it’s easy to get wrapped up in it all but now that I have been back home for some time, it’s the perfect time to go through what I liked about the line, what I didn’t and to ultimately answer the question- would I sail with Royal Caribbean cruise line again?
Royal Caribbean were always a line that I wanted to sail with as I tend to like larger ships with lots on them, but things have never quite worked out where they had a ship doing the itinerary I wanted at the right price.
After a year of helping to plan a cruise with the line for somebody else, I just couldn’t resist a short cruise out of Southampton that had a great price on it.
So, with my wife and parent-in-laws I headed for a 5-night quick tour of Northern Europe calling into both Hamburg and Rotterdam onboard the popular Independence of the Seas but just what did I think of the line? That what I look to answer in this post.
Would I Sail With Royal Caribbean Again?
Despite never sailing with the line before, I have sailed with their sister line Celebrity, so a lot of the pre-cruise build up was familiar to me. That included the lines app, which is the same as Celebrity’s, and you do much of the needed pre-cruise tasks on it.
That included adding your personnel information, check-in and the ships schedules were uploaded a couple of weeks before we set sail, so we could plan our days on shore.
You can also book in for dinner, buy excursions, choose drinks packages and choose dining times in speciality restaurants if you want to do them, either on the app or on the website, so in the main the pre-cruise experience is excellent.
The biggest issue that I had was with the incessant emails advertising sales on excursions, the internet and drinks packages.
The price would slowly creep up from the day we booked to the day we set sail, as you would expect, but we would get almost daily email telling us about a great sale offers and the price been the cheapest yet.
False advertising and lying to customers are a huge issue with the industry as a whole but with Royal Caribbean it was constant in the build up to the cruise and with this been my in-laws first ever cruise, it was both confusing and frustrating for them.
Verdict: So, with all of that in mind, I give the line a thumbs up for the pre-cruise experience as in the main it is as simple and straightforward as it should be, bar the email bombardment.
So as is the case with most lines nowadays, most of the check-in process is done well in advance on the app which includes uploading all of your personnel information, taking your security photo, adding payment details, giving your passport information and 24 hours before you sail, you can do your health quiz.
That always makes the process straight forward, but a last-minute change of terminals at Southampton could have made things a bit more difficult, but it didn’t and we enjoyed a record breaking leaving the car to walking onboard time.
In only around 10 minutes we parked up, dropped our bags off, walked to the terminal, got through security, check-in and walked onto the ship.
Verdict: A lot of that is down to how well organised things were at Southampton, but credit should also go to the line so another big thumbs up for RCI here.
When you think of Royal Caribbean, it is often the entertainment that they offer that you think about at it is there were they really differentiate themselves from many other lines.
That does put the pressure on them in this category as if you don’t like what they have to offer, it could really ruin your getaway, but they had no such worries with me and my wife.
For entertainment, the theatre is our go to, and we enjoyed every show in there, in fact they were some of the best we have had at sea.
We loved the ice show as well and the Indy was one of those ships where there was always something happening somewhere and even if you weren’t in the bar or the lounge where an act was playing, you could normally hear it along the Royal Promenade.
A standout for me was their street parties that took place along that inside walkway as they were just good fun.
Verdict: So, when it comes to the entertainment on offer, it is only positives from me and yet another uptick for the line.
When it comes to the overall experience onboard the line, it is just how I like it.
You can be as busy or as laid back as you want to be as whilst there is always something happening somewhere, there are plenty of places to just sit and relax.
There large ships give you lots of space to either join in with organised activities and entertainment or keep yourself to yourself or you can do a mixture of both.
For example, we would sometimes sit on the sofas next to the lifts, where you could listen to the music coming out of the bars on the Royal Promenade but still have a spot to yourself.
Every member of staff we interacted with were friendly and sadly whilst that wasn’t always the case with our fellow cruisers, you cannot hold that against the line.
Verdict: So, all in all, the onboard experience was a great one and they get another positive from me for this category.
This one is always the toughest category to judge on as it is really a subjective matter, and it really does depend on what you order or what you choose to eat and drink.
We never got the chance to eat in the Main Dining Room or in any of the Speciality Restaurants, and as a reminder me and my wife don’t drink alcohol, so these thoughts are based on eating and drinking mostly at self-service places and grab and go spots.
Overall, it’s nothing but positives from me, after sailing with Norwegian recently when the quality of the food was really hit or miss, it was of a much better standard overall on RCI and it also was much more consistent.
We ate and drank at the café, the pizza shop and the chippy and all had a decent offerings and all was good quality- with enough variety to make sure there was something for everyone but with a small enough menu to make sure food was serviced quick and fresh.
In the buffet, there was a decent range of food although I did find that even though we were on a mini cruise, it did start to get a bit repetitive and whilst that may have become an issue on a longer cruise, it didn’t for me.
There was no focus on the ports you are visiting, with the only theming been ones that you get on any RCI ship, such as Caribbean night.
Drinks wise, there are plenty of places to grab included tea, coffee, water and fruit juices, which change flavours daily, and there are lots of bars and lounges around the ship that offer your regular drinks or that have a focus on one type of drink, such as a martini bar.
Verdict: So, with decent quality, lots of places to eat and drink around the ship and plenty included in the cost of your cruise, I once again can only give the line a thumbs up for this one.
For those following along at home, you will likely have picked up that my thoughts on the line have really been nothing but positive so far but this is where things do start to differ from that.
If you have been a long-term viewer of the channel, you will know that I like to take repositioning cruises and I like to visit more out of the way places and both of those are just not where the line focus on.
Most of the advertising for RCI is around there huge mega ships, and rightly so with the investment that they have made in them, but those ships all tend to do the same itineraries around the Caribbean and the Med over and over and over and to be honest, they were not all that interesting in the first place.
When you have so much to do on the ship and the premium that comes with sailing on them, many people never go ashore and that is great if that’s what you want, but I love to explore new places and cultures.
Even on their smaller older ships, they tend to have a lack of imagination in where they visit as whilst you will find a wider range of itineraries, you are still likely to visit larger ports and destinations visited by the majority of other major lines.
Verdict:I fully understand the reasons why they stick to more mainstream destinations and routes but for me personally, it does limit the chances of me sailing with them, so for this one I am going to give it a thumbs down, but for you, it likely will not matter to much.
This one is always a tricky one to judge on as there are so many variables but there are a couple of things that do remain constant for me with the line.
They do have an overall more expensive base rate when you compare similar ships, doing similar routes at similar times of the year with a similar line but, and it’s a big BUT, you do get a lot more included in the cost of your getaway when you sail with RCI.
As mentioned, there is lots happening around the ships at all times and both Broadway/West End style show and the Ice show are something that I would spend money on if I was on a land holiday.
All of their family friendly ships have lots for all ages to enjoy but they also have lots that families can do together, which of course adds great value to any getaway if you are sailing with kids.
With lots of dining options included in the cost of your holiday, you really don’t need to pay extra for speciality dining and the same can be said for drinks packages, especially if you don’t drink alcohol or only have a night cap when at sea.
On lines such as MSC and even NCL, which are arguably the main competitors in Europe for the line, or Carnival across the pond, the line does have much more to do without the need for an extra cost and their ships tend to be larger, which gives you more options and more space.
So, I guess what I am trying to say is that, if you like to busy and do lots of different things on your ship, or if you are sailing as a family and will take advantage of lots of different things, they offer a great value.
If you prefer to relax and just enjoy been on a ship, you may not get the best value for your getaway, so this one really is a close call.
Verdict: I am going to give it a thumbs up however as on my sailing with them, when I got a really good offer, I got great value but if you are paying full whack for your cruise, you may not feel the same way.
There is not much more to say than what I have already said, other than to clarify that I had a great time sailing with them and aside from a couple of minor issues, I would have no hesitations in sailing with them again if I got a decent itinerary at the right cost.
Ever aspect of the cruise was enjoyable, and it was just one of those lines where things work the way you expect them to, which is the same experience you get onboard Celebrity ships, which is my favourite line.
Verdict: If you want a big ship experience, are looking for a family getaway or if you just want a great holiday doing lots of different things, I would highly recommend sailing with Royal Caribbean International, so overall it’s a big thumbs up.
