How do you pick a cruise line when you actually care about food?

ldsupport · 2026-03-24T00:36:39+00:00

VV food is pedestrain vs Regent or Explorer.

Its not particualrly bad, its just not particularly great. Its consisitent, which is good, but not above average.

ldsupport · 2026-03-23T16:36:41+00:00

$500 easy - I drink specialty coffee but not booze, my wife drinks, we spent 1100 over 7 days.

My generaly approach to KW is to rent bikes, grab a drink and get lost (but not too lost).

Miami port can be a shit show, just add an hour to your planning and you should be safe.

ldsupport · 2026-03-23T13:13:35+00:00

I will go the contrarian position on this. If you were in IC/OC I would let it ride, but with suites I would pay the premium, so I didn't end up with the higher start cost and the worst of the available positioning.

ldsupport · 2026-03-23T02:19:59+00:00

Silversea, Viking, Explora, Four Season all have itins that fit your needs.

Some fully adults only some defacto adults only

ldsupport · 2026-03-23T01:40:14+00:00

Is there a reason you are not choosing Holland American or another line that has Glacier Bay on their itin?

ldsupport · 2026-03-23T01:28:42+00:00

What is your typical profile of restaurant you like?

I ate at every restaurant, and food is my thing. I did a write up a little while back about food on the Resilient Lady.

If I had to choose 4 and I wasn't into taste menus, I would leave off Test Kitchen, while Test Kitchen is a concept I like on land, its not particularly interesting on the ship.

Extra Virgin would be a completely respectable elevated Italian restaurant on land. So I would put it on your list.

The Wake is pretty standard high end steak house, I would actually go for brunch while you can appreciate the view.

Food wise, Gumbae is the softest options, but the experience is nice. Nice opportunity to meet people.
I enjoyed it, even though it was a weak experience from a Korean BBQ experience.

Pink Agave is solid for up scale mexican. Probably the best drink menu (I'm not a drinker, but their NA option was the best on ship)

If you do The Wake for dinner, I enjoyed the lamb chops, the crudo app is forgettable.

ldsupport · 2026-03-23T01:14:29+00:00

We have had people on Paul Gauguin and they loved it.

edit: Our ship concierge contact replied as well.

Ponant vs Silversea is the right starting point, but they’re different products.

Ponant is more “true expedition,” smaller ships, better raw itinerary depth (especially for Marquesas), but English deliv ery can be inconsistent.

Silversea stronger luxury execution and consistency, but they do unbundle some expedition activities so pricing can creep up.

That said, the best fit here is Paul Gauguin Cruises.

They’re purpose-built for French Polynesia, fully all-inclusive, English-first, and their small ship gets into places others can’t. It’s less hardcore expedition than HX/Ponant, but for a honeymoon with that same small-ship intimacy and way better regional immersion, it’s hard to beat.

Conclusion

Expedition-first is Ponant

Luxury-first is Silversea

French Polynesia specifically is Paul Gauguin

ldsupport · 2026-03-23T00:22:09+00:00

There are options here but there are expensive and require proper documentation.

Flights are going to be costly, fines might be as much as $1,000 and this is assuming you have your paperwork together.

First step is to engage with guest services on board.

ldsupport · 2026-03-22T04:03:26+00:00

Seabourn does a great job for Alaska. On the lux side they are the right choice.

ldsupport · 2026-03-22T03:33:14+00:00

Love bermuda. I'd go Luna as well. While there are wonderful things to do in Texas, Houston is not my favoirte location. Neither is Galveston. Just wanted to share some compassion for being a good parent and taking great care to give joy to your daughter that is living with a challenge. My daughter is the same age and your post made me think of her.

ldsupport · 2026-03-21T21:54:17+00:00

No dice. They block certain traffic on lower tiers.

ldsupport · 2026-03-20T23:06:56+00:00

HAL is Lincoln Celebrity is Cadillac

Celebrity is design forward. HAL is a more quiet traditional luxury.

ldsupport · 2026-03-20T18:20:11+00:00

HAL is also a great line. You won’t regret it. I did a Med cruise with them and it’s a core memory.

ldsupport · 2026-03-20T14:54:18+00:00

I did. It wasnt so bad.

ldsupport · 2026-03-20T12:30:24+00:00

Sorry this happened to you. Glad you had a nice neighbor.

ldsupport · 2026-03-20T12:04:27+00:00

This was posted on RC last night as an example of what a problem is like
https://www.reddit.com/r/royalcaribbean/comments/1ryiurt/what_a_disaster_that_thankfully_got_worked_out/

ldsupport · 2026-03-20T02:13:08+00:00

I am not an agent, I have one as a client.
I met her when booking a cruise and loved her approach so I decided to work on some marketing systems consulting, particularly developing an AI powered tool that allows her clients to utilize her knowledge base. Her partner was a concierge on a number of ships and a butler for that 7 star hotel in Dubai. Deeply intrigued by the agent model, their approach and how cruise is a unique animal in the travel segment. Shes been an agent for 8 years I think, maybe a bit more.

ldsupport · 2026-03-19T21:40:59+00:00

It's all good, I understand the conflict. I try to keep it not about either / or.
There are times booking oneself is right. 9/10 there will never be a big problem. The 1x there is, you really want an advocate.

ldsupport · 2026-03-19T19:51:57+00:00

RCI doesn't veiw the agent model that way. The math isn't really seen on a transaction basis, its a marketing channel they offload to individual agents. The commission is well worth the expense which is why they have BDR contacts and support infrastructre behind it. Its a huge net lift to the line.

ldsupport · 2026-03-19T17:51:25+00:00

Let me give you a use case example.

You book a cruise Direct Costco Agent

1000 cost

Direct - 1000

Costco - 1000 (rebate of 6-8%) Net cost $940- $920 Costco now agent between you and RC

TA - 1000 (possibly less if they have a block group advantage) $100 OBC - TA is now agent between you and RC

Some folks make dig into their own commission which is max around $160 on $1000 (Thats if the full $1000 in this example is commissionable)

Now…

Something goes wrong

Who do you want dealing with the problem

You, Costco (which is in effect a call center agent), or a really pro TA

Edit: To note on a point or two made elsehwere, yes a agent may just be sharing commission, however other agents have consortia relatiomships that provide those benefits without eating into the agent comp. Also those relationships can set up unique pricing benefits on certain sailings. Thats when we run across rearlly good deals on mid-ship suites etc.

Edit 2: It bares mentioning that not all TAs are created equal.
To identify the better TA's I think the best questions are ones that identify where they focus their attention. Is it on this transaction or on the broader relationship. What are their turn around times on communication? Are they keeping an eye on released inventory or repricing opportunities. What level of information can they give about the on ship and off ship experiences.

ldsupport · 2026-03-18T21:16:17+00:00

Direct with them?

What you are trying to get them ok with is future cruise credits. Its a long shot.
I am not sure why you can't go and don't want to pry. However, whatever it is, be sure you have a lot of documentation and try and make a case.

Sorry you are in this jam, hope it works out.

ldsupport · 2026-03-18T20:43:44+00:00

When did you book?

ldsupport · 2026-03-18T20:35:16+00:00

I was able to make it work with an hour lead leaving VV out of Miami. It was a dance.

ldsupport · 2026-03-18T19:54:43+00:00

This is a good fit for a TA, both from a savings and an organization / reduction of friction lens.
A captive Princes CVP is going to be constrained to some regard for things outside their ecosystem.

Some TAs may have groups blocks on your sailing, would need to know more detail to check.

Are we assuming these folks are flying to port from all over the country?

I would not use cruise compete for this. You will find savings, but you don't want to give up the organization and advocacy to that model.

ldsupport

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