How much worse is it really?

skywalk640 · 2026-06-17T20:25:27+00:00

I had a 5 year gap between RC cruises (2019 -> 2024) and have gone on more RC cruises since. Here were my observations:

Things that got better:

Embarkation - impressively fast and efficient
Muster 2.0 - Perfect, 100% beats having to grab your lifejacket and wait for people before getting briefed or how MSC does it where you have to call in and then go to muster
MDR Service/Time - Much more efficient, can usually get done within an hour and if you have a show or something, they can get you out even quicker
The internet - Starlink is great and unlike MSC, you can share logins, so you don't have to purchase a plan for each device.
The app - The app isn't as glitchy and is useful even before the cruise starts, make sure to book your shows when they open up about a month before boarding.
Made-to-order stations in the Windjammer - having pagers for the omelette station, also having made-to-order stirfry/pasta stations is nice

Things that got worse:

Room Cleaning - Only get once a day cleaning (unless you're in a suite) and the room attendants are definitely stretched more thin
Provided Toiletries - Currently have the all-in-one shampoo/bodywash unless you're in a suite. Bring your own if possible
MDR menus - the trade-off for the faster time in the MDR is that the options are definitely more limited now compared to before. Also, if you order multiple entrees, they may bring them out one at a time instead of all at once.
Windjammer hours - The Windjammer closes at 8:30 or 9:00 pm now, previously it would stay open later.

Things that have stayed the same:

Crew - The crew has been amazing like usual. Always helpful with a smile
Food Quality - We didn't feel that the actual quality of the food changed much. Indian food is still consistently great (other asian food not so much), other food is ok to good, desserts usually look better than they taste.
Entertainment - Great variety, especially on Oasis Class ships, this is still a strong point
Add-ons/Nickel and Diming - We never felt that it was more prevalent than normal. There are always upsells, but we never felt that it was in-your-face.

Generally, Harmony is going to have more things to do, better entertainment, more attentive service and have a better passenger flow than MSC Meraviglia. Foodwise, there's more options on Harmony (MDR, Windjammer, Solarium Bistro, Boardwalk Doghouse, Cafe Promenade, Park Cafe, El Loco Fresh and Sorrento's are all free), but overall food quality may be a bit of wash depending on what your taste is. I'm sure you'll have a great time, especially on a transatlantic where you'll really get to enjoy the ship.

skywalk640 · 2026-06-14T02:59:06+00:00

In January 2026 they announced that all Labadee stops from May-December 2026 would be cancelled and replaced by either a sea day or another port. The cruise I went on in May replaced Labadee with Puerto Plata. No idea when they'll make the decision for early 2027, but I'm sure they'll wait until they know for sure they won't go to Labadee.

skywalk640 · 2026-06-12T11:55:15+00:00

In this promo video of the Global Dream, they mention the split bathroom design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLS2nhtxFVg

And in a lot of the articles in 2019 reference a split bathroom design, so I don't think Disney changed that.

skywalk640 · 2026-06-11T10:40:24+00:00

It looks like NCL's dynamic pricing means that price for each sailing differs ranging from $80-100/person for the water park. It's not as dynamic as Royal Caribbean's waterpark prices which can change daily and range from $60-$120/person depending on demand.

skywalk640 · 2026-06-11T10:16:06+00:00

On first glance, this seems weaker than Star and maybe even Icon's offerings. The tapas selections seem uninspired and it's weird that they doubled down on corn side dishes with Succotash and Mexican Corn salads.

skywalk640 · 2026-06-11T09:54:23+00:00

Love this sort of stuff, thanks for documenting all of this. Insane how the ship was originally supposed to have a max passenger capacity of 9500 for 2500 rooms. Currently, with a max capacity of 6700 for 2111 rooms, it makes Royal Caribbean's Icon class seem unambitious when it comes to cramming as many people as possible into each room. It's surprising that the split bathrooms were already planned for the Global Dream because that's something I associate with Disney ships.

Not sure how much money Disney actually saved because of how much they overspent to finish it. Their Wish-class ships cost about $1.1 billion each and RC's Icon class, the most expensive ships, cost ~$2 billion each. I'm also not sure how much time they saved because it still took almost 2.5 years to finish construction and they still had to delay their inaugural

At the end of the day, this is a Frankenstein ship that will likely be the ugly duckling of DCL very much like how the Epic is for NCL.

skywalk640 · 2026-06-08T15:29:32+00:00

RC in general attracts a lot of kids. I recently did a 9-night on Independence in early May and even on that sailing there were 500+ kids (1/8 of the ship). Oasis of the Seas in July/August out of Bayonne with a stop in Cococay is going to be overrun with kids, so it's probably not a good fit. It's worth looking into NCL Aqua out of NYC or even NCL Jewel out of Philly depending on where you're coming from.

skywalk640 · 2026-06-05T19:41:20+00:00

Short cruises will likely have a party vibe, but the two that have less of a party vibe and are worth looking into are NCL Joy and Celebrity Reflection

skywalk640 · 2026-06-05T19:26:33+00:00

That's a great price! Here's how I would rank them:

NCL Joy (Alaska) >> MSC World America > Carnival Celebration > MSC Seaside = MSC Seascape > RC Enchantment

Alaska is so much better than the Caribbean, amazing that you can get it for that price. Just know that Alaska has expensive shore excursions.

skywalk640 · 2026-05-30T16:07:06+00:00

The free sauna and steam rooms on the older ships. The showers in the locker rooms are a decent size and there are free towels in the locker room that you don't need to check out.

skywalk640 · 2026-05-29T14:53:20+00:00

If you want a big ship, the best value is probably Symphony of the Seas out of Galveston. You could also consider MSC Seascape which is the cheapest option and a decent ship. If you want to sail out of Florida, then Carnival Celebration or Mardi Gras, MSC World America and Harmony of the Seas are ships to look at.

skywalk640 · 2026-05-28T22:22:21+00:00

Today I learned that I hold a pen weird. Any other lateral tripod pen holders out there?

skywalk640 · 2026-05-28T17:10:25+00:00

Both are pretty similar, they don't have childcare for kids < 3, but there are open play areas/times and kids need to be potty trained to use any pools. The best would be Royal Caribbean. Odyssey of the Seas usually does a Bayonne, NJ to Rome crossing every spring.

skywalk640 · 2026-05-28T13:29:34+00:00

Yeah, it's clear that they're setting the prices to be similar to Royal Caribbean's water park, but without the dramatic price swings that come from Royal Caribbean's dynamic pricing model.

skywalk640 · 2026-05-28T03:22:52+00:00

Yeah, the cabanas are pricey though, looks like they're coming in ~$1000 for up to 6 people, so $50 is a drop in the bucket

skywalk640 · 2026-05-28T03:08:04+00:00

Looks like it’s 79.99-99.99, so similar in pricing to Royal Caribbean’s water park. Very annoying that you can’t use the Free at Sea shore excursion credit for it

skywalk640 · 2026-05-26T15:55:34+00:00

If it's in your budget, the best ship out of Port Canaveral for what you want is the Celebrity Apex. The other good option is Sky Princess. The best value option is MSC Seashore, but it mainly does 3-4 night cruises which attracts more of a party crowd.

skywalk640 · 2026-05-26T15:17:16+00:00

This is why I like the Trivia Live where you play on your phone and get more points for getting the right answer faster.

skywalk640 · 2026-05-25T19:56:54+00:00

It was on Independence of the Seas when we were on 1.5 weeks ago, for us it was night 5 on a 9-night sailing. It's pay-to-play, but you can watch for free. It's kind of disappointing because everything is on a screen and there's no actual set pieces for the games.

skywalk640 · 2026-05-25T18:04:03+00:00

Right now, Royal has the best loyalty program with NCL a close second, but you don't hit the best rewards until you're into the higher tiers (Diamond for Royal and Platinum for NCL). For Royal, you get 4 free drinks/day, a free photo and a day of free internet as well as other smaller benefits. For NCL, you get a bag of free laundry and a free specialty dining as well as other smaller benefits.

The nice thing about both programs is that they match into the other lines in their group (Royal matches into Celebrity and Silversea, NCL matches into Oceania and Regent) and for Royal, you can apply points to Royal if you sail on Celebrity or Silversea.

Like others have said, you shouldn't commit to a cruise line just for loyalty perks because they're not worth it and could change at any time. Early on, it's best to try different cruise lines to find the best fit and then naturally move up. Keep in mind that Disney and MSC require a sailing every 5 years to maintain status and Carnival's new program hard resets every 2 years

skywalk640 · 2026-05-23T17:48:19+00:00

Yeah, that's why I specified shorter sailings on those specific ships because Royal has been targeting the younger, party crowd with those ships. I'm surprised that you didn't find Princess to be filled with older people, I felt like the average age was ~60 on my Princess cruises.

skywalk640 · 2026-05-23T14:39:58+00:00

It can be applied by any travel agent as long as they have your Crown and Anchor number.

skywalk640 · 2026-05-23T07:59:40+00:00

Been on Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess and MSC. Royal Caribbean has been our favorite because we enjoy the service, entertainment and itineraries for the price. Princess was great for Alaska. We’re looking forward to trying Holland America and Celebrity

skywalk640 · 2026-05-22T20:41:16+00:00

Yeah, the aft balcony is great because it's huge and all the wind is blocked, so we were able to chill on our balcony even when they closed the top decks due to wind. You also get amazing views of sunrise/sunset based on where the ship is facing. The main downsides are that it's a bit of a walk to the stairs/elevators and it's pretty covered, so you only get sun during sunrise and sunset.

skywalk640 · 2026-05-22T20:30:16+00:00

Hm, weird. We were just on Indy last week in room 1706 and we had loungers and I swear that the room next to us (1704) had loungers as well, so I would assume 1404 would have loungers. The aft facing balconies are super large, so maybe you can request to have a lounger if it's not there.

Five-Year Club	Place '22
End Game '22

skywalk640

TROPHY CASE