Totally agree and also hope they keep the e-muster. On my last cruise pre-covid, an elderly gentleman fainted during the muster drill because of having to wait outside in the heat. Thankfully, he was ok but sure not the way to start a vacation!
Another positive change to eliminate so many cruisers in the nightly happy hour in the Diamond Lounge is to allow Diamond and above cruisers complimentary drinks throughout the day. Game changer! Royal has also been good to supply cruisers with masks when the mask requirement was in place. Also providing a small bottle of antibacterial hand sanitizer has been a positive.
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog I miss the old days when the Diamond Club happy hour drinks did not count against the drinks on your card. Also, I miss the happy hour snacks when I choose to use one of the other watering holes instead of the Diamond lounge. Further, in the past, it was nice to socialize with other frequent cruisers in the lounge. I did not experience that on my last 2 cruises in January in other lounges, since they are open to everyone. On the flip side, with so many Diamonds these days, we don't all fit into the official Diamond lounge during happy hour. On one cruise we just took over the entire lounge where the Diamond club was located. That was fun.
Related to the lower capacity, it makes perfect day Coco cay even more enjoyable having the extra elbow room on the island. I was there from Oasis last October that sailed at half capacity and was the only ship docked on Coco cay day and it was delightful
You guys are just lucky you can cruise. I’m from Australia and we are desperately wanting to sail but cruising hasn’t been cleared by our government yet
We definitely love the app. Pre- loading all our documents ahead of time and then getting a specific time to go the terminal for the check in is so nice. So much better than hanging around with a thousand others waiting to cram on the ship at the same time. Also, the menu in the app is great. As someone trying to keep track of my calories and WW points, it's helpful to know and plan ahead of time what I'm going to order. The only drawback to the app we found last time, since we had a later check-in, was that most of the shows were booked by the time we got onboard and were able to connect. Hopefully we'll have better luck next trip with an earlier boarding time.
@@heidiwildauer yes. Wonder has a small non-smoking casino, glass doors to help block the smoke from the MDR, and adding filtration systems including half of the “smoking” side as non-smoking. There was a noticeable improvement the night we walked thru. Time will tell if the smell seeps into the carpet, walls and ceilings as well as how it goes when it returns to full capacity. Not a big deal for me to avoid it… just would have been nice to hang out there occasionally and play craps or blackjack
Love them all!!! We sailed 2 weeks ago on the Allure of the seas. It was AMAZING!!! The ship was at 50% and being able to do all we wanted without long waits made it so much more enjoyable. Completed the eMuster drill the night before and we were amazed how simple it was once on board! I hope they do continue with staff serving in the Windjammer!
One great thing that has changed is the facial recognition process with Passport Control in the terminal after the cruise. Look at the tablet, get a green check and head for the car!!!!
Loved that crew members served us in the Windjammer. So much more sanitary. Love the e-muster drill. So much better. Loved the reduced capacity also but I agree that the entertainers in the bars probably prefer when they have a bigger audience.
I love the old Buffet , but Your 100& 10 % Right about being Served .... The New Muster Drills are FANTASIC ...... I still like the old Menu , for Us .....We would be loss with out the Compass , Please Keep ..... Your Pretty much on POINT WITH EVERYTHING .... Thanks Matt ....
love this channel... because of these videos we checked in at midnight as soon as it was available and got an 11am boarding time. ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT FOR MY CRUISE IN LATE MARCH!
Was on the phone with royal caribbean with questions about my upcoming sailing. They recommended us watching @Royal Carribean Blog to get an idea of the ship layout. I thought this was so cool cause we already have been watching.
I’m going on a cruise from Barcelona in July (wonder of the seas). The reason I choose that cruise is because I can drive to the port in 5 hours. My family do not speak English. Menu on the app is great because the menu is translated!! Love this
This mans got the perfect voice for a UA-cam channel like this. Idk if this is affiliated with Caribbean and he got hired or if he just started up himself but it works!
eMuster was the BEST thing to change. You hit every single point. We did it real quick when we grabbed lunch after boarding and then when our room was ready, we just stopped in to check in and then headed to our room within a minute.
When I saw the video title, I thought it was my question that I posted a week ago on FB that caused you to do this. But congrats to Steve for providing you the idea too.
Don't forget those lower prices and double loyalty points! And the 30, now 60 day final payment. Like the lower capacity etc. they will be going away, sweet while they lasted.
Love the reduced capacity but it’s definitely going to spoil me on cruises in the future, my very first cruise was this past November with limited capacity and my next one in March is also limited, going to enjoy it while it lasts!
Menus in app are the best! I’m notoriously indecisive, so previewing the dining options ahead of time allowed me to walk into the main dining room knowing exactly what I would order.
I also love the crew serving in the buffet. Loving the new muster drill to!! I have Charcot Marie Tooths Disease. Standing around, waiting, is not my friend. Here in Australia we always checked-in online days before our cruise. It never crossed my mind to do it at the port. I want to get on ASAP and am usually one if the first to do this.
I'm loving all your choices and completelyagree! I would add the check-in and having to pick a time. I like the organizational aspect and seems getting on board is easier. No more hundreds showing up at the same time and causing a free for all. Keep up the great work 👍
All great points Matt. We went on a RC cruise back in January. The experience of a 50% capacity ship was weird at first, but very enjoyable once we had a chance to enjoy a smaller dining capacity and moving about the ship. Getting off and on with excursions was also very pleasant. The crew seemed more personable since they were dealing with less passengers to talk and interact with guests. Overall I hope RC doesn't go back to 100% capacities. I understand this is their bottom line $$, but maybe more passengers will sign up for more cruises based on the new experience of having more accessibility to do onboard activities. Thank you for posting this!
I love the lower capacity! Excited to go island hopping on Grandeur of the Seas during Easter. I have always enjoyed the smaller ships and stay away from the mega ships.
I hated the muster drill with a passion! I loved the e-muster, it was smoothly accomplished. My husband and my cousins did it a few hours before getting to the port and headed to our statiin when we boarded and had our seapass cards scanned and ditto it was done!
Had to laugh at the muster drill section. I'll never forget my first cruise where I was in New Orleans, and 5 seconds before the Saints kick a game winning field goal over San Fran with 2 seconds left on the clock in a tie game . . . MUSTER DRILL TIME AND THE TV SHUTS OFF
Very happy with the serving at Windjammer. Also I'm looking forward to the emuster. It never bothered me but the one cruise we took with my son, he sat there sulking while we had to wait to watch the video in the aqua theater.
As a first time cruiser in February 2022 I was able to experience all of these not realizing some were Covid related changes. First of all the reduced capacity is some thing I learned from other passengers was the best thing in really reduced waiting and made the experience more enjoyable. I also really enjoyed the app it was so helpful for navigating the ship, knowing what we had scheduled to do next and planning the itinerary for the whole trip. And I agree having the menu on the app was excellent many times we were looking at what we were having for dinner and for those that have a hard time choosing it gave them a lot of time to make up their mind.😂 Thanks to your videos our first time cruising experience was wonderful. Thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
as of right it seems it will be 100% according to my travel agent i have one booked for april (symphony fo the seas) btw i feel like I've become a cruise expert because of your videos! really helpful
I am taking my fiancé on a cruise for her birthday (1st time cruiser), I want to purchase the drink package , but I will not do so because I dont drink. IT's not fare to make some purchase a package when you do not drink. But because2 ppl are in the room both must purchase package and I don't think that right. Very unhappy.
I’ll be the contrarian about the buffet. Trust me, I won’t put my hands in the mashed potatoes. Being served seemed to slow down the whole process. I would prefer to serve myself. E-muster is fabulous. I can’t believe we used to bring our life jacket down to the mister drill.
Loved this video and totally agree. My favorite was definetly the embarkation and disembarkation changes. With preloading all the documents, etc, We were onboard in no time at all. We arrived at our set time, and just had a short line to walk in and then next I know, from one station to the other and we were onboard!!!!
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog what were the disembarcation changes. This is important to us as we are on the Wonder arriving in Barcelona and are cant get stuck on the ship, in order to either get to the airport or to a train to Madrid. Thanks
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog Sorry saw the part of the stateroom. Can we get an early disembarcation if we are invalided. I have had both my hips replaced in the last two years. Thanks
We haven’t been back since COVID but we have always wondered why they don’t have water bottle refill stations. Most major US airports have them and what a great idea. They double sometimes as water fountains but are mostly used for refilling bottles. Just wondering if anyone has put them in yet?
We did a US riverboat cruise as they begin allowing cruises to start again, and they had the water filling stations. Made me wonder the same for the bigger cruiselines.
I'm dating myself, but I remember water fountains in lots of public places - schools, parks, libraries, malls, some stores, airports, and other places. They weren't very suitable for filling water bottles because the stream was usually too localized. As I've reduced my B&M shopping, I hadn't noticed that they were going away.
Yes I agree with your list. I love the online app menus with kids because we can look at the food choices before we ever get on the ship. The e muster idea is the best. My kids never understood why we had to quit playing and stand there… For sure keep the buffet cafeteria style where the crew serves people. I would be willing to pay higher cruise fair to keep the capacity down. The crowds do take a lot of the “fun, relaxation” out of cruising.
My first cruise I had such a miserable experience at muster that I may have never cruised again. I am so excited for my 2nd cruise ever since I found out they changed muster!
Hands down the reduced capacity was amazing even on a megaship. Odyssey was our first cruise post-pandemic and there were only about a thousand people on board. The only thing we ever had to worry about seating for was the show in Two70 and that was more because of the style of seating combined with the socially distanced chairs. Otherwise, it was AMAZING being able to do things without waiting. I ended up doing the VR experience with staff because no one else showed up at the time and honestly I much preferred that vs being a 3rd wheel to a family or couple. It was like a VIP experience and all the staff gave me tons of attention. And of COURSE I'm team E-muster! NEVER get rid of E-Muster! Completing muster means vacation is ON and E-muster means I can get that done within minutes of boarding! Will agree about the menus - we used the ability to look ahead to make sure we booked our specialty dining on days when dinner in the MDR wasn't appealing. Really nice to know we weren't missing out. A thing you missed - complimentary breakfast room service for everyone! Room service breakfast is a great way to get food without the stress of being together enough to be seen in public. Lol
I have no doubt in my mind im gonna love the e-muster but will always miss the old drill...it was a right of passage, lol...tradition. yes it sucked and I don't wanna go back, but itll be remembered as that tradition
I love the emed at home test. One cruise, CVS cancelled our test the morning we had to go and then we had to find another place. I will be doing the home test from now on (hoping for the day don't have to test at all). Thanks for the information Matt.
I like that the buffet is no longer self serving. Food plates are more nicely presented.And I like I don't have to touch the grabbers to get my food that everyone else would touch. It also woukd gross me out, how people would taste the food, lick their fingers and then touch the grabbers 😉😵.Less waste for the cruiselines , now, too!
It’d be nice if they were more transparent about their capacity targets. I would love to go on another cruise next year or later in the year, but I really don’t want to be on a full ship. Especially these monster ships. It’ll make getting into the shows and getting reservations very difficult. I guess that’s when the key will become invaluable
You missed the change from happy hour in the diamond lounge to drink passes. That's a huge change as we will be diamond in time for our transpacific: 19 days at 8 drinks per day is up to about $2000 savings!
I have a question. I missed the excursions special day for royal Caribbean. Is it OK and do you recommend that I tried to get a private excursions once we arrive at ports of call.
I loved the buffet being served to you. I always found people to be slobs and dirty. I also liked people being dismissed in sections, but hated the masks.
I Love that the crew members serve the food at the buffet. The only thing I have noticed is that they give me too much food. If i ask for a few pieces of fruit they give me a bigger serving. If i want two pieces of bacon i get 6. I waste a lot. I do enjoy that it is a cleaner experience though.
I've heard stories where peoples luggages get lost or delayed to their stateroom. Can we hold onto our own luggage when we board or is it mandatory to hand it over to RC to deliver it to our stateroom?
Great list! You forgot that now Diamond members can get drinks anywhere opposed to only at the lounge? Anyway, couple of them, I disagree. While crew serving at Windjammer is more hygienic and is a good thing, I hate having have to tell them to get me a particular piece I want. And often times, their English is not good so they don't understand. Like at one breakfast, I told them to put ketchup next to my egg but they put it on top of bacons! Ugh. Also, maybe it's not on every ship but when I got on Anthem in December, we were allowed to watch the show only once. I loved Spectra so I tried to book it again, then app said something like "You already saw the show. Let's give others a chance to watch the show" (luckily they added another show for all to see so I got the second chance).
I’m on harmony right now and apparently there are about 3700 passengers. If this is reduced capacity I will never sail once it’s full capacity. Too many people for my liking.
Hope someone can answer my question. I am going on my first cruise in March. I booked the specialty dinings (chops and wonderland). Is it true you can order more than one appetizers per person? Or I can reorder an appetizer if there is one I really like with no extra charge? Thx 🙏🏻
Hopefully they enforce the luggage tag order when leaving the ship from room. It is much easier. On other brands that just means everyone go all at once.
People always talk about how gross buffets are to eat at because everyone is using the same tongs. But I always wonder how many of these people have actually gotten sick after eating at a buffet. I personally have never gotten sick after eating at a buffet.
About the covid testing before boarding…what are the procedures if you’re flying to another country such as Amsterdam for a cruise boarding? But will be getting into this country a couple of days before embarking on the cruise. What are the covid testing protocols for that? Thank you!!
Reduced capacity is great, makes rejoining capacity viable. Crewmembers serving win, e-muster win. More showtimes a plus, Not happy with phone apps crap, disembarcation a win , At-home meh most are already expired
I do not like the crew serving me at Windjammer. Slows the whole process down too much for my liking. Especially the beverage station. Pre-pouring the drinks and having it as a grab and go is fine but the last time I was on the Freedom, it was pre-poured and served by one person.
For the menus on the app you mentioned, are they accurate for sailings a while away? We have a sailing in May and the app already has the menus available…are they accurate for what we’ll see onboard?
If they keep the staff serving in the windjammer I am sure it will help their food profit margin because it will be much less wastage. People will not pick up more than they can eat and most will be too embarrassed to back for seconds.
The crew serving you at the windjammer not only being hygienic and help with portion control it also stops people from over serving themselves. We’ve all seen them on pre covid cruises. They load their plates with a mountain of food sit down take a few mouthfuls than leave their nearly full plate and go back to the buffet for round 2 then round 3 because they didn’t like what was on their plate .Food wastage on the cruises were terrible. The cruise ships want to be environmentally friendly but these people think nothing of wasting huge amounts of food. Some of the countries you visit on a cruise are very poor and rely on tourists to feed their families but as the ship docks all this wasted food is thrown out.
Absolutely agree on the e-muster and the disembarking from stateroom. I also liked Diamond members having their complementary drinks available anywhere and anytime, not just at the Diamond Lounge during overcrowded Happy Hour.
How desperate are we Aussies to cruise ? If you go by the number of cruise ships we had sailing from Australia in a week pre covid . Travel agents here are saying that they could have booked them all out 4 times over based on the number of enquiries they receive . That’s how desperate Aussies are to sail.
I love the e-muster drill!
Totally agree and also hope they keep the e-muster. On my last cruise pre-covid, an elderly gentleman fainted during the muster drill because of having to wait outside in the heat. Thankfully, he was ok but sure not the way to start a vacation!
Another positive change to eliminate so many cruisers in the nightly happy hour in the Diamond Lounge is to allow Diamond and above cruisers complimentary drinks throughout the day. Game changer! Royal has also been good to supply cruisers with masks when the mask requirement was in place. Also providing a small bottle of antibacterial hand sanitizer has been a positive.
I knew I forgot something! YES! This has been an incredible change for Diamond guests.
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog you should do a part 2 of stuff you left out of the first video
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog I miss the old days when the Diamond Club happy hour drinks did not count against the drinks on your card. Also, I miss the happy hour snacks when I choose to use one of the other watering holes instead of the Diamond lounge. Further, in the past, it was nice to socialize with other frequent cruisers in the lounge. I did not experience that on my last 2 cruises in January in other lounges, since they are open to everyone.
On the flip side, with so many Diamonds these days, we don't all fit into the official Diamond lounge during happy hour. On one cruise we just took over the entire lounge where the Diamond club was located. That was fun.
That's a great idea. So far, this the only one that has come up
Crew serving at the buffet is perfect, thanks
Related to the lower capacity, it makes perfect day Coco cay even more enjoyable having the extra elbow room on the island. I was there from Oasis last October that sailed at half capacity and was the only ship docked on Coco cay day and it was delightful
I LOVE the E-Muster. Such a great idea and love how we can do it fast and simple
I'm with you Matt, I hope they keep the crew serving us in the Wind Jammer! I also like the lower capacity.
You guys are just lucky you can cruise. I’m from Australia and we are desperately wanting to sail but cruising hasn’t been cleared by our government yet
wait your getting served at the wind jammer? i went on a cruise 2 months ago and it was buffet style
oh wait i read ur comment wrong🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️😂
@@kimnovak8985 I thought you could get a cruise out of Sydney?
Up on
We definitely love the app. Pre- loading all our documents ahead of time and then getting a specific time to go the terminal for the check in is so nice. So much better than hanging around with a thousand others waiting to cram on the ship at the same time. Also, the menu in the app is great. As someone trying to keep track of my calories and WW points, it's helpful to know and plan ahead of time what I'm going to order. The only drawback to the app we found last time, since we had a later check-in, was that most of the shows were booked by the time we got onboard and were able to connect. Hopefully we'll have better luck next trip with an earlier boarding time.
Honestly this entire list is perfect. These were amazing changes that made our cruise even more relaxing and stress-free. I hope they all stay.
No smoking in the casino is something I hope will continue!
Same
They already allow smoking again from what we saw
@@heidiwildauer yes. Wonder has a small non-smoking casino, glass doors to help block the smoke from the MDR, and adding filtration systems including half of the “smoking” side as non-smoking. There was a noticeable improvement the night we walked thru. Time will tell if the smell seeps into the carpet, walls and ceilings as well as how it goes when it returns to full capacity. Not a big deal for me to avoid it… just would have been nice to hang out there occasionally and play craps or blackjack
Love them all!!! We sailed 2 weeks ago on the Allure of the seas. It was AMAZING!!! The ship was at 50% and being able to do all we wanted without long waits made it so much more enjoyable. Completed the eMuster drill the night before and we were amazed how simple it was once on board! I hope they do continue with staff serving in the Windjammer!
One great thing that has changed is the facial recognition process with Passport Control in the terminal after the cruise. Look at the tablet, get a green check and head for the car!!!!
I really like crew serving because I have food allergy issues and it being the crew makes cross contamination less likely.
Loved that crew members served us in the Windjammer. So much more sanitary. Love the e-muster drill. So much better. Loved the reduced capacity also but I agree that the entertainers in the bars probably prefer when they have a bigger audience.
I also loved the tables being cleaned in between guests.
I agree with you Matt, I love all the changes. The changes make the cruise experience so much better.
I love the old Buffet , but Your 100& 10 % Right about being Served ....
The New Muster Drills are FANTASIC ...... I still like the old Menu , for
Us .....We would be loss with out the Compass , Please Keep .....
Your Pretty much on POINT WITH EVERYTHING ....
Thanks Matt ....
love this channel... because of these videos we checked in at midnight as soon as it was available and got an 11am boarding time. ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT FOR MY CRUISE IN LATE MARCH!
Awesome!
Was on the phone with royal caribbean with questions about my upcoming sailing. They recommended us watching @Royal Carribean Blog to get an idea of the ship layout. I thought this was so cool cause we already have been watching.
I agree with everything. I love if the crew serving you at the buffet would be on every ship out there.
I’m going on a cruise from Barcelona in July (wonder of the seas). The reason I choose that cruise is because I can drive to the port in 5 hours. My family do not speak English. Menu on the app is great because the menu is translated!! Love this
This mans got the perfect voice for a UA-cam channel like this. Idk if this is affiliated with Caribbean and he got hired or if he just started up himself but it works!
eMuster was the BEST thing to change. You hit every single point. We did it real quick when we grabbed lunch after boarding and then when our room was ready, we just stopped in to check in and then headed to our room within a minute.
When I saw the video title, I thought it was my question that I posted a week ago on FB that caused you to do this. But congrats to Steve for providing you the idea too.
Don't forget those lower prices and double loyalty points! And the 30, now 60 day final payment. Like the lower capacity etc. they will be going away, sweet while they lasted.
Love the reduced capacity but it’s definitely going to spoil me on cruises in the future, my very first cruise was this past November with limited capacity and my next one in March is also limited, going to enjoy it while it lasts!
What ship?
Yesss! E-muster drill is the bomb!
Menus in app are the best! I’m notoriously indecisive, so previewing the dining options ahead of time allowed me to walk into the main dining room knowing exactly what I would order.
Menu on app is so nice. I love to look at menus prior to going to the restaurant :)
WOW! These changes are awesome! I just learned my wife bought us "The Key", which I am hoping serves us well!
I also love the crew serving in the buffet. Loving the new muster drill to!! I have Charcot Marie Tooths Disease. Standing around, waiting, is not my friend. Here in Australia we always checked-in online days before our cruise. It never crossed my mind to do it at the port. I want to get on ASAP and am usually one if the first to do this.
I'm loving all your choices and completelyagree! I would add the check-in and having to pick a time. I like the organizational aspect and seems getting on board is easier. No more hundreds showing up at the same time and causing a free for all. Keep up the great work 👍
Yes! The Waiting is the Hardest Part!
All great points Matt. We went on a RC cruise back in January. The experience of a 50% capacity ship was weird at first, but very enjoyable once we had a chance to enjoy a smaller dining capacity and moving about the ship. Getting off and on with excursions was also very pleasant. The crew seemed more personable since they were dealing with less passengers to talk and interact with guests. Overall I hope RC doesn't go back to 100% capacities. I understand this is their bottom line $$, but maybe more passengers will sign up for more cruises based on the new experience of having more accessibility to do onboard activities. Thank you for posting this!
I love the lower capacity! Excited to go island hopping on Grandeur of the Seas during Easter. I have always enjoyed the smaller ships and stay away from the mega ships.
Total opposite love the bigger ships
I love the disembarkation from the rooms. I haven't experienced that yet.
I hated the muster drill with a passion! I loved the e-muster, it was smoothly accomplished. My husband and my cousins did it a few hours before getting to the port and headed to our statiin when we boarded and had our seapass cards scanned and ditto it was done!
Great video Matt. You hit every important point.
Had to laugh at the muster drill section. I'll never forget my first cruise where I was in New Orleans, and 5 seconds before the Saints kick a game winning field goal over San Fran with 2 seconds left on the clock in a tie game . . . MUSTER DRILL TIME AND THE TV SHUTS OFF
Omg!
Very happy with the serving at Windjammer.
Also I'm looking forward to the emuster. It never bothered me but the one cruise we took with my son, he sat there sulking while we had to wait to watch the video in the aqua theater.
As a first time cruiser in February 2022 I was able to experience all of these not realizing some were Covid related changes. First of all the reduced capacity is some thing I learned from other passengers was the best thing in really reduced waiting and made the experience more enjoyable. I also really enjoyed the app it was so helpful for navigating the ship, knowing what we had scheduled to do next and planning the itinerary for the whole trip. And I agree having the menu on the app was excellent many times we were looking at what we were having for dinner and for those that have a hard time choosing it gave them a lot of time to make up their mind.😂 Thanks to your videos our first time cruising experience was wonderful. Thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
as of right it seems it will be 100% according to my travel agent i have one booked for april (symphony fo the seas) btw i feel like I've become a cruise expert because of your videos! really helpful
So excited!! Haven’t been on a cruise since before Covid but will be going on Wonder of the Seas in March!! 🤩
Crew member serving at the Windjammer is a change that I hope becomes a permanent one 😊
Thank you Matt, you do a great job in bringing great insights into cruising. It will make out cruise in April much better.
Totally agree with all especially the mustar grill and serving by crew in the wind jammer
Thank you so much
I am taking my fiancé on a cruise for her birthday (1st time cruiser), I want to purchase the drink package , but I will not do so because I dont drink. IT's not fare to make some purchase a package when you do not drink. But because2 ppl are in the room both must purchase package and I don't think that right. Very unhappy.
I’ll be the contrarian about the buffet. Trust me, I won’t put my hands in the mashed potatoes. Being served seemed to slow down the whole process. I would prefer to serve myself. E-muster is fabulous. I can’t believe we used to bring our life jacket down to the mister drill.
I'm the same way about buffets. I like getting my own food.
Carnival cruise does all of these too. Atleast on the Mardi Gras ship. Great experience.
Loved this video and totally agree. My favorite was definetly the embarkation and disembarkation changes. With preloading all the documents, etc, We were onboard in no time at all. We arrived at our set time, and just had a short line to walk in and then next I know, from one station to the other and we were onboard!!!!
Thanks for sharing!
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog what were the disembarcation changes. This is important to us as we are on the Wonder arriving in Barcelona and are cant get stuck on the ship, in order to either get to the airport or to a train to Madrid. Thanks
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog Sorry saw the part of the stateroom. Can we get an early disembarcation if we are invalided. I have had both my hips replaced in the last two years. Thanks
We haven’t been back since COVID but we have always wondered why they don’t have water bottle refill stations. Most major US airports have them and what a great idea. They double sometimes as water fountains but are mostly used for refilling bottles. Just wondering if anyone has put them in yet?
We did a US riverboat cruise as they begin allowing cruises to start again, and they had the water filling stations. Made me wonder the same for the bigger cruiselines.
I'm dating myself, but I remember water fountains in lots of public places - schools, parks, libraries, malls, some stores, airports, and other places. They weren't very suitable for filling water bottles because the stream was usually too localized. As I've reduced my B&M shopping, I hadn't noticed that they were going away.
Yes I agree with your list. I love the online app menus with kids because we can look at the food choices before we ever get on the ship. The e muster idea is the best. My kids never understood why we had to quit playing and stand there…
For sure keep the buffet cafeteria style where the crew serves people.
I would be willing to pay higher cruise fair to keep the capacity down. The crowds do take a lot of the “fun, relaxation” out of cruising.
I love love love this content. Very informative, thank you.
Glad you enjoy it!
100% agree! it's all good!
Crew members serving you at the buffet? What? You don't like it when people pick up and replace 5 pieces of bread looking for the perfect one? 🤣
I know, it's shocking I don't prefer that
crew members serving you is a form of crowd control.
I actually prefer taking my own food. I can control my own portion size. I've never gotten sick from a buffet.
My first cruise I had such a miserable experience at muster that I may have never cruised again. I am so excited for my 2nd cruise ever since I found out they changed muster!
Yeah the muster can be horrible. I've had plenty that were brutal.
Hands down the reduced capacity was amazing even on a megaship. Odyssey was our first cruise post-pandemic and there were only about a thousand people on board. The only thing we ever had to worry about seating for was the show in Two70 and that was more because of the style of seating combined with the socially distanced chairs. Otherwise, it was AMAZING being able to do things without waiting. I ended up doing the VR experience with staff because no one else showed up at the time and honestly I much preferred that vs being a 3rd wheel to a family or couple. It was like a VIP experience and all the staff gave me tons of attention.
And of COURSE I'm team E-muster! NEVER get rid of E-Muster! Completing muster means vacation is ON and E-muster means I can get that done within minutes of boarding!
Will agree about the menus - we used the ability to look ahead to make sure we booked our specialty dining on days when dinner in the MDR wasn't appealing. Really nice to know we weren't missing out.
A thing you missed - complimentary breakfast room service for everyone! Room service breakfast is a great way to get food without the stress of being together enough to be seen in public. Lol
Them serving you at the Buffet is great for people who have allergies! It eliminates a lot of the potential cross contamination.
I have no doubt in my mind im gonna love the e-muster but will always miss the old drill...it was a right of passage, lol...tradition. yes it sucked and I don't wanna go back, but itll be remembered as that tradition
I love the emed at home test. One cruise, CVS cancelled our test the morning we had to go and then we had to find another place. I will be doing the home test from now on (hoping for the day don't have to test at all). Thanks for the information Matt.
Does someone have to be present when taking the test?
@@veycorpllc It has to be done with a proctor on line. The person instructs and watches you do test. I used my android phone. It was very easy.
How do I find out about it? We leave in a couple weeks & cvs said our results will take 2-3 days
I like that the buffet is no longer self serving. Food plates are more nicely presented.And I like I don't have to touch the grabbers to get my food that everyone else would touch. It also woukd gross me out, how people would taste the food, lick their fingers and then touch the grabbers 😉😵.Less waste for the cruiselines , now, too!
Your videos are so helpful, thanks!!!
I'm so glad!
As always Matt great vid. 👍🏻 Unfortunately, the lower amount of passengers won’t last forever.
Very true!
Love them ALL! Texas out…Peace! 👊🏻🤙🏻
Matt I am looking for shore excursion info for the upcoming Alaska Season any insight we will be traveling with a toddler
Yes, at buffet they are generous with proportions, but It did NOT work when you ask for “just a little” ...
Awesome video matt!
Thanks!
It’d be nice if they were more transparent about their capacity targets. I would love to go on another cruise next year or later in the year, but I really don’t want to be on a full ship. Especially these monster ships. It’ll make getting into the shows and getting reservations very difficult. I guess that’s when the key will become invaluable
You missed the change from happy hour in the diamond lounge to drink passes. That's a huge change as we will be diamond in time for our transpacific: 19 days at 8 drinks per day is up to about $2000 savings!
So right!
I have a question. I missed the excursions special day for royal Caribbean. Is it OK and do you recommend that I tried to get a private excursions once we arrive at ports of call.
I loved the buffet being served to you. I always found people to be slobs and dirty. I also liked people being dismissed in sections, but hated the masks.
Symphony April 9th! Woooo Spring Break! I hope it's still a reduced capacity to be able to experience the lower crowds.
I Love that the crew members serve the food at the buffet. The only thing I have noticed is that they give me too much food. If i ask for a few pieces of fruit they give me a bigger serving. If i want two pieces of bacon i get 6. I waste a lot. I do enjoy that it is a cleaner experience though.
I've heard stories where peoples luggages get lost or delayed to their stateroom. Can we hold onto our own luggage when we board or is it mandatory to hand it over to RC to deliver it to our stateroom?
Great list! You forgot that now Diamond members can get drinks anywhere opposed to only at the lounge? Anyway, couple of them, I disagree. While crew serving at Windjammer is more hygienic and is a good thing, I hate having have to tell them to get me a particular piece I want. And often times, their English is not good so they don't understand. Like at one breakfast, I told them to put ketchup next to my egg but they put it on top of bacons! Ugh. Also, maybe it's not on every ship but when I got on Anthem in December, we were allowed to watch the show only once. I loved Spectra so I tried to book it again, then app said something like "You already saw the show. Let's give others a chance to watch the show" (luckily they added another show for all to see so I got the second chance).
You're totally right about the Diamond drinks!
I put the down payment, will the rest be taken out after the cruise or right before?
Charades would've been more fun with more guests. I wish they would've had more than one session of charades too.
Hi!
Is the Menu in the RC app available in other languages?
If not, that's my suggestion for forgein passengers.
I’m on harmony right now and apparently there are about 3700 passengers. If this is reduced capacity I will never sail once it’s full capacity. Too many people for my liking.
We sailed on Harmony back in 2017 and it was 100% capacity. That experience put me off cruising for a few years 😀
What about the excursion can do ship porch for people to get off the ship
I guess that’s gonna stink for me because I do not have a phone. I gave it up seven years ago and I don’t miss it.
Royal Caribbean should keep the hand washing stations and the crew servers at the Wind Jammer.
I like servicing my self in the buffet when the crew derive I have to wait to be served
Hope someone can answer my question. I am going on my first cruise in March. I booked the specialty dinings (chops and wonderland). Is it true you can order more than one appetizers per person? Or I can reorder an appetizer if there is one I really like with no extra charge? Thx 🙏🏻
Yes, you can order more if you want. My son always has a second lobster on lobster night.
Yes you can
Hopefully they enforce the luggage tag order when leaving the ship from room. It is much easier. On other brands that just means everyone go all at once.
People always talk about how gross buffets are to eat at because everyone is using the same tongs. But I always wonder how many of these people have actually gotten sick after eating at a buffet. I personally have never gotten sick after eating at a buffet.
I wish they would do away with the pre cruise testing.
About the covid testing before boarding…what are the procedures if you’re flying to another country such as Amsterdam for a cruise boarding? But will be getting into this country a couple of days before embarking on the cruise. What are the covid testing protocols for that? Thank you!!
In the US, it doesnt matter where you're from. Testing rules same for all
Reduced capacity is great, makes rejoining capacity viable. Crewmembers serving win, e-muster win. More showtimes a plus, Not happy with phone apps crap, disembarcation a win , At-home meh most are already expired
I do not like the crew serving me at Windjammer. Slows the whole process down too much for my liking. Especially the beverage station. Pre-pouring the drinks and having it as a grab and go is fine but the last time I was on the Freedom, it was pre-poured and served by one person.
Does oasis have the surfing?
It’s a shame it took a pandemic to get some people to wash their hands more often
For the menus on the app you mentioned, are they accurate for sailings a while away? We have a sailing in May and the app already has the menus available…are they accurate for what we’ll see onboard?
From what I’ve noticed yes
If they keep the staff serving in the windjammer I am sure it will help their food profit margin because it will be much less wastage. People will not pick up more than they can eat and most will be too embarrassed to back for seconds.
The crew serving you at the windjammer not only being hygienic and help with portion control it also stops people from over serving themselves. We’ve all seen them on pre covid cruises. They load their plates with a mountain of food sit down take a few mouthfuls than leave their nearly full plate and go back to the buffet for round 2 then round 3 because they didn’t like what was on their plate .Food wastage on the cruises were terrible. The cruise ships want to be environmentally friendly but these people think nothing of wasting huge amounts of food. Some of the countries you visit on a cruise are very poor and rely on tourists to feed their families but as the ship docks all this wasted food is thrown out.
Absolutely agree on the e-muster and the disembarking from stateroom. I also liked Diamond members having their complementary drinks available anywhere and anytime, not just at the Diamond Lounge during overcrowded Happy Hour.
Fun facts
I don’t like taking away that second flowrider
So much for the crew serving you at the wind jammer huh?
How do I get the covid tests shown on this video????
emed.com
How desperate are we Aussies to cruise ? If you go by the number of cruise ships we had sailing from Australia in a week pre covid . Travel agents here are saying that they could have booked them all out 4 times over based on the number of enquiries they receive . That’s how desperate Aussies are to sail.
They need to make chat free in the app.