Anyone been on a cruise with Royal Carribean?

[Violet_Crumble]

My sister's just booked us on a cruise on the Radiance of the Seas going from Sydney to the Whitsundays and Cairns for ten nights. My only previous experience with cruises was a European river cruise (boring!) and a three night Booze Cruise with P&O, and after dreading that it was going to be a floating RSL club that I couldn't escape from, I kind of liked it and never ran out of things to do.

I'd much prefer to head off to the UK, hire a car and drive around, but my sister is adamant that a cruise is the way to holiday, so I've given in. Is cruising a bit wanky? I didn't think the Booze Cruise was, even though I did snicker at the folk who drank themselves into a stupor and then woke up not only with a hangover but the worst seasickness ever...

[TBF]

1. Yes - departing out of Galveston

I don't remember which ship, but we went summer of 2002 out of Galveston - ports were Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. It was our honeymoon so we had a bigger cabin with bath tub and balcony. Food was OK and plentiful. I really enjoyed it. When you get off the big ship and go on smaller boats for activities make sure you take your dramamine. It's a fun way to see different places and they arrange everything for you.

I have also explored UK in a car and given the choice I'd probably do that again first - loved Stratford upon Avon and exploring London. Also went to Bath and many other tucked away places.

[northoftheborder]

2. Have driven around England & Scotland in a car.....

....was wonderful and very frustrating at the same time! We went down all kinds of little roads, came across little villages and churches, got lost, saw areas we never would have seen on a tour or a bus, and met interesting, friendly people. The frustrating part was driving on the wrong side of road, very cranky shifting gear, (no automatic).

I've been on two cruises: first one was on one of the Norwegian cruise lines. Fantastic, wonderful, food, very relaxing, and restful. The other was a Greek ship, smaller, that was part of a tour (part land touring by bus). Disappointed in the food on it, and kind of smelly bathroom. (Funny, the things you remember!)

[Violet_Crumble]

3. LOL. I had to google dramamine to see what it was...

I've been on some small boats in pretty big swells and it never affects me. I got this weird thing happening after I got off the cruise though. For a few days afterwards, every now and again things would start swaying for a few seconds as though I was on a ship. It was weird...

Did they expect you to tip as you went? Like if you buy a drink, did you have to tip when you bought the drink? The whole tipping thing is a source of angst for me. I think I offended a hotel porter when I was in London when he brought the bags to my room and stood there, coz I just thanked him and closed the door and only realised much later on that he was waiting for a tip!

I've never driven in the UK, only done a bus tour and hung out in London using the public transport, but I loved Stratford upon Avon and would love nothing more than to hire a car (thankfully they drive on the same side of the road as me) and drive around the UK.

[TBF]

4. I did tip in the spa - but I just added it to the bill and signed for it

we had a credit card for the trip so we just looked over the itemized bill at the end and paid it. I tend to tip well because I always assume workers aren't being paid enough. I don't even remember with drinks - I'm not big on alcohol so I think I just had wine with dinner. I spent alot of time reading on our balcony, running in the morning on the rooftop track, and treated myself to the spa a few times. We did a couples massage that was great as well.

[TBF]

5. My husband is British so he did the driving -

those circles (round abouts) would drive me up the wall but he thinks they are fantastic!

[cbayer]

6. What you had was landsickness.

Before my body fully accommodated to living on a boat, I used to get terrible landsickness whenever I went to shore. It could last up to several days and was particularly prominent in small spaces (like a shower stall). There were times when I couldn't even get up.

It is truly a weird phenomenon.

[Violet_Crumble]

9. That's exactly what happened to me!

It was always worst when I was in the shower for a few days after the cruise ended. I just thought it was so weird coz while so many other people were seasick on the cruise, I had my sealegs well and truly going. Before the next cruise, I think I'll visit the doctor and see if there's anything I can take to stop it happening....

btw, sorry it took so long for me to reply. I need to subscribe to this group, I think...

[cbayer]

11. The same treatment for seasickness works for landsickness.

A bit pricey, but the easiest most effective preventive measure is a scopolamine patch.

Less expensive would be Bonine.

[SwissTony]

7. Here's a site where you can read other peoples' opinions

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/cruiseline.cfm?CruiseLineID=32

[john.987]

8. RCL

You will have so much fun on a royal caribbean ship, have you looked at the ship online? And all the activities you can do? I have also been on a short P&O Cruise which was good but is nothing compared to a Royal ship. Let me know how your cruise holiday was. Are you going with children?

http://www.cruise.co

[Violet_Crumble]

10. My sister's 11 year old's coming along...

I've been looking online and the Radiance of the Seas is heaps bigger than the Pacific Sun was. He's got autism and on the last cruise spent most of his time in the cabin, so this time I insisted we book a Junior Suite so he's got more room and he can watch telly without bothering me...

From what I've seen of the ship online, it's a lot more modern than the Pacific Sun, which looked a bit frayed and past it's use before date...

[mmorales]

12. Spam deleted by OKNancy (MIR Team)