Royal Caribbean make changes – at a cost!

Royal Caribbean, ever the forward thinking cruise line, are making more changes to their fleet over the coming months. One change will be the fleetwide  will be a high-speed internet connection which was first introduced on the Quantum class of ships. Internet connection problems at sea should be a thing of the past with this new satellite internet technology and connection should be as efficient as it is on land. Connection should be much more reliable, even allowing guests to stream movies through their phone should they wish – is there not enough to keep them occupied on board anyway? I have to say I have never understood the obsession some people have with wi-fi while they are on a cruise, I think it is fantastic to be freed up from social media, emails and life in general while I’m on a ship but there you go, each to their own I suppose. This new service won’t come cheap though, $15 per day is the cost although they will allow you to connect another device for a reduced cost if two people want connection. The service will be offered from 1st May for those of you interested.

In other news Royal Caribbean are once again upping their Gratuities, granted only 55 cent per person per day, having only upped them 10 months ago. Not a huge increase but it all adds up the overall cost of your cruise. Gratuities are still a bone of contention for many passengers with many people, myself included, wishing they would just incorporate them in the overall price of the cruise and pay the staff more then it would just be job done wouldn’t it. Sadly I can’t see this happening any time soon.

And finally, some good news to end on, it has finally been confirmed that Dynamic Dining is to be scrapped. In theory it sounded fantastic, doing away with the traditional dining room and having a selection of themed restaurants that guests could choose to dine in. Unfortunately it just didn’t work in practice and many passengers were left disappointed when they couldn’t get into the restaurant of their choice and it has been a bit chaotic to say the least. Royal have given it a good go but have realised that a more traditional approach to dining is the best way to cater for such a huge number of guests on a daily basis. Quantum of the Seas, currently based in the Far East will continue to offer Dynamic Dining – it must work well for the Chinese market!

For more information on Royal Caribbean cruises please give me a call on 0330 303 8184 or email me at [email protected] and I will be delighted to talk to you as always.

Happy Cruising!