Are all RCI cruises as bare bones as ours was?

[lolo]

Although we liked the food, we didn't have lobster or baked Alaska on the Navigator in April either. It was our first cruise and our tablemates had said to expect it so we eagerly awaited it every night without luck. It was also a big anniversary for us and our travel agent had notified the cruise line but there wasn't a mention of it (not that I expected more than a "Happy Anniversary" at dinner). I guess I should have said something or pre-bought a cake(?) but I figured they must do something since they asked at the time of our reservation if we were celebrating something. None of these things ruined our cruise and as I said, we loved the food. Not to change the subject, but we pre-tipped for the cruise. Does this mean that the dining room waiter received a tip if we went or not? She was fine but towards the end of the cruise, we were only hurrying to dinner out of guilt for her waiting and the hopes of lobster!

[Berick1234]

NCL had stopped serving lobster in it's main diningrooms, but at last report, they are returning it for at least one night on a 7 day cruise and 2 nights on a 9 day cruise....Being from Minnesota, Lobster is a treat, but not worth crying about because I didn't get one...I'm sure there will be drastic cuts coming with all the new restrictions....but this means I will only be able to go on two cruises a year instead of more....Life sucks sometimes, but it's still better than the alternative...Happy Cruising...

Bob E

[Hank]

Originally posted by spoheat:
We have always cruised RCCL--the first two were free, incentive travel. After that I visited my agent, told her we loved those first two--and she encouraged us to never depart from RCCL since we were so satisfied. My parents first cruised with Princess (this stands in their memory as their "best" cruise) and are very loyal to that line. They sailed RCCL once, and Carnival once, and the complaining never stopped. They are very old now and will have to cruise with us if they go at all and we may get in a stalemate over which line to choose.

In the end we are all creatures of habit, and having had a wonderful time at something we try to recreate or exceed it time after time. We hold on to all the experiences and flavors and want them to be present to recreate the magic of that "best" cruise.

You can also poll a hundred people on this site and get 5-6 different answers of which is the best cruise line. I don't think anyone is saying RCCL love it or leave it--I think the greater message is "hey, you've got options--if you aren't happy here try somewhere else".

We also like RCI (Diamond members) but that has never stopped us from trying other things (including 12 other cruise lines). On our cruises we have met many folks who have only cruised on one cruise line. Nothing wrong with that and its the reason the cruise lines have nurtured their frequent cruisers. But, only trying one line is kind of like somebody who spends their life eating in McDonalds, thinks it has the best food in the world (because they have never been in another) and goes to their grave never having experienced a different restaurant. We have found many differences between the various cruise lines (and even different ships of the same line) and the variety has been a lot of fun. We are often asked, "Whats your favorite cruise line" and we always respond that they are all our favorites.

Hank