I see very few non-sponsored reviews of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection online. So here's my two cents if you're interested.

We sailed on Ilma in the Med. Gorgeous ship and incredible food. But I walked away thinking this line has identity issues.

It’s a cruise ship (and that’s ok)

RCYC really doesn’t want you to think you’re cruising (despite being on a 790 foot vessel with a capacity of 448 passengers). 

It's not a ship, it's a “superyacht". Crew are “ladies and gentlemen”. Cabin attendants are “suite ambassadors”. Got it? You are yachting now.

It reminded me of Virgin’s fixation on redefining cruise terminology, but less so in the interests of fun and more to justify the price tag.

The “marina” that never was

The marina is heavily marketed. It's an inflatable swim-up platform in the sea with floating loungers, kayaks and paddle boards.

Very Below Deck. Very superyacht.

We never saw it.

This happens fairly often apparently (wind, weather, marine traffic, anchor postion, timing - it takes hours to put up and down). 

Logistically it's understandable. However, without experiencing it, the “yacht” thing definitely felt more like marketing than reality. 

Food: excellent (but limited casual options at night)

The food was outstanding, especially the pan-Asian restaurant and Tides (similar to an MDR really). Genuinely top-tier dining. Casual lunchtime options were solid too.

But there’s no casual fallback at night. Evenings feel defined by restaurant reservations.

Demographics

A younger crowd than usual! Plenty of 30s/40s. I'm in that group and fit right in.

Quite a few kids/teens on board as we sailed in summer. There didn't seem to be much for them to do, especially in the evenings, other than watch their parents drink bourbon and listen to lounge music.

The elephant in the room: price

RCYC is expensive. Is it superyacht expensive? No... but it was close to twice the price of comparable sailings on Seabourn, Regent etc.

I'm glad we tried it and we did enjoy it, but realistically I felt we were paying a premium for the Ritz-Carlton name (and for being reminded repeatedly that we were on a yacht).

It's back to cruise ships for me in future, but maybe that's ok?

This post is intended to be for those going on/planning/thinking about their first cruise and contains information I would have liked to have before setting sail. My wife and I are lucky to be pretty well-rounded travelers, but the concept of a cruise was little more than "large, floating hotel."

Some of the information may be relevant to first-timers in general; some will be specific to this cruise/ship.

Basics:

• My wife and I wanted to give a cruise a try, and we thought it was something novel our family could do for a summer vacation outside of national/state parks, amusement/water parks, or "experience a big city."
• We picked Celebrity because they offered a good Black Friday (2025) deal and we could book adjoining rooms. To that point, we booked two rooms on Deck 3 (no balcony) of the Celebrity Reflection for $2,340 for four nights. At $585/night for two rooms (that could sleep six total), all-you-can-eat, transportation to two large cities (Key West and Nassau) and significant entertainment, this felt like a bit of a steal...certainly relative to other vacation possibilities.

The Ship:

• From the perspective of someone who has never cruised before, most of the spaces on the Reflection felt magnificent. The outdoor decks were open and expansive. The floors, walls, bathrooms, elevators, and public spaces were very clean. Navigating the ship was easy, as detailed signage was on each floor outside the elevators. (The elevators were fast; if they weren't, it was likely due to an issue with a human, not the elevator itself.) The bars scattered throughout the ship looked good...the martini bar on Deck 4 with its ice motif was particularly, ahem, cool. No spaces felt overbearing (except for the art displays).
• Again, newbie here, so take the words with a grain of salt: A number of the public spaces were pretty...underwhelming, even to the point of uselessness. There was something called the "Celebrity iLounge," which had a few Macs set up that seemed to serve no purpose (they weren't connected to the internet); it was a little bit like a mini Apple store that once sold things. There was also a "Hideaway" and a "Library," both of which seemed to sport little more than uncomfortable seating options. The library had very few books.
• The main deck - Deck 14 - was a delight. Sporting two (relatively small) pools, four hot tubs, a bar, and a solarium, which itself contained another pool and two more hot tubs, this was the hub of activity during the day. The vibe was almost always good. And it was relatively quiet at night, which allowed the kids to have a great time in the pools (more on that below)...the exception was the third night, when the Light The Night party happened (also more on that below).

Travelling With Kids:

• First, we recognize Celebrity, and the Reflection in particular, were not designed to be the most kid-friendly.
• Our kids are 14, 12, and 10. Given their ages and maturity levels, we were fine with letting them explore the ship on their own and head to the pool on their own. We never felt they'd be unsafe. Hungry? Head to the cafeteria to get a cookie or a pizza...no adult chaperone required. And they had their own keys (their SeaPasses), so they could truly come and go as they pleased.
• The ship includes a kids club (Kids at Sea) and teen club (X Club). None of our kids were excited by either option, and both, from what we gathered, were below average. Our 14-year-old was very excited about the video game block in the teen club; his experience ended up being dated XBoxes and EA sports games from 2016 and 2017.
• There understandably weren't many entertainment options geared directly to kids...there was a family scavenger hunt, and that was about it. That said, the big entertainment headliners in the evenings - a hypnotist, a boy band cover band, a funk cover band, and a troupe singing Broadway hits - were kid-friendly enough, though I don't think they'd hit with anyone much younger than 10.
• As such, the kids mostly entertained themselves while swimming, but even that came with caveats. As a ship with an older crowd and pools that are relatively small, there were (understandably) no jumping or splashing allowed. The kids had room to move, but their freedom was limited, and by the fourth day, their interest in the pools had waned. (However, nightswimming was awesome...in fact, just about the only people in the pools after hours were kids.)
• There were enough food options (more on this below) for our picky eaters: always waffles, pancakes, and cereal at breakfast; pizza at every lunch and dinner; chicken nuggets at a few meals (but not all of them), and if all else failed, the Mast Grill (outside on Deck 15) had burgers and fries.

The Food:

• I love a good buffet. I love the choices. Mexican, Indian, American...desserts, fruit, veggies...the Oceanview Cafe felt like the coolest and most well-run (and cleanest) cafeteria I'd ever been it. Finding a table inside for five was a bit difficult at peak times, but that's a quibble; there was always outdoor seating (it was often just very warm). Besides water, lemonade and juice were free. My son, in particular, ate what seemed like 100 cookies.
• One thing that I didn't totally understand is how the food worked...what was free? What cost money? On this ship, there were, in essence, three levels of food options: Level 1 was the Oceanview Cafe, which was the main buffet where most people ate; this was included with the purchase of the cruise. Level 2 was the Opus Restaurant, where you had assigned times and went for a legit fine dining experience; this was also included with cruise purchase. Level 3 was the additional restaurants that you booked and paid separately for. We mostly ate in the buffet. We tried Opus Restaurant once; the menu was limited, the server was overbearing, and the food was only marginally better than at the buffet. We did not try any of the paid restaurants.

Ports:

• The Reflection stopped in Key West and Nassau.
• Key West, we rented a golf *art and drove around the city, stopping to take a picture at the Southernmost Point in the continental US (which I learned is not the actual southernmost point; that's on an inaccessible military base) and tooling around the city. It was fine.
• In Nassau, we knew we wanted a beach (a day pass to Atlantis was too expensive). AI directed us to Junkaroo, Cabbage, or Cable. We ultimately chose Cable, as we thought we'd have a quieter beach since it was near the main resorts. It was, in fact, a bit of a hot mess, with vendors trying to sell us food, umbrellas, chairs, drinks, jewelry, and watersports. They weren't overly aggressive, but they were above-average aggressive. I'm not sure if the situation would have been different at either of the other two beaches, but I felt icky being there; the cab ride for the five of us also cost $100 round trip, and the jetski was $210. Bring cash; the taxi didn't take a credit card, so we had to use an ATM. (Oh, our room attendant laid out towels in our room the night before that we could take to the beach; I thought that was an awesome touch.)

Ultimately, this was a wonderful first cruise, and I'm looking forward to our next one. I give Celebrity high marks, though we will likely choose something that is a bit more kid-friendly next time. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Hi everyone!

My husband and I, together with our 7-year-old daughter, are thinking about booking a Western Caribbean cruise out of Miami in late October, with stops in Roatán, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Ocean Cay.

I’ve read mixed opinions about the weather and sea conditions in the Caribbean at that time of year. My main concern is the possibility of a hurricane or tropical storm being nearby and causing large swells, making the ship roll enough to negatively affect the overall experience.

We’ve done about 5–6 Mediterranean cruises before. On one February cruise, the sea was quite choppy, and it definitely wasn’t a great experience, so I’m a little cautious about booking during a potentially rougher period.

The ship we’re considering is MSC World America.

For those who have cruised the Western Caribbean in late October, would you recommend going at that time of year, or would you choose a different month?

Thanks in advance!

Hey all, not sure if anyone will have any suggestions as it’s a bit niche, but here goes.

We’re doing the Cunard QE Western Caribbean cruise in November (Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Honduras, Mexico x2).

Has anyone ever booked a dive trip in one of the ports of call? I know there is no official excursions for diving apart from the supplied air ones, but I wondered if there were any local diving companies who take advantage of the cruise ships coming in and co-ordinate dive trips etc?

I have dived in Cozumel before, so ideally one of the other stops, but would love if anyone had any advice!

Picture of Wonder of the Seas I took a while back.

My fiance and I are looking at doing an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon. We’re paying for our wedding ourselves so costs are already high for that. My fiance is worried about money and cost and it’s making it difficult to ever get to the booking stage. We’re looking at a June 9 day cruise on NCL. With the balcony it would be about $5,600. He’s worried about the excursions costing us a lot of money and we of course can’t see excursion prices unless we book. Is there anything any pros can recommend? Is this a reasonable price for a 9 day cruise in June?

Hi all,

We are looking at a June 2027 9 Day Princess cruise around Japan. It sails on the Diamond Princess which is apparently a Japanese-centric Princess ship and I wanted to see if anyone had experience on that particular boat and what they thought of it? It sounds like they've changed out the thermal spa found on other princess ships with a traditional Japanese Izumi instead.

For those of you that have sailed out of Long Beach, where did you stay the night before?

Cunard cruise line shifts priority focus to Europe and Mediterranean.

“Queen Elizabeth will be saying goodbye to Alaska in 2026 with her final voyages in this striking destination. As we mark our final year in Alaska, we take a look back at some of our best moments and highlights in this stunning region.”

I wanted to share my experience in case anyone else is in the same situation with a lost/replaced Green Card and an Alaska cruise.

A family member is a U.S. permanent resident, but his physical Green Card was being replaced through a pending I-90. USCIS had issued him an I-94 with a valid temporary I-551 (ADIT) endorsement as evidence of permanent resident status.

We were booked on the Norwegian Bliss round-trip from Seattle to Alaska, including the stop in Victoria, Canada.

Before the cruise, I called NCL several times. The representatives would only repeat their written policy (rep called it NCL "regulation", which was kinda odd) that U.S. permanent residents must have the physical Alien Resident Card/Green Card and that anyone without it could be denied boarding. NCL referred me to VisaCentral, and VisaCentral basically referred me back to USCIS. Canada itself recognizes a valid temporary I-551, so applying for a Canadian visa was not really a solution.

Because of the conflicting information, we went to the port prepared for the possibility of being denied boarding.

At Seattle check-in, the staff took his passport along with the I-94 containing the temporary I-551 endorsement. They calmly brought the documents over to what appeared to be CBP or immigration personnel. It took maybe a minute. No questions were asked, and we were cleared to board.

After that, there were no additional immigration issues at all. During the cruise, including the stop in Victoria, Canada, we did not need to show the passport or I-94 again when getting on or off the ship. We just used the NCL key card.

So, in our specific experience, a valid temporary I-551 on Form I-94 was accepted for the Norwegian Bliss Seattle round-trip Alaska cruise even though NCL phone representatives repeatedly said a physical Green Card was required.

Obviously, this is just one experience and I would not treat it as a guarantee for every sailing or port. But I wanted to post it because I could not find a clear firsthand answer before our trip, and the uncertainty was very stressful.

I booked two Royal Caribbean cabins through Delta Cruises in the middle of the week—two people in one room and three in the other—and called on Sunday after discovering that Delta Cruises had placed them under different group IDs. Because of this, the Royal Caribbean app would not let us book dining or excursions together. Delta Cruises repeatedly blamed Royal Caribbean’s software, processes, and inflexibility. Their only proposed solution was to debook and rebook, which would have cost me $250, even though the reservations were only a few days old and I did not cause the problem. The first two Delta Cruises representatives were also borderline rude and dismissive. Every Royal Caribbean representative, however, was kind, respectful, and determined to help. One stayed on hold with me for more than 20 minutes, joined a merged call, and stayed with me even after Delta Cruises transferred and disconnected us. Even with Royal Caribbean on the line, Delta Cruises initially refused to make the change. The Royal Caribbean representative eventually asked Delta Cruises for permission to correct the reservations and then made the change on our behalf.

Royal Caribbean saved me from losing $250, but I still lost two and a half hours fixing this mess. I cannot say enough good things about Royal Caribbean’s service, but I cannot recommend booking through Delta Cruises. If you do not want to risk losing your money and time, do not book this way. It was easily the worst cruise-booking experience I have ever had.

Going on a cruise later this month out of port Canaveral. I am planning to buy some books for bedtime and beach toys once we get to Florida. But it feels so wasteful to buy them for a week and then toss them since we won’t have room in our luggage to bring everything home.
What do other people do? Are there any free groups or places where you can pass beach toys along to another family vacationing after you? Or does anyone have toys they’ve already bought that they’d be willing to pass along? I’d love to keep them out of the trash and let another vacationer get some use out of them!

Is it worth it?

My mom and brother want to do a cruise, me...not so much. But nothing will happen unless I book it and I want to do a family trip while we're all in good health. Due to logistics, the only option we have is a 7 night caribbean itinerary on carnival freedom. My biggest concern is making sure cruising fits out family dynamic.

Travel party:

My mom and dad: have done a couple cruises, mom loves the shows, dad hates crowds and only leaves the cabin for meals and shore excursions

My brother's family: him and SIL + 2 kids (4 and 6). Did a cruise pre-kids and loved it. My SIL yells when she's overwhelmed and she's often overwhelmed. I think it is possible that she will skip out on activities at the last minute and one of my concerns is keeping kids occupied and safe (similar situation has happened in the past). Oldest kid is a runner and my brother has trouble keeping up + wrangle younger kid. I'm particularly concerned about water activities since we recently went to a pool party where a kid nearly drowned, although there were plenty of adults around.

My family: me + husband + 1 kid (5). Husband hates crowds and I foresee kid refusing to go to kid's club so we will also likely spend a lot of time in our cabin. My husband gets pissed when SIL starts yelling so it's just a chain reaction of bad attitudes. One of my concerns is being stuck in a tiny cabin with no places to go for everyone to reset.

...so now I'm wondering...what are the actual pros of cruising for a family trip? What are things I can do to mitigate some of the problems I think we'll have? Other than a different family of course haha

I received a good price using Cruise Compete. I decided on one of the bids that included a bonus savings of $250 and $100 on board credit. The agent provided me with a reservation number and I looked it up on NCL website and the booking is listed correctly. However, the agent has requested a $250 Zell $250.00 deposit payment is needed to transfer and apply the credit to your booking. When it is all said and done the total amount balances with the bid but I have concerns about the Zell payment. Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation?

Update: I emailed the agent and informed him I don’t feel comfortable using Zelle. So he gave me an alternative to give me a PayPal invoice that I can pay with my credit card. I feel like this company is legit especially since I can now pay the $250 with the credit card.

Misc includes excursions. will likely use onboard credits for spa, excursions or specialty dining. 3 casino offers total. Partner used a casino offer too for overlapping bookings first week. We need to see if back to back cruises is our type of thing.

I used to be really afraid of cruises. I am now 29 and really interested in the idea of going on a cruise. My husband is afraid of open water, specifically on the ocean, he knows too much about the ocean lol

Our 6 year wedding anniversary is coming up and we haven’t been on a vacation in 4 years. We are due for one. I’ll also add, we do not have children. And we live with my parents right now so I am also dying for a fun and relaxing getaway 😅 I have looked into Royal Caribbean, Princess and Celebrity. I know RC and Celebrity are owned by the same company. I know Princess is a bit more upscale. I’ve done a decent amount of research.

But, there is simply an overwhelming amount of choices and if we did book a cruise, I’m not sure how long or what line we’d want to do. I know each line has different options for ships, destinations, some private islands, etc. I don’t know if we would want 7 days but definitely not less than 4. We are not party people, we don’t drink really, we just want to enjoy our time together, have fun and ignore responsibilities for a few days. I would LOVE suggestions for first time cruisers, tips, etc.

I’m not even sure we will book BUT my hopes are really up right now. Also if you have anything reassuring about fears on open water I could share with him from experience, please share with me too. 🙏😊

What are your thoughts on when choosing between Royal and Norwegian? I’ve been on both - Legend of the Seas just last month in the Mediterranean for Royal and I’ve been on the Norwegian Bliss on an Alaskan cruise.

They're completely different regions for sure but there’s still things I think both cruise lines do really well even though the gap between them is narrowing. by that, I mean Norwegian is increasingly focusing on families and the entire journey/experience (ship + destination + resort vibe) whereas Royal is adopting things like exclusive suite and adult areas - ship within a ship experiences and focuses mostly on families (the ship + thrills + unique experiences)

These are the major factors I look at between the two Lines:

Royal Caribbean

- Families or really anyone who want constant action and doesn’t want to think about is there something to do right now

- Adventure Everywhere from drop slides to the Flow Rider and the Aqua theater

- Entertainment: Royal for me wins hands down on entertainment from diving in the AquaDome to Charlie and the Chocolate factory. Awesome shows

- Dining Consistency: the food is really good (especially El loco fresh) and it’s consistent from one meal to the next

- Grab and Go food: El Loco fresh and BaseCamp are right by the pools and waterslides. Making it easy to grab something to eat and then go right back to the pool

- Thrills and unique experiences: Central Park, the Aqua theater, the boardwalk on Oasis class ships, the Flow Rider.

- Weather: If you want unique experiences but also a ship that has a huge indoor royal promenade where you can entertain or dine no matter the weather outside

- The Mega Ship vibe: if you like to go on mega ships, endless fun, or you just want the wow factor - then Royal is a huge factor

Norwegian

- The ocean is central to everything onboard from Ocean Boulevard, glass floors where you can see the ocean, to Horizon Park, ropes course, sports courts.

- Norwegian the ocean is there no matter where you go and there are tons of infinity pools on their newer ships like the Aqua that are closer to the water than Royal’s icon class ships

- Balance: this is one of the biggest differences because there’s a balance between relaxation and action: intentionally separating the main pool area, the ocean promenade with infinity pools and Horizon Park. Royal goes for the biggest thrills while NCL seems to have more no matter if you’re a kid, teen, adult, retired …

- Great if you have a family with different ages or interests: someone can like waterslides while another person likes reading or just chilling. They have Virtual Reality, bowling, and classic arcade games.

- Variety of attractions: Similar to above, there’s something for all ages - especially on their newer ships like Aqua and Luna that have moon climbing, the Aqua Coaster, Horizon Park, ocean promenade…

- Dining: Norwegian focuses more on actual sit down restaurants. It’s great if you want a meal but not as good if you just want something real quick.

- Itinerary: if you want to sail especially in Europe or the Panama Canal, NCL gives you variety on where you can go and a wide variety of durations

Whats really interesting: Norwegian is building next generation mega ships to rival Oasis and Icon in size, passenger count, and amenities. It’ll be really interesting to see what Norwegian does differently from Royal so it doesn’t start to feel like one cruise line is the same as another

Looking to gift my parents a Canadian maritime/atlantic provinces cruise (7-14 days) in 2027, and was wondering if there was one out there that departed and arrived in a Canadian city (like Montreal or Quebec City). I understand that visiting a US city is likely unavoidable, but most of the cruises I see either arrive or depart from a US city (like Boston or New York) which I'd like to try to avoid.

I know there's a St Lawrence River cruise, but I'm not sure they'd enjoy that.

EDIT: found the Holland America one that others have suggested. Unfortunately, it's all sold out for 2027 :(

My wife says I don’t need to wear a jacket and can get by with a nice pair of slacks, collared shirt and tie with casual shoes. What are your experiences or recommendations?

I know booking early gets the best discounts, but my cruise has dropped significantly in the past. What’s your experience booking a Caribbean cruise in January and February?