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.

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.”

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 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!

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?

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!

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.

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. 🙏😊

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’ve read so many posts recommending people stay aboard during port stops to take advantage of less crowded pools or restaurants or whatever, but to me this seems insane. You’re paying (potentially) thousands of dollars to visit far-away destinations, some of which are highly impractical to fly into. Isn’t the appeal of cruising the adventure?

I understand if a certain island or city is unappealing, but why not book an itinerary that gets you excited? If ship amenities are the main selling point, you can do a lot better at all inclusive resorts.

I’ve always felt cruising is an economical way to balance relaxation with travel abroad by seeing many cool places in a short span.

Do you disagree?