TravelStories Episode 11: The Changing Landscape of Cruising

The Changing Landscape of Cruising Episode 11: Show Notes The landscape of cruising has changed drastically since the last time we spoke about it on the podcast, just four months ago. In this episode, we fill you in on the changes, both positive and negative, and discuss the maintained value of cruises, despite the changes. We also give you a detailed trip report of our recent Royal Caribbean cruise on the impressive Wonder of the Seas, from the entertainment and casino experience to the cabins and dining opportunities. Tune in to hear the greatest takeaways from our most recent cruise experience, as well as some tips for optimizing your next cruise. Key Points From This Episode: [00:16] Today’s topic: how the cruising landscape has changed. [00:38] The maintained value of cruises, despite the changes. [03:06] Challenges of getting to the South Pacific. [04:50] A list of the positive aspects of the shifting cruise landscape. [06:40] New limitations and negative changes. [13:29] Additional changes to the casino offers and the predicted repercussions. [18:27] A trip report of the Wonder of the Seas cruise with Royal Caribbean. [28:31] Entertainment aboard Wonder of the Seas. [36:39] The Wonder of the Seas’ unique onboard casino experience. [38:36] Our criticism of Royal Caribbean. [38:55] A review of the rooms on the cruise. [40:05] How we booked this particular cruise. [42:03] Our takeaways from CocoCay Island. [44:23] Tips for optimizing your cruise experience. Tweetables: “I have more cruise opportunities than I have vacation time at this point, which I guess is a good problem to have.” — @TktweetsKim [0:05:06] “Cruise prices, just like everything else, look high on the surface of it but if you can figure out a way to bypass that barrier to entry, you can build off that.” — @tmount [0:06:15] “Your core seven-night Caribbean cruises have been incredibly expensive.” — @TktweetsKim [0:10:40]&nbsp; “[Royal Caribbean Cruises] invest a lot of money in these aqua shows; it’s a differentiator.” — @TktweetsKim [30:25]&nbsp; “Even though you have five different Oasis-class ships, they all have a unique aqua show.” — @TktweetsKim [30:46] “The golden room was perhaps my favorite place to be because it was a smoke-free version of a casino.” — @TktweetsKim [36:52] “As we always say, free isn’t free.” — @tmount [41:20] “Specialty dining is extraordinarily expensive these days [so] our tip is [to] do specialty dining for lunch.” — @TktweetsKim [44:34] “Book an appointment with NextCruise for the last evening if you think you’re going to gamble.” — <a href="https://twitter.com/tm