Having booked my cruise, I wasted no time in logging in to Cruise Planner. You will have to create an account to sign in, and once you do so they will automatically load your upcoming cruise details. This is the website you use to pre-book dining, internet, beverage packages as well as entertainment and activities. However, the activities booking won’t be available until nearer the cruise date. You can also add the reservation numbers of your family members to do cruise planning for your entire cruise planner.
Beverage Packages
There are three beverage packages to choose from – a deluxe beverage package ($77.52/day) that allows you to indulge in liquor, beer and wine, a refreshment package ($40.80/day) that gives you mocktails, premium coffees and teas, and finally a classic soda package ($12.23) that gives you foundation soda and reviews. There is also a coffee card that costs $42.16 that entitles you to 15 cups of speciality espresso-based coffee. Take note that this 15 cups actually mean 15 shots of espresso – I have read elsewhere that if you order a venti coffee with two shots of espresso, that means you are left with only 13 cups.
Since I don’t drink alcohol and I don’t want my father drinking too much, the deluxe package is out for us. It is also too expensive – it costs close to $800 for 2 adults for the entire cruise ($77.52 x 5 days x 2 adults). For deluxe pckage, all passengers above 21 in the same cabin must purchase the package, although it is not necessary for the refreshment or soda packages. However, sharing of drinks between passengers is strictly not allowed. You can view more about the difference in their packages here. There are also packages whereby you can combine one of the above three packages with wifi.
Royal Carribean often gives discount on such packages. The prices I quoted above are normal prices without discount – refer to the screenshot below for discounted prices (the advertisement stated it was up to 35% off depending on the number of sea days and day of departure. My calculations tell me it’s closer to 12% off for my cruise). It seems discounts are not applicable for coffee card or soda package though. I have read that discounts can go even lower – to $24+ for refreshment package. However, fret not if you bought a package at a higher cruise – like the Best Price guarantee for your cruise, there is a Best Price guarantee for any packages you purchase too. See something cheaper after you’ve paid? Call them and get a refund of the difference to your credit card or get the refund as onboard credit.
There are complimentary beverages on board. Only two free bottles of mineral water are given on the first day of the cruise, but you can always boil water. You can also get free coffee and tea sachets to prepare your own beverage. If you are looking at premium coffee like cappuccino though, you will have to pay for it, or get the refreshment package/coffee card.
The chances of me getting any beverage packages is very low. I am not a fan of sweet drinks – plain tea and water are my best friends. My parents and husband too don’t seem to think they will drink so much premium coffee/tea. If I do purchase a package, I will do a review on whether it is worth it. I am leaning towards the coffee card though.
Dining packages
From the website, there are a total of six included restaurants. If you prefer something fancier, you can dine at the speciality restaurants onboard. You can choose to reserve just one restaurant, or purchase the unlimited dining package at $174.08, which entitles you to dinner at multiple speciality restaurants. It also includes lunch at speciality restaurants on sea days (i.e. when there are no shore excursions). Since this is essentially a cruise to nowhere, it means you can eat lunch at speciality restaurant daily.
If you don’t see the point of spending for unlimited dining at speciality restaurants when you can already have free flow food at the 6 included restaurants (and yes, you can dine at multiple restaurants during each meal), but still want to eat at a speciality restaurant perhaps to experience the ambience, you can consider booking the individual restaurants. Again, these dining packages are often discounted.
I read about the details of the six included restaurants very carefully. Essentially, two are fast food restaurants – one is akin to a pop up store that offers only hotdogs (Dog House) and the other is a restaurant that offers only pizza (Sorrento’s Pizza). Of the other four, one (Cafe Promenade) is open 24 hours, offering free coffee, sandwiches and simple dishes for lunch and dinner. The Cafe @ Two70 offers salads, soups and more sandwiches and they can pack for you to eat elsewhere. Only two restaurants – Main Dining Room and Windjammer – offer buffet style, global food, and likely these two restaurants will be jam packed during dining time. Main Dining Room has a menu but you can order as many courses as you want from the menu, and feel pampered as the staff serve the food to you. For Windjammer, that is where you can go for your traditional buffet style – walking around the restaurant and choosing what you want to eat.
Given the above six restaurants, I am unlikely to purchase any speciality restaurant package. My parents would not want us spending money on food when there is already so much free food on board. Also with a young child, it is unlikely we can spend too much time at each restaurant to enjoy the food, and part of the experience is enjoying the ambience right? So bye to speciality restaurants, but I will try to do a detailed review on the included restaurants during my cruise.
Internet Package
5D4N cruise without internet or social media?? To be honest, I won’t mind but it also means I cannot message my family members who are on the same cruise. Although Royal Carribean has an app, the Royal App, which has a message function you can use to message those on the same cruise party, it costs US1.99/day/pax to use. Given this price, I much rather purchase a wifi package that would allow me to use Whatsapp and communicate not just with my cruise party, but other family and friends who are not on board the cruise.
Again, these packages are often discounted. Again, these packages are often discounted – I have read that the best discounts are usually at 40% off. Of course with the best price guarantee you can always get a refund, but that involves more diligence on your end to monitor the prices and then call in to seek a refund. It would be easier to just book the package at a price that you know is going to be the lowest it could be, then you can stop monitoring the prices.
Another difference between the time when they are offering discounted packages vs normal-priced packages – it was only when they are offering discounted packages that they also offer additional celebration and kids-themed packages, such as the screenshot below. I didn’t see these packages previously until I received Royal Carribean’s email that there was a sale on all packages. You can also purchase photo packages, such as digital prints, or even a private photo session, via Cruise Planner.
You can also book entertainment such as shows and spa treatments via Cruise Planner. It is a bit too early for me to book entertainment shows though (they open for reservations 90 days in advance), so I’ll do a blog post on it once I can book.
Dream Cruise or Royal Carribean?
If you are considering going for one of the two cruises, these are some considerations you might want to think about.
Leave
First of all, most importantly, how many days of leave do you have? Royal Carribean sails from Monday – Thursday, or Thursday – Monday. Assuming you are on a 5 day work week, that means you have to take minimally 3 – 4 days of leave. You also have to do your PCR testing prior to the cruise at a fixed location (Raffles Place). Assuming you cannot secure a slot to do the test on a weekend, you would have to factor in extra 0.5 days of leave for that.
For Dream Cruise, they sail from Friday – Sunday, Sunday – Wednesday or Wednesday – Friday. If you go for the weekend cruise (which is also the most expensive cruise), you will only need to take 1 day leave on Friday. So if you are leave depraved and hopes to go for as many cruises as possible, go for multiple weekend Dream Cruises.
However if you have plenty of leave to clear which should be the case for most Singaporeans this year given that we can’t travel overseas, then move on to the next consideration.
Cost
I paid $1, 210.80 for a 5D4N cruise for Royal Carribean, balcony room with no bathtub (only their suite rooms have bathtubs). This is for 1 senior (aged 55 and above), 1 adult and 1 child. Although the child cruises free, I still have to pay for his taxes etc. The seniors’ discount was $48/pax. Assuming I didn’t have this discount, it would be a total of $1, 306.80 for 2 adults and 1 child. This is an average of $326.70/night.
For Dream Cruise, we paid $660 for a balcony deluxe room with bathtub. However, this was because the room only had my husband’s and child’s name. My name was placed with my mother’s room. Since she is a RWS member, she is offered free cruises and I only had to pax for taxes and gratuities. Dream Cruise doesn’t offer kids cruise free promotion and there is no kid’s discount either. This means for a normal balcony deluxe room with 2 adults and 1 child, the cost would be $990 ($330/pax x 3 pax). This is for a 3D2N cruise hence it is an average of $495/night.
From the above comparison, Dream Cruises is clearly more expensive. I am sailing ‘off-peak’ for both – for Dream Cruise, I sailed in April 2021, and for Royal Carribean, I am going in Jan 2022, before the Chinese New Year holidays. The cost for peak dates are even higher – right after I came back from my Dream Cruise, I saw that the price has increased to $450/pax for a 3D2N cruise for a balcony deluxe room.
Of course, the ‘premium’ you are paying for Dream Cruise is based on the fact that you are going on a weekend cruise, hence you can save on your leave. You will have to weigh which one is more worth it for you – 3 days of leave vs 1 day of leave, or an extra $168.30/night (based on the above example).
Cruise Party
Who are you cruising with? Just you and your spouse, a cozy couple? Or with elderly parents, or your children? How old are your children? Below 3, or already a teenager?
Based on amenties, I personally feel Dream Cruise is more baby friendly because they offer baby bathtub and sterilizer, both of which would be a must if your child is still very young. Both Dream Cruise and Royal Carribean offer baby food and cot. In terms of facilities/entertainment, well there is really not much to offer for both cruises if your child is below 3. Both cruises offer an infant care service which is chargeable on Dream Cruise but apparently free on Royal Carribean (subject to reservations – max 8 infants/toddlers below 3 at one time). Dream Cruise has a dedicated swimming pool area for children, complete with water slides, but from the pictures I see there is no such swimming pool on Royal Carribean. Also, do note that Dream Cruises allows infants 6 months old and above up on the cruise, but Royal Carribean seems to allow only infants aged 12 months and above.
If your child is above 3, then Royal Carribean would definitely be more fun because your child can play the Bumper Car and Ripcord activities. They can also take part in free classes such as towel artistry, scrapbooking and jewelry making (materials used may be charged).
If you are cruising with parents who prefer Chinese cuisine, Dream Cruises may be more suitable as there is a restaurant that serves Chinese cuisine only (Lower Dining Room on level 7). For Royal Carribean, I have heard feedback that their food is all Western and may not be suitable for someone who prefers Chinese cuisine.
Conclusion
If you can afford both cruises, and have sufficient leave to clear, then go for both! If not, I hope my simple comparison above helps you. You can also read more about my reviews of Dream Cruise, and I will write one for Royal Carribean too so keep a lookout for that!
Let me know your thoughts on which cruise you had visited and which one you prefer!