Caribbean - Southern Cruise Reviews

Royal Caribbean is NOT DISENFECTING like they are supposed to. You will never see anyone disinfecting day or late night . The casino area is the worst. The cruise line will never tell you if your room that you are entering had covid positive cruisers. It should be the law to be notified if the room your entering has had covid positive people before you enter it. Service is not as expected , ask one crew one question and get a different answer from the next crew member about the same question. Food is the same as any other ship food is average. Every event you want to do is a line , during cruise days if you don't go down at 7am to get a lounge you will not get one. Pools are extremely small both of them. Solarium is not what you see online it is half the size very small. On a 1-10 scale i give RC a 3 and i have cruised over 20 cruises. Don't let the size of the ship throw you off , the bigger the ship the worse the service. RC is not what it used to be they are slowing declining in their service and cleanliness . Also the bathrooms on the whole ship are disguising dirty and i complained about them.

We needed a relaxing vacation and we found it on this cruise. We choose not to do any activities aboard and were happy just laying around. On the flip side we could have stayed busy with the many fun activities that were planned throughout the whole day as well. It truly was an amazing ship.

disappointment with the $$$credit of $300.00 not given as of yet. I would like to have it otherwise will never take another cruse with Holland and at present I planing 2 trips, 1 Baltics 2 south pacific

Went on the New Year's cruise for 9 days to southern carribean. Crew was excellent, but food was not all that great and there was nothing much to do at all on ship. Islands were nice. Cabin was spacious with Elemis products. Got a great facial at the spa but massage wasnt as good as other cruise ships. This ship is geared more toward an older crowd so if youre looking for entertainment or are bringing kids i do not recommend. We are 40 years old and were bored to death on the ship. Then my husband caught Covid near end of the cruise.

This was my first Princess cruise and I was not disappointed. Jayson, assistant cruise director, was one of the best parts of the cruise. He was bubbling over with personality and made you want to participate. I will definitely cruise Princess again!

For those of you who just want a summary for your trip: Prices are up, service is down. Staff was completely overwhelmed, and the responsibility falls directly on Management. As stewards of the company that we are all stakeholders and shareholders of they should be ashamed. This is not the Princess Cruise Company that we know and love. They didn’t even give you a glass of cheap champagne to toast the New Year in with them on, opting to sell you bottles instead. Why pay the premium to go on a cruise during the holiday? Now for the long review. I have each section separated in Bold characters so if you want to skip to the section that interest you hopefully that makes it easy. Specific staff shoutouts at the end so if you are going on the Enchanted between now and April make sure to look for these folks! About Me (Am I qualified to review?)- I am an avid cruiser and a platinum member of Princess. I am a young professional in my mid 30’s and my wife and I are a DINK couple. We generally go on Princess because we like the relaxed atmosphere, less crowded ships, better food and drink options. We aren’t looking for rock walls and roller coasters when we are on a ship. We have cruised many other lines as well however, and have had various experiences, but have always come back to Princess. I started cruising in the mid-90’s back when the standards for crew and passengers were a lot higher (I remember the Mairte D stopping my father from coming in during a formal night until he flipped his cumber bun on his tux the “Right way”). Some things have changed for the better, some for the worse in my opinion. Pre-Trip and Boarding- When we cruised on this ship November of 21’ it only took me 7 minutes from the time we got off the transfer to get on the ship (Platinum line, please remember). This trip my mother got 2 different medallions in the mail and my cousin got 4. We called in, they said no problem, just bring 1. That was wrong. They had issues getting that medallion to work, so they gave us an old school card. Well my mother is an elite member, and the card doesn’t denote you status Tier. When we tried to get her into the elite lounge one of the employees became down right hostile and started an argument with me in front of all the passengers. I even showed her on my moms phone what her status was and this lady continued to try and argue. It was only when I reached the point of being so hot every other passenger in the very crowded room took notice that another employee with a cooler head came over and calmed things down. After that we boarded the ship, but here is the thing about the medallions- They are used for EVERYTHING, so if it’s not working none of the technology works. While they were having welcome drinks I took their medallions to guest services to get them fixed. It took me 5 trips over 4 days to finally get their medallions working properly. Also, if you haven’t cruised in a while don’t be surprised when they don’t offer you any champagne or hors d'oeuvres when you first get on the ship. Instead, they will have lots of people with things that you can sign up or pay for. Nickle and dime, all the time! Rooms- We had a deluxe balcony, and they had a standard. Rooms were nice, and standard balconies are a little tighter than they used to be, but it was acceptable. Room stewards were great at their job, very hardworking people. Beds were comfortable, closet was large, bathroom was standard cruise ship size. All those little niceties however, the towel animals, the chocolates on the pillow, all gone with the wind. Things that made Princess special were the small things, and for the most part they are gone. Standard Dining- The food itself impressed me. It was great, top notch. I’d put it right there with a 4-star restaurant. Double baked goat cheese souffle is like heaven. The issue with dining was the service, but it’s not fair to say it that way because that makes it seem like it was the crew. This poor staff was literally running around the dining room. They worked as hard as they could. There simply just wasn’t enough of them compared to us. For that reason, dinner averaged 2+ hours a night. Once again, this failure falls strictly on management. Specialty Dining- Sabatini’s- Can’t say enough about this one. With the fresh made pasta, the specials, the obvious care that goes into each dish it’s probably the only specialty dining worth paying the upcharge for. There is honest-to-god pride in this food. Between the 4 of us we had pretty much everything on the menu, and not one of us regretted our orders. Crown Grill- The food was great- depending on what you ordered. The service, well this once again turned into a 2:45 meal. They were so short staffed they were pulling in bar staff to help. The place wasn’t even full! My waiter was a great guy, and he tried to warn me. Everyone else at the table got surf and turf. The filets came out perfect. The lobster tail was delicious. My porterhouse came out wayyyy overdone. They really wanted to make it right but by this point we were over 2 hours into dinner. Instead, the next night they sent us the surf and turf to the room to eat on the balcony. It came out absolutely amazing and made for a great evening, so I give them a lot of props for doing that to make it right. Bistro Sur La Mer- This was our first time eating here. The food was really good, and the service was excellent. Do I think it was worth the upcharge or in our case paying for the Princess Premium? Not really. It’s the kind of food that used to be standard in the dining room. Princess Beverage Packages- While we are on the subject of food and drink, let’s talk about the Princess Packages. We did opt to take the premium package. The selling point of the premium package is that you get the high-end drinks, two nights of specialty dining, unlimited photos, and can play princess prizes. I’m going to break this down, but if you are looking for a summary THE PREMIUM PACKAGE IS ABSOLUTELY NOT WORTH IT. If you want a drink are order it from a server instead of going to the bar expect 20-25 minute wait times per a drink which is what we averaged. Drinks- If you have the premium package and you go to the bars you can order the premium drinks. The problem is the bars that had the premium drinks on the menu don’t carry the premium spirits!!! We were told over and over again only good spirits could make a certain drink. Examples- Wakeview Bar had the Premium Salted Watermelon Margarita on the menu but didn’t have the premium tequila. The Casino bar had the Amaretto Manhattan on the menu and didn’t have the PCL label Woodford. Funny story here, the bartender actually argued with me that the digital menu was wrong and handed me the actual hard copy menu for the casino bar. Guess what, that menu had the drink too!!!!! If you are getting this package expecting to get premium drinks across the ship you will disappointed. If you are expecting a wide variety of premium drinks you will also be terribly disappointed. Specialty dining- For the price of the package, just get the regular and pay for the charge per a person. As stated before, I only think Santarini was worth the extra charge. I wouldn’t bother with the others again. Photo Package- This was cool, but still not worth the price of the premium package. We couldn’t get the photos to download from the app like they are supposed to. Went to the photo shop to see what they could do and asked them give it to us on a thumb drive since the app was broken. They told us we had to buy one of their USB sticks to get our photos. So, their app doesn’t work, and we have to pay for it. Nickle and dime, all the time! Princes Prizes- A gimmick like any carnival game. That’s all I have to say about that. Ports and Excursions- Excursions- Pretty much every excursion the ship offers locals offer for less than half the price. You expect to pay a little more as the cruise company does have overhead and admin cost they have to cover, plus their margin, but it’s really getting high up there. The advantage to booking through the ship is that you never have to worry about being left behind. Ports- Princess Cays- One of my favorites. A very laid-back day and your drink package works on the beach. Only negative I can say is that they serve the same food there they have been serving for over a decade. A little variety would be nice. Other than that, beautiful island, well kept, fun beach day. Puerto Rico- The island is rich in history and has a lot of things to do. It’s one of those staples of most east/ southern itineraries so if you are a big cruiser like we are chances are you’ve been here enough to see all the touristy stuff. It’s nice to mingle with the locals or just have a day on the ship when it’s not so crowded. If you are new to the port go out, see the history, drink the rum! Tortola- One of the favorites of the trip. Island paradise, super friendly locals, lots to see and do. We took a cab and went to the rum distillery and beach, had a great day, met a local contractor who gave us some great tips. Really a good stop. Guadalupe- Not a favorite. Crowded, dirty, locals were not extra friendly. We took a cab to the beach which happened to be at the Club Med. Water was absolutely gorgeous so if you are looking for a beach day make this one it. I would not feel the most secure letting family members walk around the shopping/downtown areas. Martinique- Also not a favorite. We got off the boat for a few minutes, looked around and decided a ship day would be better. You’ll have to look for reviews of the people who did the excursions. Saint Maarten- The absolute favorite, and one of my top places in the Caribbean. Friendly people, great beaches, good snorkeling, awesome food. If you need a cab when you get off the water taxi look for Miss Veronica. She’s very sweet and gives a great tour as you drive around the island. The Lotus Spa- When we were on the ship in November of ‘21 we got several treatments here. We opted not to this time since the prices had just gone up by too much. For a couple of treatments you could go on another cruise, and I’d rather spend the money on another 10 days at sea rather than 150 minutes worth of massages. I did get a haircut out of necessity and my wife got a mani-pedi. They really do nice work. Don’t forget, they add a service charge (tip) to your treatment then still leave a spot for additional. Their hope is that you won’t realize the service charge was in there and still provide additional tip so they can use that as staff incentive. Nickle and dime, all the time! Accessibility - One of the reasons we have cruised so much is my father had ALS for many years and cruise ships tend to be easier for someone handicapped to be on for a vacation. For this reason, I always keep my eyes and ears open to how accessible the ship is. I have to say this one is by far the most wheelchair and handicap accessible ship I have ever been on. I can’t comment on the stateroom as we don’t use those anymore, but the public areas are very easy to get through. You may have some trouble in the casino- but most people will come to expect that. Overall, the ship is gorgeous, and the technology is great when it works. We needed to get away and did manage to do that. The staff was absolutely phenomenal and tried their best, despite the obvious conditions they were working in. Unfortunately, between the increase in prices, the decrease in service, and the practice of charging additional cost for every little thing that used to be included in these higher prices, the value proposition of going on a Princess Cruise is not a very appealing one. Even with status, they give so little now it makes it worth it to start looking at and trying other cruise lines. Staff Superlatives (the only reason we may come back)- Raymond- Bartender, Wake view Bar Honey- Bartender, Wake view Bar Putu- Bartender, The Retreat Christine-Server, Take 5 Christine- Waitress, Santarini Gavrilo- Server, Crown Grill Jorge- Server, Sabotini Dining Room Heinrich- Room Steward, Emerald 110 Mario- Server, Crooners If you are going on this ship, I sincerely hope for your trip they have the issues ironed out. The potential is absolutely there, which is part of what makes it frustrating for people like me. If you have any questions or would like some tips please feel free to send me a message!

Very inexperienced ,slow and poor service,low quality food in main dining and specialty restaurants,tiny balcony rooms with even tinier balconies and super small bathrooms, medallion is a joke most time it would t work and waiters would write all orders by hand.

Itinerary and length of cruise excellent. Services on Costa Pacífica and “buffet concept” as well as variety and quality of food outside main restaurant disappointing for a luxury cruise ship. Only one variety of cheapest cheese, every day same 2 cold cuts, only one sort of rye bread. Impression is that client should be forced to pay for quality extra with many things available only at extra cost. Even water only free during buffets. With this concept Costa is not competitive with most other cruise lines.

We just bookes Costa, because we could going by car to/from La Romana. The cruise was ok, but nothing really great. We enjoyed our holidays, but we like other cruise companies better.

Excellent cruise, food, and service . I definitely coming back!

Cruise was great. Some service issues. Did not have enough staff to keep up with the sold out cruise. Best was the ports & excursions. Medallion app is great for some things but sometimes not working as promoted. Loved the extra cushions and blankets on pool deck for movies. Loved not having to check out towels (but maybe that’s why some people leave them lying around :( ) Kids enjoyed the kids club. We would cruise with princess again. Hopefully the service issues will get worked out or maybe not as bad on a less busy ship.

Had a wonderful time and met some amazing people!!!

RC is short staffed and many things have changed since my many cruises with them. You have to request main dining at an early hour or you're left to eat late at night.

Feel like NCL has worsened significantly. I bought a suite (and paid $250 more per person) that was essentially a balcony with no special benefits (some in cabin cookies and sparkling wine). Was a joke, Feel like they took advantage of us.

The cruise was very fun, and there were a lot of memories made. However, a lot of what we experienced was not great. The ports were overall very nice, except for Puerto Plata, which was in the Dominican Republic and the beaches there were very much so a let down compared to the other ports. The food is not available on the boat after 10 PM, except at one restaurant where the food is honestly a three out of 10. You get so bored of that food by the second night, and there is no way to get a midnight snack at any sort of buffet or snack station. It took forever to get a drink at the bars because they favored certain people and some only had one or two bartenders that only really catered to people from the haven or platinum members. They also refused to play any college football games, especially during the playoffs, because they said “they were not able to because they were not given the rights to do so”. That is definitely not true because any bar even the bars that we’re off the ports were playing college football games and if they do not have the rights, they should be working very hard to get those rights. The Internet is terrible and was our last resort to watch the game, however it was so slow that we barely could watch it still. You have to PAY for internet. The lines for the Internet were miles long and they would cut people off even if you had been waiting there for two hours. There is one lady that works for two hour increments and she is working all by herself to help over 4000 passengers . This was ridiculous because it is the holiday season when we were on the boat and we were unable to call anybody to wish them a merry Christmas or happy holidays at all. If we wanted to call them, we would’ve had to pay five dollars a minute to call which is just a ridiculous number. They did a very good job saying merry Christmas and we did feel like we were in the holiday spirit except ( they could use honestly a little bit more decoration). they had a lot of holiday activities which was very nice but I wish there were more holiday themed foods maybe more holiday cookie buffets or deliveries to your room the night of Christmas because it is a Christmas cruise. The Christmas meal was also not great however, the New Year’s meal was pretty good. The Manhattan room was where we ate most meals because the speciality restaurants were full very fast when we got onto the ship. The restaurants were very limited as well and should be open for reservations 24 hours in advance so that people could book them and all have a fair shot. Everything is separate on this biat because if you want to have your own space where you can sit and tan by the pool, you have to pay an extra charge if you want it to be quieter and not dirty and gross. You cannot even enter the spa area unless you get a treatment or else you have to pay $600 a person. They try and rope you into all of this within the first few hours of the cruise, which they should do a better job of because there was no availability by the time we wanted certain things. They only had 40 spaces for the private pool deck or if you were in the haven then you would have a more private pool deck. Otherwise, there would only be two pools that you could go in and they are not even the size of a hotel pool. They are smaller than a hotel pool and there are thousands of people trying to get in them at a time . It is a germ fest. Overall, this boat was too large, and they did not have enough staff to fulfill all of the passengers needs, especially at the time of the holidays. I understand it is there a holiday too though and I did feel bad for many of the waiters that were not “higher up” that we’re working, which seemed like 24/7. If you want to get Starbucks and you are a Starbucks drinker, you might as well invest in the premium beverage package because otherwise you will be paying seven dollars minimum for a drink that you might normally get for 4.95. also, our room steward was not nice. Our room was never cleaned the way it has been on other cruise lines or even on previous cruises. when we walked in, there were children’s toys on the floor still so he did not go over the room very well. It is very hard to complain about some thing like that because we were going to have this exact room steward for 11 days. I wish that there was somebody like a boss that was watching over them that would check in on us and ask if we were doing OK with the room steward because you cannot really complain when they have access to your stuff at any point of time. We did not get any towel animals like we usually do on other cruise lines and he never took any of the glasses from our room away. He barely filled the soaps and actually they were so watered down that we could not use the shampoo, the last two nights of the cruise. We also had to beg for ice and you might as well bring a case of water on the boat because otherwise, it is very difficult to get. I would again like to reiterate how bad the Internet was. it was a constant battle for so many people. The lines were insane. The way that they do it is by minutes, so you have to shut off your minutes into different spots in order to save them for another day. However, they were drain on purpose. I think that is why they make you do it in two separate spots, and many people were struggling with it because they woke up and had no Wi-Fi anymore the next day. It is a way for them to make even more money when they obviously have the ability to give us all free Wi-Fi if they wanted to. I can only imagine more elderly passengers, struggling with this so much more because they don’t understand many times how to use certain things on their phones.

Fantastic ship, great ports, best food, amazing drinks, friendly staff on the Epic. Need to organize embarkation and disembarkation - they were a compete disaster.

I personally will not go back to a Norwegian cruise, from the start the way they advertise and promote is deceiving, not clear, for example they said we had a package for internet and my husband didnt believe it and asked for an upgrade while I remained with their 'unlimited internet offer' which turned out to be a ruse as it only worked to open the Norwegian app and nothing else. The same happened with drinks ,we had the unlimited package and as we are non drinkers thought it was ok, but if we wanted water in abottle we were told we would have to upgrade very disappointing! The only thing they promised and did hold was that we had 2 restaurants included in our package which was true as we were not charged once we left. I will return to my favorite cruise line Celebrity and keep appreciating everything they do for us

Will definitely consider sailing on Norwegian Cruises Line again. Especially now that we know more of the ins and outs of this cruise line. We prefer it to Princess and Carnival. We will not use as our travel agent again. We expected better from them and were very disappointed in the service.

We love Norwegian Encore's spa more than any other ships we've been on. Overall the cruise was ok, but service was very slow. Many of the staff did not speak English well and didn't always understand our questions. The ship was too crowed and we will never cruise again for Christmas, this is why there were probably to many kids too. We've been cruising for New Year's Eve for many years and last year this ship was at 1/2 capacity because of Covid. Last year service was excellent, we were treated like royalty....this year was a big disappointment.

We are frustrated with the rising cost of gratuity. The small rooms, small pool, not enough hot tubs