Cruising is always great but as experienced cruisers we were left feeling bereft by the changes.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarking in San Juan was the best and smoothest we’ve ever had! From our hotel to the port, through security and check in and on the ship in 20 minutes! We will definitely cruise from there again!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Royal has changed the menus fleet wide and the food was not as stellar as we’ve had in years past. The food was boring and bland! There were so many favorites from the past menus removed and there were some nights that we struggled to find something good.
Pool Bar
1 out of 5
Royal seems to have switched vendors for their drink mixes and we were saddened when we were told they couldn’t make us a Coco Loco or Labadoozie because they no longer have passion fruit mix, or no BBC because they no longer have banana purée mix and no raspberry mix when I requested a raspberry daiquiri. All kinds of drinks we grew to love on previous cruises are no longer available to us. There were only a few bar staff members that were friendly; a lot of them were grouchy and weren’t helpful.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
The ice show was lovely and so were the shows-when they had them. We found that the show times were weird and some nights there weren’t shows which was disappointing.
Swimming Pools
2 out of 5
There is far too many people to be hanging out by the pool on sea days! There were absolutely no seats available at the pool or Solarium. When I sat with my feet in the pool there were so many kids splashing and kicking that I had to leave. I teach 2nd grade and have 5 kids of my own so I’m used to having kids in my face ALL day and this was just too overwhelming. They need to have more public spaces to accommodate the extra passengers they made room for during dry dock.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The shows were just ok. There was a juggler/comedian one night who was just annoying. But the singers/dancers were great as well as the comedians on sail away night and the farewell show.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Our room steward was amazing and sweet and so helpful! Our waitress and assistant were sweet but I wasn’t brought a steak knife to eat my steak one night, an appetizer was forgotten and our coffees were always served to us AFTER our dessert was eaten. Things felt off and disappointing.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Having just come out of dry dock we were shocked to find so many lights around the ship burnt out, like on the pool deck, Solarium and the theater. Lots of little things neglected and it was sad to see. But the smell of new carpet was lovely upon entering our stateroom.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our room was a basic interior which we enjoy. It was super clean and had new carpet and a new couch.
Ship tip
Be prepared to feel the rocking! This is the first time I felt it rocking and almost got seasick. It’s smaller than the Freedom class which is what we’re used to which makes a difference.
We skipped the ship shore excursion and talked to the locals offering tours. One guy pointed us in the direction of the public bus to go to the beach. Best advice ever! We paid $5 a piece for a round trip to the beach!
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