An unexpectedly packed ship and the fallout from that dampened our cruise experience. Overall, not a bad cruise, but one that could have been better.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
It seemed a little chaotic, but we cleared through the embarkation process quickly
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Service in the main dining room (fixed time dining) was great. Buffet was crowded and often had long lines to enter (bad) because of required COVID washing protocols (good). Food was so-so. Soft serve frozen yogurt lines were long because only one of the two machines was staffed at any given time. This was symbolic of my basic overall criticism: that Royal Carribbean was not prepared to handle a fully-booked ship. Additionally, between the time the buffet closes in the afternoon and reopens for dinner, there is only one place to get a snack -- pizza or small sandwiches -- and the lines were long. This was true because of the large number of children on the ship and the lack of alternatives and was important especially on days in port, when we missed lunch because we were off the ship. Other cruise lines have more off-hours food options. We tried one specialty restaurant, Izumi. My wife liked her food; my sushi roll was overcooked (instead of a quick flash fry) and inedible. It was quickly replaced with something else.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We enjoyed the trivia the "adult" game shows, with one caveat: There was no effort to limit the activities to adults. On a cruise with approximately 1,000 kids, it was annoying to have them monopolize the front of the area, especially in activities that required running to the front to be first. I know the line bills itself as a "Name That Tune" trivia specialist, but I would have preferred more general trivia sessions.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
I don't particularly like the production shows on any cruise and would have preferred a singer or comedian instead. The illusionist was entertaining. The ice show did not interest me.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Terrific service overall, from our cabin attendant to the dining room staff. Drinks were quickly brought to our lounge chair by the pool and our seat in the theater.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Decent size for a balcony cabin. Television seemed small, but we didn't really watch it. Bed was comfortable. Robes could have been fluffier, but were acceptable.
Ship tip
Be prepared for lines. Also avoid the 70s disco party if you are concerned about COVID. A little too crowded for our tastes.
We got on and off the ship quickly. Parking was a little odd -- we were directed to an area where we had to take a shuttle bus back to the ship, but we walked there, with our luggage, when we got off, and exited the area quickly.
Two problems, not necessarily of Royal Caribbean's doing. We were in port for two days. We did not realize that the first day we were there was a governmeny holiday so businesses were closed. We wanted to go to the beach one day and to St. George the other, particularly to visit and tour the Lily Bermuda perfume factory. It was closed on rhe firsrt day, so we went to the beach. We were going to take the ferry to St. George the second, ut the ferry doesn't run on Tuesdays. What made this all the more disappointing was that Norwegian, whose ship was berthed ahead of ours, runs its own dedicated ferry (parked right cross from our ship) to take its passengers to St. George. Also disappointing is that the rum cake factory at King's Wharf closed for COVID and has not reopened. We did have a nice lunch at a restaurant in King's Wharf, The Frog and Onion Pub.
Thanks for the review. I’m not sure why you were surprised that the ship was packed during the summer when schools are out. Most ships have been sailing at full capacity for a while
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