We ended up having a good time on the trip as we were surrounded with friends and family and most of the staff and activities were great. The trip left a lot to be desired though, considering we booked a group (24 guest) on this over a year in advance. Having quarterbacked the entire group reservations I was extremely disappointed that Royal's staff made such an preventable error in the connecting room booking and since the cruise was over new years and sold out they said that there was no way for them to do anything once on the ship. After the cruise I contacted their customer experience team and they failed to acknowledge any part in the groups dept error in room booking, but said they would in good faith offer my wife and I a $188 credits towards a future sailing.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Smooth except for the connecting rooms we booked were not provided as the ship plan did not match their online plan that groups used to book our reservation. Instead of our small children being in a separate room with a connector my wife and I had to split up in separate rooms for our anniversary. Guest services told us to come back after we departed the port only to tell us there was notching they could do.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The specialty dining was excellent, but the main dining was below average for royal. While the food was okay this was a far cry from the experience we have had on our past Royal trips!
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
This ship has a beautiful central park, the pools are average, the water activities for the kids are limited with the small splash pad needing a renovation. The arcades were pretty small and could use more games. The games they do have are very expensive!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Entertainment was good as typical
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
The kids did enjoy the time in the kids club although this was not used too much.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Our room steward was nice, but considered versus other trips was average. Dinning staff was also below than average and well below that which we have come to expect. Windjammer experience was comparable to all other cruises with Royal and no complaints there.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
For the most part the ship was very clean but there were quite a bit of maintenance items that are ready for an overhaul.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Had issues with the sink draining and the toilet was off a few times during the trip while maintenance was performing some sort of repairs.
Ship tip
This crew did no seem to be their A team as I expected more from a Royal Cruise give our past cruises of 7 days and more. This staff was more of what I would expect on a Carnival trip.
Disembarkation was as smooth as any trip I have had out of the port. Their pick up terminal for shuttles and arranged traqnsportation could use some attention as it is a bit of a S... show. All and all we got off the ship, got our luggage and got out to the pick-up area very smooth.
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