Royal Caribbean is making ships larger to accomodate more guests. As such, the quality of service may be lacking in some areas. This was our first time with Royal. Perhaps if we had chosen a smaller ship we may have been more pleased. We might consider it again in the future but certainly not anything in the line of the Oasis class of ships. Too many people...just try to walk through the Royal Esplanade to get somewhere when a shopping event is going on and you'll get a general sense of the crowd. Rudesness was the order of the day as well. Perhaps this is just something that happens on cruise ships that sail out of the greater NYC area?
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Similar to others
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Windjammer Marketplace was full of people who pushed and shoved their way through the facility. No manners existed in this venue and apologies were rarely if ever heard. Jamie's Italian and Chopps Grille were outstanding. Choosing MY TIME DINING and then selecting a time you wanted was a total waste of time as when we arrived for the time we scheduled, we still had to wait 10-15 minutes for a table to be available. One would think that if you had a 530pm reservation, you would get seated when the venues opened their doors and not after others who failed to make reservations
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Rock climbing wall was rarely open due to colder temperatures and high winds. Tons of activities prepping people for shopping in ports but not an overabundance of activities that did not require some sort of financial investment.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Wide variety of events being held to keep people active and entertained. Enjoyed bumper cars as well.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
Lighting and effects were top notch for their respective shows. Loved "The Gift" and "We Will Rock You". Not a big fan of "Spectra's Cabaret". It bordered on performance art. Seemed like performers were more interested in doing the show for themselves than actually entertaining the audience
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Waiters, Room Steward - Excellent. Guest services always redirected you to another part of the ship for information rather than provide it themselves. Often the place you were redirected to would send you back to guest services. Also guest services personnel had a great deal of conflicting and incorrect information as if they had not been informed of changes.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
As with all cruise ships, sitting on the toilet is a bit of a challenge for bigger persons
Some excursions were cancelled due to lack of interest. We arranged private transportation and went to Cocoa Beach Pier and then walked to Escape Cocoa Beach - an escape room adventure. It is very bidget friendly and worth the price. Staff is accomodating to any and all guest who walk-in without an appointment
At Your Leisure Snorkel - $39 per person. We paid for this despite having our own equipment. We were told that all people who snorkel must have the life vest to snorkel. Well other guests who had their own equipment just passed by the snorkel shack and went in the water. They saw for free what we had paid for. Seems sad that the staff did not enforce their rules.
Leaving from the nyc area has nothing to do with it. People are rude everyone. And where you from.... You never have crowds or rude ppl. You must live in a bubble.
Your from NY and that's the comment you make. I always go out of NY or NJ with no problems. Rudeness is everywhere unfortunately. I have been on RCL, NCL and Carnival. I felt the staff wasn't as friendly as the other lines. People come from all over when they go out of NY or NJ. So NY has nothing to do with rudeness.
People for some reason see the word sale and they go crazy, they think they are getting a bargain when in reality their paying exactly what the cruise line wants you to pay. Remember everyting is over priced.
Are you really comparing rudeness between RC and Carnival?? That's funny since Carnival is an American cruise line. Before you say it I'm American born and raised. Of course it's going to be busy when a shopping event is going on. Been on Harmony twice and certain times you will have the crowds but that happens everywhere even without being on a ship. You have clearly been on enough cruises to know better so I really can't understand why you would come up with this but some people aren't happy unless their complaining I guess.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
