I would do it again, if these are areas of the world you are interest in. The positives outweigh the negatives.
What I told Royal Caribbean:
The changes that apparently happened because of the pandemic are quite noticeable. Disorganization seems to be a major problem on when/where/how especially when it comes to shore excursions and managing the gangway, especially on anchorages. The fact that Windjammer staff stated they were not prepared on a port day, and ran out of plates, silverware, and many food items, seems like a huge management problem. You, and I hear all other cruise lines, have reduced stateroom service from twice a day to once a day. You schedule a single final theatre performance for 2000+ passengers in a theater that holds 900 people. This was not the same experience I had on Rhapsody of the Seas or Serenade of the Seas, but that was pre-pandemic. Prices have gone up, gratuities have increased, but most people's paychecks have not.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Could not have been any easier or faster.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Only ate at Windjammer and only had a soda package for drinks. We do not do main dining rooms so can't comment but we heard positive and negative comments about the main dining room from other passengers. Windjammer had many problems keeping up with demand whether it was dishes, silverware, or food. Second half of cruise Windjammer was no longer self service on anything.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Jacuzzi were now soakers, no longer bubbling tubs of warm/hot water. Many days rock climbing was only open 2 hours, other days 4 hours, so at their mercy, and it was not consistent
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Two stage productions were very good. The Neil Diamond performance we left after 15 minutes. Comedians were good. The young women piano/violin duo were great. There was no consistency in time from night to night, and some shows changed times during the day so we sat in the theater 45 minutes waiting. Skipped the final show because I couldn't understand how a single performance would handle 2000+ people in a 900 seat theater.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
I'm sure our room steward was quite satisfied with his remuneration. The daily announcement by Capt. Frank was to my liking because he gave facts and figures, probably a lot more than many wanted.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Clean the windows on the Windjammer and surrounding areas, they were not cleaned after the previous cruise, and they were filthy. Every port ship's crew was pressure washing part of the hull, but trying to look out those filthy windows was nearly impossible.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
It was a standard cruise ship cabin as far as size and layout. The mattress has seen better days and if it was mine, it would be gone in an instant. Cleanliness - it's a cruise ship, but still a lot better than many people's homes I have seen. Our attendant cleaned it daily.
Ship tip
It is a cruise to relax and see someplace you have never seen before, hopefully. Look for the good and you will enjoy your trip, regardless of the problems. We met people we plan to visit in Africa.
DId an excursion to a coffee plantation. Thankfully it was a long ways from the port so we got to see a larger portion of the country than just the coffee plantation. Learned how I have been drinking coffee wrong for years.
Do to mismanagement of the tenders, and 2 other cruise ships in anchor, we opted to give up our tender tickets to a couple with a lot higher number than ours. They said they got to enjoy ashore for about an hour, then fight 2 hours to get back to the ship.
Dia de los muertos Excursion; most informative and enjoyable. Also some shopping time. Been to Ensenada several times before (driving) but my wife was excited about it.
Having been through other cruise terminals in US, Canada, and Europe, this is the bottom of the pit. The ship was very efficient in getting the passengers disembarked in groups, even 20 minutes ahead of schedule. That is where the good ended because it was outside of Royal Caribbean's control. There are certain people you can't put in charge and they were disagreeing with each other on how the terminal process was supposed to work. Needless to say, if you can avoid anything California for travel - avoid it. But not to worry, LAX is not any better and I told several Delta employees in LAX they need to go to Atlanta to see how an airport should function..
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