May as well attach a syphon to your bank account

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 25

Review summary

From the very start of booking the cruise, it's 'buyer beware!'. I booked ours through , lured by such come-ons as 'up to $250 to spend on board', 'up to $1,500 EXTRA to spend on board or prepaid Visa', etc. etc. Only AFTER booking the cruise and paying the non-refundable deposit did I find out that the 'special bonus' was only on-board credit of $50. A very big difference! That credit did go up to $75 on-board credit by cruise time, but they know that it's only a drop in the bucket for what the total bill will end up. The total cruise an 8-day cruise or the Dutch West Indies for two people in an interior cabin with a big TV screen to view the outside world instead of a window, was $1,591. But that's only the beginning. What's not explained from the start is that each person will automatically be charged $16 per person for each day of the cruise for staff gratuities. That is acceptable, considering the great service you get on-board, but they've just automatically added $256 to the 8-day cruise. So much for the $75 on-board credit! From the time I purchased the two fares from , I've felt like a leech had attached itself to me, trying to drain me at least another $1,000. They also allow you to bring on board 12-20 oz or less beverages. If you can make that last for 8 days between two people, more power to you! Otherwise ALL other beverages cost money, including water! Can you imagine? Even water is held for ransom on board a Royal Caribbean ship! I did find two water fountains in the exercise room that I could fill bottles from, but other than that I would have to buy one of their beverage packages. At first, I was tempted to buy just the refreshments package, which they list as being $36/day. With tax that would have added $340 for just one person to drink only carbonated beverages for the 8 days! There's no way that I'd be able to drink enough every day to justify that. So, I toughed it out with refilling from the water fountains in the exercise room. At least RC has the heart to keep fitness-conscious people hydrated and didn't have a soda machine for them instead. Of course, now that I mentioned surviving off of that for the 8 days, they probably will! On board, the roulette Dealer, at about 3:30 pm on Fri 4/21, literally cheated me out of about $20 payout on one play. For verification of the dealer's cheat, check the security footage from the casino from that day. She paused the game to verify my claim of my chip placement because this inexperienced, incompetent dealer thought the chips weren't place properly. The players both to my right and left verified my claim. Then when the pit boss told the dealer to pay me, she paid me for a single chip when there were four on that spot. The security footage will bear that out. And bring shampoo! RC advertises that they provide the soap and shampoo, but what they're referring to is a 3-in-1 liquid. If you want a better quality shampoo and/or conditioner and/or body wash, you'd have to bring it. The food in the main dining and the self-serve cafeteria was great and a good quality, served by some great wait staff! What a great opportunity to try out food that I wasn't accustomed to ordering. It made the on-board experience bearable. Be mindful, though of Johnny Rockets! There are no prices on their menus and the waiter who we had the first day was literally making up the prices in his head as we were inquiring about the different offerings! I guess whatever prices he felt were appropriate for the day/time/his personal wallet shortages, is what he came up with.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

Kralendijk, Bonaire

Willemstad, Curacao

Oranjestad, Aruba

Disembarkation

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