Worst Royal Caribbean Cruise I've been on

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 6

Overall rating:

2.5 out of 5
Verified Review
Explorer of the Seas

7 Night Greece & Croatia (Venice Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 10, 2023

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 7645

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Worst Royal cruise I've been on. Definitely checking reviews next time.

Embarkation

3 out of 5
Easy to get on but only checked large bags not plane carry-one. Everyone was lugging them up at the same time.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
I like the food, that's the main reason I like Royal.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5
The other cruises I was on had a lot more activities than this one. For example I really like the egg drop I did on my last Alaska Roulyal cruise.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
The magician guy was really good. I had to leave the main dining area before we could get dessert (because it took over an hour for us to be served) but it was worth it he was a really good juggler/magician.

Service and Staff

1 out of 5
This is where things start getting weird/bad. I don't know why, but some of the service people are great and others are insanely rude. All I wanted was to talk to someone about a letter I got saying my excursion I booked with the cruise, and was told in person would not change, was changed to be much worse with no information other than a letter to the room informing me they took the liberty of charging me for the new excursion without giving me any notice or information. Even the people who are nice and helpful end up being liars because the information they give us ends up not being followed and stuff just devolves into chaos. Just today we were supposed to go to Santorini and we were told that if you booked an outside excursion then you were to meet at a location and they would confirm based on the time your excursion started what order you would be able to leave. People waited from 8:30am but no one ever verified anything. There was just a mass of people who were all forced to the exit at once and the tender boats were late so even though I was lined up and waiting at 09:30, I missed my excursion for 11:00. The fact that the boats were late may have been out of their control, but the failure to order people in an organized fashion, who had been queueing since 8:30 as instructed, was 100% on them. The staff was also just plain rude and condescending to me when I was trying to get information about the last minute excursions they canceled and then charged me for. To the point that I just said f-it and canceled it so now I have no tour at all in Athens. A single conversation with someone who would listen to me instead of roll their eyes or say sorry but that can only be answered by people who will only be available 2 hours tomorrow night. The internet we paid for did not consistently work in our room and we got a 30% discount. Which in all honesty I appreciated but would have liked it better if it just worked.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5
There was like a ton of spilled water or something in the hallway and smelled like mildew. There was also food in our room from previous cruisers.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
Nice normal interior cabin

Ship tip

Don't go on it.

Ports of call

Ravenna, Italy

2 out of 5

Split, Croatia

3 out of 5

Santorini, Greece

2 out of 5

Disembarkation

3 out of 5
Haven't left yet but I'm sure that is going to be one of my favorite parts.

Traveler Photos

Bathroom spots Leftovers from last cruise Awesome shake from Johnny Rockets. The service and food there was crazy good.
Was this review helpful? 6

6 Comments

Davidm68    1 year ago

Because of the problems with organization, I decided to double check that the shuttle we booked with the cruise to the Ravenna train station was good, and it was smart that I did. They had no record of me completing the survey, and if I hadn't double checked in person, even though online it said it went through, then I woulda been SOL. I've learned my lesson, do not take for granted that anything requiring scheduling, organization, or electronic systems will work on this boat.

javawoody    1 year ago

Appreciate your comments

cruising2004    1 year ago

Sorry you were disappointed with your cruise.

Mellowjourney    1 year ago

Sorry that your cruise is not going well. Have you met the ice skater Jordan Bauth yet? She has a YouTube channel and is on your ship right now. Could probably catch her during free skate times as the performers usually run that.

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise

karlgrgurich    1 year ago

Wow. Sorry for your experience

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