This was a disappointing experience. I expected crowds because of the holiday, I did not expect the operations of the ship to be so inadequate at dealing with the volume of people. I had to go to guest services to have offers added to my account that according to Royal Caribbean were going to be automatically applied. In addition to that, a reward wasn't added and I'm now being told that my sailing didn't qualify for the reward even though I have confirmation that it was to be added to my on board account. The entire experience has sadly been largely disappointing.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
The port has multiple ships all in a row so the traffic and navigating to the right place was confusing. Once in the terminal, things improved but staff directing you were hit-or-miss--some were nice, others indifferent and others pretty rude.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
The desserts in Windjammer were awful--dry and/or hard. Breakfast items like cereal and milk were often out and not refilled quickly. The main dining room was good as was the service there. There was only one place to get food all day/late night, it's options were pizza, small sandwiches and Desserts and the line was often long.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
I mostly participated in trivia activities.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
The comedian, Rocky Osborn, was funny, the ice skating show was entertaining.
Children's Programs
I don't have children
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
If I were just rating the main dining room waiter and asst waiter, the rating would be 5 stars. There were some bright moments but overall, I felt the ship personnel really just wanted everyone off the ship.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
In the common areas it was not uncommon to find soap dispensers empty or not functioning, some toilets required multiple flushes because the toilet paper would stick to the bowl. The ship is older, in itself that's not bad nor is the design unless the ship is at full capacity (which it was).
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
The cabin was clean and what I expected except for electrical outlets. There are no outlets by the beds. Outlets are on the opposite wall.
Ship tip
If you've cruised on newer ships, lower your expectations...a lot
It was pretty boring and disappointing that every activity came with a cost. The shopping area had potential but repeatedly getting approached and yelled at by vendors to come to their stall was counter to the relaxing nature of the port and ultimately made me quickly leave the shopping area without buying anything.
As usual, I received instructions about when to put my luggage out and where to go to await disembarkation. The first problem--luggage was to be out by 10pm but second seating for dinner didn't end until 10pm. Combine that with pre-dinner shows keeping you away from your room meant you'd have to put luggage out at 5 or after 10. On embarkation day, I went to my assigned area--it was closed. I went elsewhere to wait (the dining room). Several staff said the dining room was fine (it was a designated disembarkation room) and could stay as long as I wanted. I told them my disembarkation time was 9:30 and would leave then. No problem. At 8:30 other crew started walking by telling us we could leave and kept coming back. I understand that they were trying to get the room ready for the next cruise but this was just one more example of crew showing that they really didn't want you there and the ship processes/instructions not aligning.
Thanks for sharing your cruise experience. Sorry that it didn’t meet your expectations. Hopefully your next cruise or vacation will meet all your expectations.
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