Itinerary changed from eastern Caribbean to western because of the hurricanes. Clearly this was a last-minute thrown together itinerary. With the exception of Labadee, each port had several (3-4) cruise ships in port so they were very crowded. This cruise should have been cancelled or passengers offered a full refund. It was not what we signed up for. Overall for the price, it was not worth it. They nickel and dime you for everything.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
The terminal was very crowded (we were there about 1130am). The check-in desks were moving well but after that it seemed very disoganized. We were a large party trying to stay together but the staff kept on directing our group members in different directions. Several of our group had mobility handicaps and the lead agent in the terminal building said our group can move through after the premier members boarded. Her direction was ignored by the other agents and we wound up hearded through with the crowd (the line completely deteriorated).
We boarded at 1230 but were told staterooms would not be ready until 1330. So there were over a thousand people tripping over eachother with hand luggage in the Windjammer Cafe. Why board before staterooms are ready?
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Windjammer/Jade Cafes: Very mediocre food with the same tired offerings each day and the quality was similar to those budget chain buffet restaurants. There were theme nights but the selection was extremely limited and the quality not particularly good. Breakfast: Scrambled eggs seemed like powdered mix, the pancakes very pale and dry and the sausages were clearly frozen supermarket style. Lunch/Dinner: Buns for hamburgers and hotdogs were so dry they crumbled when touched (this was everyday).
Main dining: Breakfast was served at the table but the food was mostly what you get at the Windjammer buffet. The menu selected items were of mediocre quality. Dinner: Nothing special about the food. Items that should have been hot were warm to cold. Portions were small (ok, they don’t want waste) but if you looked around the dining room, a lot of food went uneaten. Drink service was painfully slow.
Johnny Rockets: Extremely disorganized and unable to handle a crowd. Stood at the front, with a long line behind us, for a long time trying to get someones attention. Finally claimed a table and again had to flag someone down to get the mess left behind cleaned up. This was after sitting and being ignored. BEWARE: upcharge covers food only. If you don’t have a drink package, you have to pay extra. None of the packages cover the milkshakes which makes no sense. Then they add in an additional service charge AND ask for additional tips.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Fitness center was spacious and clean. Lots of machines but sections were roped off. Jogging track on deck 12 was mostly crowded with folks lounging around and slowly milling about. The deck chair arrangement had them right up to the edge of the track.
Adult pools were frequently crowded.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
The venues are rather small since so much is crammed on this ship. If you don’t get there very early for a show, don’t count on getting a seat.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Boarding: Staff were rather indifferent. In the terminal they were unhelpful and disorganized.
Stateroom: Attendant was wonderful, friendly and helpful.
Main dining: Waiter was very good but his assistant struggled to keep up.
Windjammer: Wait staff was generally very helpful but the cooks were not particularly friendly and frequently pulled dishes away without even looking if you were in the process of serving yourself.
Johnny Rockets: Extremely disorganized. The waitstaff seemed to be complelety overwhelmed.
Guest services desk: 0 stars. I went to the desk several times to ask about issues with my account or other service and got the same guy each time (Fer___do). He was patronizing and condescending. Others in our party had the same experience with him.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
Overall, ship was clean and nice to look at. But there is too much crammed onto this ship that the venues were typically very crowded. Our cabin was aft so the closest elevators were the Centrum. They were almost always crowded so we had to wait long periods in order for one to be empty enough to board.
There were no stations in the pool areas or upper decks to leave drink glasses and food dishes so people were leaving them on and under chairs for the staff to clean up.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Stateroom was generally clean. Bed was very very firm; almost like sleeping in a board. Bathroom sink was faded and chipped. Toilet required multiple flushes.
Ship was clearly configured before the onslaught of tablets and smartphones. There were only two outlets by the desk so if you have multiple electronics, bring multi-outlet adapters. There were no outlets near the bed so plugging in medical devices; e.g., CPAP machines, you need a long extension cord to reach the desk outlets.
Ship tip
There were a lot of passengers on this cruise with mobility and other diabilities. If you require any kind of medical device, bring multi-outlet adapters and long extension cords because stateroom outlets are limited.
VOOM high-speed internet was anything but high-speed. It was expensive and often went out.
Nothing special. Nothing scenic. Took the submarine tour. Very cheesy and overrated. Expensive for what you got. Portside shopping was mostly tourist trap type shops.
Lots of portside shops but you are harrassed by every shopowner you pass trying to lure you into their shop. Can’t even peacefully window shop or browse without being bothered.
We did the All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) excursion. It was alot of fun (beware - you will get filthy) but the “jungle” was mostly just plain forest and the track wall clearly fabricated with cement blocks for bumpes, filled holes for puddles and other man-made ditches and bumps. The “cenotes” was cute but it looks much better in the brochures.
The ship provided information cautions you to stay with official tour group. Experienced passengers shared horror stories and warnings about going alone. You get hit up by folks trying to sell you stuff or offer rides as soon as you step beyond the security gates.
Scenically it is beautiful but if you’re not a beach person, there is nothing for you. You do not need to buy the cabana excursion because you can just claim a beach chair on one of the several beaches. The Artisan Market is a long line of vendors selling their wares. The are situated up on a raised wooden walkway or off to the side of the path. Every single one of them tries to lure you in. If they toss you a bracelet, don’t take it. They will want money for it; even if they said it was a gift. The whole atmosphere did not feel particularly safe to take out our wallets (the main Artisan store by the tram station was fine though).
We did the self-service disembarkation because we had a relatively early flight. It seemed like half the ship had the same idea. The assembly points on deck 4 were very crowded with crazy long lines (at 0645!). Once we starte moving it started well but then got slow when entering the terminal. Why is there only ONE elevator and ONE narrow escalator to bring passenger down with their luggage. They need wide ramps or those flat moving ramps (like Ikea) to more safely move passenger.
Customs was very easy. The agent I had was a bit surly but no other issues.
I too was on this cruise 🚢 and my family just loved it there are always hiccups I was a little disappointed that the itinerary changed but it was not royals fault we have been to the ports many times but we seek out new experiences and had a blast I must say we were quite disappointed with the lunch and dinner in the windjammer but even that we substituted giovanis and chops royal needs to work on windjammer but nothing crucial the promenade had good alternatives also we remain loyal to royal And especially the freedom class 😍
I was on the same cruise, very different experience. Meals in Windjammer offered different type of carved meat daily. Split breakfasts between Windjammer and MDR, lots of choices and ample fresh fruit. Our itinerary was changed due to eastern ports closed by hurricanes. I enjoyed our alternate ports. At Ocho Rios we were the only ship in port. Sorry you had a different experience. I was live blogging daily, read it here : https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/4990-freedom-ots-111117-8-nights-modified-western-caribbean/
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