Would I go again? Not Royal and only because of the lack of entertainment and the horrible shore experiences. We had 2 shore experiences cancelled and two of the three we went on were horrible. My main reason for cruising is the shore trips and so no we would not come back to Royal.
I was very unhappy with the way the cruise director every night every night at the show would make ageist jokes!!
“There are only 9 people under age 45 on this ship”
“Don’t know why we bother with late night on the deck when no one shows up. The bartenders stand around looking for someone anyone still Awake”
“ The Cruise is filled with people spending their retirement here.” Etc.
Yes there were a great many older passengers and some with more r scooters - he also joked about that - but hey they pay his salaries! Instead of insulting the older cruise crowd how about he start scheduling things they would actually enjoy!!!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
It was amazing! The ship is immaculately clean. The staff treated us like we were royalty. The food was a banquet! The beds were comfortable; cabin quiet. I can't wait to return. Cabin 3015 and table 425 - please thank the amazing staff!!!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Sooo much variety, excellent taste world class service - I can't think of any way to improve the food or dining service. It was fabulous!!!
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
I am a nationally certified activity consultant for retirement homes so I am very aware of the process of planning activities for a variety of people. I was disappointed in the selection. The weather was cold so of course the on deck swimming etc. had to be cancelled. However, when we lost a day in the Bahamas the cruise director did not step up with fill in activities. Yes, he reprinted the daily events but nothing changed. That day was as usual - one mid-day movie; trivia in the bars over and over; one adult coloring session and a scrap booking session that cost participates!! The night time movie was a joke! It was on the big screen on the deck so to watch I wore my winter coat!! There were only 5 of us all in coats watching Geostorm as the wind whipped across the deck. The stage performers - two so so comics, a reality show singer, and a company of singers and dancers who did the same steps every night to different music. The house band was excellent, but people walked out due to the selection of jazz. Not everyone likes jazz. The classical piano piece was excellent, but he only played 2 songs. The juggler was excellent; the best performance of the week. What could have been done better? How about real crafts classes - we has these daily on other cruise lines. I also would have loved some lectures on the history of the area. I enjoyed the towel demonstration but since it was the exact same time as napkin folding I could not do both! My husband and I decided we will not do another cruise with you that has days at sea because of the extremely limited options onboard during days at sea!
Entertainment
2 out of 5
The juggler and the classic pianist were the only performers we enjoyed. The movies - loved Justice League, and Darkest Hour. HATED - the lack of movies on the TV in our room!! The inroom tv showed the same Flash and Superstore episode over and over and over and over all 10 DAYS!!!! What the heck?>?> It';s the 21st century!!! Why no movies in our room? Why no weather channel? Why in the world was it 10 days of the same thing over and over and over - HORRIBLE AND A REASON NOT TO RETURN TO YOUR SHIP!!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The housekeeping, the guest services and the dining room staff were just totally amazing!!! I can't praise attendent of cabin 3015 and waiters of table 425 first seating Great Gatsby enough!!! They made our trip memoriable!!!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Spotless!!! So clean, so much service - just wonderful!! And I love your save the seas and eliminating straws - yeah!! I would ask that you add conditioner to the shampoo in the cabin. I didn't know it was not provided, I didn't bring any, couldn't buy any so my very frizzy hair prevented me from buying any of the photos taken onboard!
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
SOOO clean!! Excellent service!! HORRIBLE TV !!! THE SAME SHOW OVER AND OVER - EVEN THE SAME EPISODE AND NO MOVIE OPTIONS!!! REALLY BLACK AND WHITE 1930S MOVIES FROM tcm???? iT IS A REASON I WOULD CHOOSE ANOTHER SHIP IN THE FUTURE. Sometimes at night you want to unwind with a little tv and your ship offerings were horrible!!!
Ship tip
Bring a lot of reading material!! I read 5 large books while on your ship because the at sea day activities and the tv possibilities were soooooo bad!!!!
Out ship arranged tour was horrible! We paid to see Fort Sumpter and never saw it. Our bus failed to meet the boat and instead with no choice in the matter we saw the remains of the submarine Huntley!! There was an aquarium nearby that would have been a great substitute but we were never even asked!! Your day trips were horrible!!
Great tour - because it was on our own. I do wish the visit had been longer as there was so much to see! Our original plan was the museum and planetarium but it was cancelled after we arrived on ship. So we went with plan b and did enjoy it but have been there before so really wanted the planetarium.
Loved the ride through the everglades - HATED THE TOUR GUIDE!! I paid for this trip to learn about the Everglades. Our bus tour guide spent the entire ride out to the Gator park and back talking about HIS life!! How old he was when he moved to Florida, what kind of ice cream he likes, what bars we should visit - UGH!!! I was extremely disappointed!! He told us nothing about the Everglades!! The boat ride and show was informative but the guide - I hate to say it - should be fired as he did nothing as a guide except tell us how many minutes we had to use the rest rooms.
Never went because of rough seas. I have NO photos of the Bahamas because i was going to take photos on the island and wanted to collect shells etc and this never happened. i understand why but then there should have been onboard activities and as I stated above there were no good choices to fill this empty day!!
Clean, efficient, on time and thank you for the drinks and food while we waited!! Such a nice exit touch!! I've had horrible experiences on ships where we nearly missed our flight! You did an excellent job!!
You said you wouldn’t use royal again yet you said you can’t wait to return to your same cabin again! Did you or didn’t you like it? I’ve never had a bad experience with royal and wouldn’t cruise with any other line. I’m cruising on this ship in 27 days and can’t wait! I was glad to read all your positives though. Thanks for that!
If you just got off last Saturday then we were on the same cruise. Funny, DW and I enjoyed watching some of the old b&w movies. However, I agree, the overall channel selection is weak. We enjoyed the shows and the food. Coco Cay cancellation was disappointing but we enjoyed the Solarium instead. We now almost always do our own planning for ports so we save money and are rarely disappointed. For instance in Port Canaveral we took a Lyft to/from Kennedy Space Flight Center on our own schedule. You could've watched the movies from the Viking Crown Lounge and read captions. Had the good fortune to meet "Big Bob" at the Schooner Bar and we spent at least 5 minutes chatting.
So you loved loved loved some things and hated other things. what excursions were canceled and why? was it weather? was it safety? what excursions were awful? share and why. maybe it will help somebody make a decision going forward. please try another royal ship possibly bigger and see if if it’s better. the Lady G which I’ve been on 5 times has very limited activities and the cruise director (in my opinion) hasn’t always been the best but give it another try before you stop cruising Royal completely
I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. That's a horrible way to have to remember your vacation. ☹ I've had only great vacations on RCCL. Maybe consider a Freedom class ship, or higher, if you decide to give them another try in the future.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
