This being my 1st cruise didn't leave a great 1st impression. I'm not sure I'll be racing to book another cruise anytime soon.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Horrible, the Port of Baltimore was extremely disorganized. We arrived 2 hours early and were told we couldn't enter the parking lot until 5pm. When we returned at 5pm as instructed, we had to wait over an hour to get into the lot. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to how they were letting the lines of cars enter the lot. Then there were extremely long lines at checkin. RC should've kept dinner dining options open later due to the delays getting onto the ship, but they didn't which caused the late hour snack shop to be mobbed.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Long lines to enter the open seating times in the main dining room during breakfast and lunch. Only had one entrance open. No reason they couldn't have had both entrances open to speed things up. Buffett was often overcrowded.
Great Gatsby Dining Room
3 out of 5
Servers worked hard and aimed to make your experience satisfying. Food delivery was slow at times causing us to miss the 7pm show (our dining time was 5:30pm and we were always there right on time). Head waitress Brenda was friendly and did whatever she could to make us happy. The lines to enter during breakfast & lunch were unacceptably long, only one entrance was ever open. Overall, food was good and there were plenty of options for everyone.
Schooner Bar
5 out of 5
Piano bar entertainer Sam Martin was EXCELLENT. We went to see him 3 different nights! He's an excellent piano player and good singer. Really engaged the audience and worked hard to entertain everyone!
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Bingo was fun. Casino was a bust, would be curious to know what their slot payout % are or if they're regulated.
Casino Royale
1 out of 5
Smoky and the slots seemed tight.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The evening shows were good. The comedians were funny. Sam in the piano bar was a highlight!
Palladium Theater
4 out of 5
Shows were good, we went to them all!
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Waiters worked hard. Room was kept clean.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Ship seemed aged and in need of a mechanical tune-up on the engines. There was a noticable shutter in thre engines which made it a little rough at times. Didn't like the large smoking area on 1/2 of the pool deck or in the casino, made trying to avoid it almost impossible.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We had an interior room, but it was fine for sleeping, we spent most of our time out-and-about. The ship announcements didn't play in our room which was inconvenient.
If Baltimore wants to be taken seriously as a port they should invest in this port! The exit was before the entrance on a one-way road making the overlapping traffic a safety issue, the entrance should come 1st and the exit second. Parking and luggage drop-off should run much more smoothly and efficiently, it couldn't even be categorized as organized chaos, it was just plain chaotic! There weren't enough agents working to make checkin smooth, there were VERY LONG lines.
We arrived in the evening but unfortunately the retailers weren't informed our ship would be arriving so they had all closed, so unfortunately there wasn't a lot to do until the next day.
We had paid for the upgraded "Key" option which was supposed to allow us to disembark first. Our stateroom letter said if we were checking luggage to wait for the announcement before exiting otherwise our luggage would not be ready, however NO such announcement was ever made and we ended up lumped into numbers 1-10 which made for long lines again.
Me an my husband cruise same day it was hard but they did good job keeping things moving they sent email about delayed entering n its a ship full of people it allways crowded we had get time we cruise royal Caribbean and we liked it sorry you Cruise was disappointing maybe cruising is it for you
It sounds like cruising may not be for you. Most people love it, but it’s not for everyone. I would not base my decision whether to cruise in the future or not on one cruise on an older ship from a non-traditional cruise port.
Our experience was the exact opposite. Baltimore was the easiest port we have ever left from. In and on ship by 1100am. Ship is older but amazing staff.
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