We have sailed many times on Royal Caribbean, and they were our favorite cruise line. However, the experience on the last two cruises we have done with them (we sailed on Odyssey on 12/26/21) have both been really bad. As a result, we will not be sailing again with them for a very long time.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
Poor. Very Long Lines. No dedicated check-in for suite and/or elite Crown & Anchor members
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Very poor overall. The food in Windjammer was bland and there were no Covid protocols in place which meant passengers were touching the same utensils to dish their food and breathing/touching/sneezing over the food. Room service was even worse. We ordered on a few nights and it took over 2 hours to get delivered. by the time it was delivered, the food was cold and horrible.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Every activity was over-crowded. there were 6000 passengers on board and the crew were unable to cope with this large volume. Every activity we tried to do there was a long wait.
Entertainment
1 out of 5
Really disappointed in this. Royal Caribbean now make suite passengers book via their app. You also have to turn up 20 minutes before the show starts as then all seats are made available to people that did not make a booking.
Children's Programs
2 out of 5
The Kids Club was closed most of the times my children tried to use it.
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
Other than the service in Coastal Kitchen, the service was horrible.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
There were no covid protocols on board. All the elevators were jam packed and every bar and show was over-crowded. My family and I caught covid on board and are sure that many other passengers and crew also contracted covid on board.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
It was OK.
Ship tip
Be prepared to feel like cattle. Also, Royal Caribbean seems to be "nickel and diming" passengers to get as much money out of them as possible once they are "trapped" onboard.
Embarkation was not good. Paid extra to park at the terminal, but they had run out of covered spaces, so had to park in an uncovered overflow car park and make my way back to the terminal. I was greeted with an extremely long line as there was no-one managing the arriving passengers.
I like Jamaica, but felt the Royal Caribbean tour was a rip-off. We paid around $150 per person to sit in a cramped van for over 4 hours and the lavish lunch we were promised turned out to be a cheap packed lunch that we had to eat in the cramped van. A Horrible experience
I am sorry you caught covid and had a bad experience but most of the lines have dropped social distancing and masks because they need to make back profits they lost during the pandemic.
We sailed on Harmony in May and didn’t experience the above thankfully. MDR food and shows were good for the most part. Crew were very helpful and friendly. Ship wasn’t full capacity then. Going again in August. The crowded ship does scare me though.
Sorry this cruise didn’t meet your expectations. I agree with the others that cruising just isn’t like what it once was. We have pushed our next sailings further out.
We were on Allure in May, which was our 4th cruise with Royal and did Not experience any of those issues. Food and services were good every place we ate. Room attendant was top notch and he had 17 cabins to take care of. Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise.
Most of the issues you mentioned are common now on all cruise lines if you read reviews. Cruising is not what it was prior to covert and probably never will be again.
Interesting. We were on Oasis in March, didn’t find it that bad. Ship was about 3/4 full. The Windjammer on Oasis class sucks anyway. We never go there, there are plenty of other options. There weren’t any Covid protocols then either, if the elevators full, wait for another one. The 20 minute arrival time for the shows has been around well before Covid. If your Diamond Plus or above there is reserved seating rows for you. We didn’t find any nickel and diming, we even commented on that. And finally…..everyone has been crying for a return to normal….well….hello….it’s here
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