Subpar compared to other Royal cruises but overall good!

This was my 7th cruise, 5th with Royal Caribbean. This wasn't quite as up to the friendliness and cleanliness standard of the others I've taken with Royal, but I am unsure as to whether this was because the regular crew were all on vacation for Christmas (my own theory) or something else. We had multiple issues:

The Good:
The boat was decorated very lovely for Christmas. 
Plenty of options for activities and entertainment

The Bad:

Our waiter in main dining did not seem to remember us from night to night, did not listen, got our orders wrong, and seemed disengaged. 

Our stateroom attendant didn't introduce himself until day 3 of 4. 

There was an issue with the staff coming back on the ship from our port day - accusing a member of our party of being intoxicated when they were merely food sick, and cutting off the drink package for the remainder of the weekend (what the hell....).....this was later rectified after an hour at the service desk but yikes, what a headache....

The casino staff were unfriendly

Multiple problems with the aesthetics of the ship....for example, the light bulbs on many of the main thoroughfares and in the cafeteria needed badly replaced (they were constantly flickering and gave me a headache).

The Ugly:
Our plumbing in the stateroom backed up several times a day. (ew)

My suggestion: If you are taking a cruise on this style of ship, try a different ship such as the Freedom. I had no issues on the Freedom and the ship was identical but nicer. If you are considering a Christmas cruise, do some research. I feel like most of our staff had "checked out" and simply were not cheerful or happy to be there.