It was my 3rd cruise, 3rd cruise ship, I hated it.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Ok, not too much of a hassle, pretty organized.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
I dont think a person should have to pay so much for stupid sodas and water package. DISGRACEFUL. The drink packages is why I cannot give this rating 5 stars. There was an issue of how much milk my daughter could ask for, for my grandson, so we had to buy our own milk to last for the remainer of the trip, when we stopped in Nassau. Thank God the 2 boxes lasted us.. But still we had to buy drink packages that didn't make any sense for the price. I bought a soda package thinking it included drinks like Virgin Pina coladas... Nope, that package was 34.00 a day per person... smh
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
No. Bc a had one stupid water slide for kids in pampers... As long as a parent is with the child why can't a parent do other activities other than a stupid 2 inches long slide... No good accommodations for families with toddlers and we had to pay almost full price for him.. SMH..
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Didn't see much of the entertainment bc of my grandson...
Children's Programs
1 out of 5
Eas not told that they were children programs in board. Found out in day 3 when we got off on the wrong floor and saw the signs... This should have been explained to me, when I was booking the cruise, after online Rep realized I was travelling with a toddler.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The service for our dining room. Was excellent... Jose and Raj were superb waiters..Excellent customer service.. This was the best thing about this cruise. Meeting this dining room team made my nights better. Even the head person for Jose and Raj was also a phenomenal person... I was glad to meet them.
Windjammer Cafe was also an excellent place to get something to eat for Breakfast, lunch and dinner, if you diddny choose a dining room and most of the staff was also helpful and caring...
The pizza place on the 5th fl was very mediocre. Didn't eat anywhere else, so cannot comment on other places. But my dining room and Windjammer Cafe was an amazing experience..
My Room Steeard, Wisely, was very friendly and helpful. Kept calling my grandson Zavier instead of Xavier.. But he did an amazing job of getting us anything we asked for and keeping our rooms well stocked and clean.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The staff that kept the main areas clean. Did an amazing job...
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
My back is still hurting from the bed in our room... I was expecting to separate beds apart and not joined together as one bed. Had to get the center table removed, once again, no consideration for the toddler travelling with us.. The closet had way to many life jackets that took up a lot of out space to store our suitcases.. We made it work but it was unnecessary for so many life jackets for a family of 3. Also, at time of departure, I had to go an argue for tags to put our bags out despite the dact that we checked our bags in with them. I was told that a machine randomly selects people to give tags to.. Why not give back tags to those that asked for assistance with nags coming on.. Then if they don't want them when leaving have them leave theirs in the rooms. That also pissed me off..
Ship tip
Think twice before booking this ship. If, you do,make sure you go on every floor and see what each floor have to offer before settling in your room. If you are travelling with a toddler. Do not use this ship or Royal Caribbean for that matter.. Try Carnival instead. Also, I hope you are able to go with out internet, the cost for daily internet was ridiculous and then when you are in your room, it was working well, it kept buffering.. Grandson likes to watch his little education shows on his tablet and it just kept buffering.. So why charge so much money for crappy internet service
I boarded the ship at Port Canaveral. I think it was way too many older folks that wasn't to keen on using the online check in system. They all looked like they are already getting a pension.. However, the lady that checked me in was somewhat friendly but complained about the little kids that were screaming during the last cruise...
We did a tour of the Island. Price was reasonable but bc so many ppl did a tour like ours, most of the places were congested and we didn't stop in order to make it back to the boat in a timely manner..I enjoyed the tour and the tour guy was very friendly...
The Oasis Lagoon pool was great. DJ, Music and drinks was awesome.. The beach water was way too cold for me. The Cafe was great as well. The place belongs to Royal C'bbean but they didn't allow you to bring THEIR food in the boat. The amount to go in the rides was too expensive and once again not much for a toddler to do there, so why pay to go in rides... smh..
I've been on one cruise, without children, and know what is available for kids on board the ships. It's a simple click on some links on RCL's website to see EVERYTHING that's on each ship. My family and I are cruising next month (with three young children) and we cannot wait for all the fun offered on the ship.
Thanks for the review. We’ve always had a great experience with Royal Caribbean. There are much better vacation options than cruising if traveling with children currently. It also sounds like cruising may not be for you.
I have sailed on Independence of the Seas and other Royal Caribbean ships. I always do research. Especially since I am a travel agency. Royal Caribbean has offered activities for children since my very first sailing. I don't think the failure is the ship, but like mentioned before, the failure was in the research that was not done prior to picking this ship. When I on this ship in 2019 I thought it was a very beautiful ship and I enjoyed everything about it. As far as the drinks are concerned, I never had any problems asking for anything that I wanted. And nor did I have to buy the drink package. If I wanted some milk I would just simply ask and I would receive it. I have also sailed with children and had no problem putting them in the program for children. It's about research. I'm sorry that you did not enjoy yourself. Hopefully next time you will do more research regarding what each ship has to offer. I don't think Carnival is the answer.
Sounds like the cruise ship had just about everything you needed / desired, but you and / or your travel agent failed to educate yourself pre-cruise or ask the right questions about how to access the many children programs and options available to you and your family. We've cruised with our four children of various ages many times on RCCL and always found something for everyone. If children programs are a priority for you, you might want to try a Disney cruise.
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