Former Loyal RCL Cruiser; but never again!
Jewel of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
7 Night Southern Caribbean (San Juan Roundtrip)
Sail date: December 03, 2017
Ship: Jewel of the Seas
Traveled as: Large Group
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
The entire experience was very disappointing this time. We had a very rough year where every month at least two family members passed away, including my cat, my father, and my sister withing 3 days of each other. So we really needed a vacation. We had been saving for and planning this trip since last fall. I was super diligent and booked it about a year in advance and, like a decent person, made my final payment approx 90 days before, as requested. However, shortly after making my final payment, the hurricanes hit. All along, the news kept saying the islands were a wreak while RCL kept sending emails that everything was fine. Knowing our vacation might be compromised, I called RCL and asked about moving to a different cruise. But I was my vacation would not be compromised and that I can't make any changed because I already made my last payment. A few days later, the price of my cruise dropped by $600 but, again, RCL was unwilling to assist in any way because I had already made my final payment. At this point, our vacation was already starting on a sour note because RCL was so uncooperative in trying to make our vacation experience better. It was clear that all the company cared about was getting our money and not that they had it, they didn't care about us anymore. Faced with no other alternative we tried the make the best of our experience. Unfortunately, we would soon find out that our expectations would be crushed. Having been on several cruises before, including this exact same one several years prior, we were familiar with the level of luxury we thought we would receive. Unfortunately, the areas we have been most impressed with in the past were sub-par at best: the food was less than mediocre, the on-board entertainment was virtually non-existent, and the service was deplorable. On previous cruises, we had been accustomed to top notch cuisine, beautiful presentation, with local ingredients and Caribbean fare. We had none of that. Normally, we would find ourselves on ships with so many things to do, we would have to pick which activity we wanted to participate in, or which show we wanted to attend. This time, there was barely anything to do on the ship at any given time, the timing of the shows was so inopportune that somehow neither dinner seating found it convenient to attend, what little activities were planned were not hyped enough so only a couple people knew to attend, and the wait staff didn't even sing or dance nightly. And as for the service, in the past, our stateroom attendant would get to know us and cater to our every need, this time, I barely ever saw him and despite requesting a bath towel several times, only got them at night even though I showered every afternoon. Even the wait staff in the dinning room was disappointing. Our waiter messed up at least a handful of orders every night, our steaks were never cooked as requested, many dishes were way too salty... All in all, it was a mess. Even the spa staff was rude and pushy. They were so focused on trying to sell products that they performed mediocre but highly over priced services. And the most unfortunate part is that we weren't the only ones who felt this way. Every single person we spoke on the entire trip was echoing the same sentiments. Even a few crew members mentioned some of the discrepancies they had noticed between this ship and others they had been on. All in all, if I'm going to save money to go on a relaxing get away, it won't be with RCL ever again. I'm very sad to be saying this because I was a very loyal RCL cruiser but obviously, the company's priorities have changed and they no longer care about the customer or their experience. I'm going to make sure my friends and family think about that when they are planning their next vacation!Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
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And the most unfortunate part is that we weren't the only ones who felt this way. Every single person we spoke on the entire trip was echoing the same sentiments. Even a few crew members mentioned some of the discrepancies they had noticed between this ship and others they had been on. All in all, if I'm going to save money to go on a relaxing get away, it won't be with RCL ever again. I'm very sad to be saying this because I was a very loyal RCL cruiser but obviously, the company's priorities have changed and they no longer care about the customer or their experience. I'm going to make sure my friends and family think about that when they are planning their next vacation!