Meh food, watered-down drinks, poor entertainment

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 18

Review summary

We have been on navigator of the seas in August 2023. That was my husband's(30) and I(30) first royal carribean cruise and second cruise experience. And family members(their first cruise experience). The first cruise we have been one(Discovery Princess) it was truly amazing, in every single way, so we were extremely excited to finally go in one of the most famous cruise lines and see what that is about. It is important to say we are in no way super critical or particular about food, drinks, etc, we just like to eat lol and have a fun time. But I think it's important to point some things out. -Food: This was one of the parts that was the biggest let down for me, of course it is important to point out that I am a pescatarian, although whenever possible I prefer to eat plant based, so maybe this part may differ for other people. On discovery princess there were probably a hundred things I could eat every day, either on the buffet, pizza place, cafeteria, main dining, plus they would change the whole menu every day. On Royal the food was the same for the whole duration of the cruise. There were no vegan food, besides salad. There was no variety once or ever, even when it was an Italian night, for example, on the buffet there was only one type of pasta with alfredo sauce."All" the veggie options ( a veggie burger and a veggie pizza) had to be ordered (and I'll explain why this was a problem later). The cafeteria served the same things for Five days, desserts tasted just like jello, plus, I had a cheesecake and my family had a guacamole and Mac and cheese that were spoiled, it really felt it like they were trying to make you pay for the other restaurants. - Drinks: I'll try not to go on too long on this part, but basically all of the drinks were extremely sweet and watered-down. We got the drink package and if you weren't just having shots or beers, you would be drinking sugared water. -Entertainment: Most of the entertainment was focused on the pool area, like pool party, sexiest man on the ship, belly flop, just like a booze cruise, but beyond those events, the other events were just trying to sell you something like: "buy your first rolex", "2 t-shirts promo for 25", or a "five-minute massage on your shoulder", then they would try to sell you a spa package. The waterslides, pools, hot tubs, chairs to sit by the pool, were always extremely crowded, trivia was basically non-existent and we felt like there wasn't much to do during the day other than hang out at the bar drinking. The ice skating show was truly amazing though, the golf area, was really fun and cute, and silent disco it was really great. Staff: This was one of the parts that made me the saddest. First I want to thank every single person who works on that ship, you are amazing for being able to work so hard!. That being said, I believe that royal caribbean should take more care of their employees. All the employees were exhausted and I believe they are really understaffed, they all looked extremely tired and, although, they tried hard to do their best, you could see how much work they had. I have spoken to some of the staff and they said they work 12 hour shifting, every single day, for 6 months straight!!!!! So, no kidding, I'd be exhausted too! And that is the reason I said it above it, about being a problem, requesting a veggie item, because when I would see a sign saying "request a veggie option", I clearly didn't want to bother them as everyone was understaffed and overworked, even ordering a drink at the bar made me feel bad. Unfortunately, I don't know if it was bad luck or if royal carribean is not for me, which is a bummer because I really wanted to check the newest cheap, but I am afraid it would be the same experience. I think royal is a good option if you have young children because of the waterslides (but be ready to wait in line for hours), or if you like to spend the whole day only at the pool drinking beer or shots (you have to get there very early or the pool will be full), so navigator of the seas might be a good option for you. If you like good food, good drinks, dozen of fun activities happening at the same time I would suggest another cruise.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

San Pedro (Los Angeles), California

Catalina Island, California

Ensenada, Mexico

Disembarkation

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