My first time on Royal Caribbean and my favorite cruise line so far. It is obvious that the management has worked hard to insure that the employees make certain that the customer has a great time on the trip and is treated with dignity, respect and made to want to come back again.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
My wife has mobility issues and we contacted Royal Caribbean's accessibility department and they were very helpful when we reached the cruise port and got us on board as quickly as possible and took us to the places we needed to get to.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
With very few exceptions, every Royal Caribbean employee we dealt with seemed to care about the happiness and success of our cruise. The were there to serve and served well. They all worked to make our cruise experience wonderful.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
There were way more activities available than we had the time or interest to participate in. We are a senior couple and so did a lot more observing than participating. I did however ride the Ultimate Abyss twice, which looks much more frightening than it actually is. There were plenty of pools and hot tubs, water slides etc. etc. etc. The lines were never too long (I HATE long lines).
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We went to the Aqua show which was beyond incredible. The talent was truly amazing and the venue was also incredible as it transformed from floor to deep water in such perfect timing with the show. Definitely 5 stars plus, although I would recommend taking ear plugs or something as the music was deafeningly loud. The ice show was also excellent. Though the rink was quite small for an ice rink there were some amazing feats performed and the show was very professional and the talent again was amazing and the music was excellent and though loud, it did not cause pain to the ears. The Ice show was also 5 stars. We also had reservations for the show "Cats". something happened the night we were supposed to go and they were not able to perform it. They did have some of the cast come out, not in costume, and sing some Broadway musical songs, and the two that I sat through were excellent singers. It was our last night on the ship so I left to go finish packing. My adult children that were on the ship had gone a previous evening and although the play was apparently performed they left shortly into it as they were totally unhappy with it. Zero stars for Cats.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our waiters and room stewards worked very hard to make our cruise a wonderful experience. They were always courteous, and bent over backwards to meet our requests, plus our waiters in the Main Dining Room anticipated our desires and provided the kind of service you would expect in the very finest restaurants. The workers in the other food venues were also very friendly and helpful, going out of their way to serve and help us enjoy our time.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
A beautiful and functional ship. All of the areas we came in contact with, such as elevators, automatic doors, etc. were well maintained and functioning. I did see some maintenance going on, but it was completed quickly and efficiently to keep our cruise a joyful experience.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The cabin was as we expected. Of course it was compact, but I was impressed by how they had arranged space to maximize it. Clever little racks, shelves and cubby holes. I really enjoyed our balcony space. The door to the balcony was somewhat cumbersome, but I imagine that was necessary to keep it secure, especially if we had run into any severe weather. My one complaint was the the refrigerator was not very cold. I did not take the temperature, but I kept some soda pop in there and it was never very cold.
We were there in December and the ocean water was warm and there were plenty of beach lounge chairs. The food provided by Royal Caribbean was very good and plentiful. It would have been nice if they had had more of the sand wheelchairs available. My wife's movements were very restricted as there were none of those available to take here out near the beach. I only saw two or three of them which had already been taken by other passengers who got there first.
One of the reasons I booked this particular cruise was to visit Puerto Rico. The big problem, as on almost all cruise ports of call is lack of time. This was true in this case also. If I really want to see Puerto Rico, I'll have to book a trip there and spend some time. I did a self guided walking tour. Much of the old town area is not suitable for mobility devices such as the electric mobility scooter we rented for my wife. We witnessed one gentleman who's scooter fell over in the street spilling him off of it.
I booked a snorkeling excursion at Charlotte Amalie and things did not go as well as I had hoped. The snorkeling gear I received leaked, the attendants at the booth didn't care, and were busy playing games or texting on their phones. The driver who took us there said to meet him at the drop off point at a certain time, two hours after drop off, then he showed up 25 minutes late, with no apology or excuse. The good part was that where we went was on the opposite side of the Island and we were in an open truck so we had a great view and got to see a lot of the island.
We were there in December and as Coco Cay is a little further north than our other ports the water was a little cooler than the others but still okay for swimming and snorkeling. At this port I used some quality snorkeling gear provided by my family that was with us and had a much better experience than previously. It seemed Coco Cay was not very accessible to mobility challenged cruisers, other than on some cement walkways and really could have used several more of the sand capable wheelchairs. The cruise line provided buffet lunch was tasty and plentiful.
As my wife needed wheelchair assistance, we were sent to the room where the called us by name as the wheelchairs and porters became available and according to our scheduled disembarkation time. The porter took us to the right place in a timely and efficient manner. It was a little difficult to get her on the shuttle bus, but they were courteous and helpful.
Our very first cruise was on Oasis of the Seas many years ago and Cats was playing then. Sorry to say didn’t like it then. Would be nice to have new shows after so many years. Love the Oasis ships.
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