There were highs and lows. I really believe Ana is an inexperienced cruise director and would benefit from best practices from other ships. Royal needs to look at how guest services members address concerns that arise with services promised and nit delivered. Assuming that people will accept that services promised will be reframed as “complimentary” and thus not be upset when not provided is short-sighted!
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Positive experience - as would be expected
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Main dining room food was a major disappointment. Food was often cold and not properly prepared. We sadly sent food back a few times, only to receive more of the same. The crew was overall WONDERFUL and tried very hard to correct these downfalls, but they even were trying to dissuade us from choosing dishes many had complained about before us. After dining on the ALLURE of the SEAS, which was phenomenal, we were sorely disappointed.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The activities which were available, were excellent, yet limited. The bungee jumping and the VR room were both closed and had been for an extended period of time. I think Royal is accountable to accommodate these losses and to provide other options within the timeframe they had prior to this cruise. Kids were really looking forward to both of these amenities and it was a disappointment they were gone with nothing of significance to replace them. Putting cornhole where the bungee jumping was to be was a huge step down in fun.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The performances themselves were Amazing!!! I do think having a matinee showing during the day with 9 sea days and a limited number of activities would have been a GREAT ADD!! But, the entertainment itself was AWESOME!
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
Adventure Ocean is FIVE STARS ALL THE WAY!!! My grandson, who has significant autism, had a WONDERFUL TIME and the crew members there were kind, fun and fantastic overall!!
The teen room needs supervision! There were really inappropriate things happening in the teen room, some things that could have been dangerous. I understand that teens dont want to hang out where adults are, but there’s a reason for that. Some kids are stretching their boundaries and they need supervision!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Overall, I have to rate them EXCEPTIONAL! I did have a negative experience with one manager at Guest Services, but LITERALLY everyone else was PHENOMENAL!!!!
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
Ships layout leaves a lot to be desired. Its a pretty ship, but when you choose to place the high end Chop’s Grille where the life boats totally eclipse the view of the ocean, what are you thinking? Also, the main passageways through the ship are jammed and difficult to walk through because of events planned and shopping rounders. Its frustrating.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The cabin was great. I would only offer that the arrangement of the room could have been a little smarter. The bed was in the middle of the stateroom, and caused a log jam trying to pass from one side of the cabin to the other. The bed would have been better closer to the back of the cabin by the balcony leaving more open space to pass from one end to the other. The cabin was clean when we arrived, but the cabin steward did not change our sheets for a 15-night duration. Additionally, he did not re-stock our handsoap. 😔
The port itself is a nice port. You definitely need transportation to get into Valencia. If you elect to take the bus provided by Royal, you will be dumped in the city with no map, directions or anything and left to find your way back to this bus location on your own.
The train in the Cinque Terre was not what it was cracked up to be at all! The “short walk” to the train station was 45 minutes at a swift pace. The train (despite how it is depicted in the marketing piece) is entirely in a tunnel, so you do not see the views at all. The villages are charming, but our tour was cut VERY SHORT because so many people wanted to depart the excursion due to the level of physical difficulty and the tour guide had to take time with each of them to instruct them how to get back and to exit them from the tour. We were left with very little time to explore, which was VERY DISAPPOINTING! The tour guide herself was LOVELY and worked very hard to keep everyone happy. The group was VERY LARGE and difficult subsequently for her to manage.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
