Shirl Schiff and I waited 3 years to take this cruise and it was such a let down. We had three scheduled cruises cancelled because of Covid so we were excited to sail again. In the past, we sailed on RC's Anthem of the Seas (twice), Allure of the seas, Radiance of the Seas and have sailed on other ships from several other cruise lines. All of our other experiences have been from great to amazing!. This cruise? It is hard to share anything positive about this ship or our experience on it because it was such a disaster. The food was terrible and the drinks were even worse. In all, the ports we visited were very underwhelming. One would expect a vacation to be relaxing and enjoyable, however this cruise was none of those things. We were left frustrated and disappointed.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
We scheduled and checked in at the 3pm embarkation time. The facility was well staffed, but bottlenecks occurred because staff assignments were misallocated. The result was that we were either rushed along or waiting in a long line.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
Royal Carribean failed miserably here.
Food: In a word, it was awful! We tried all of the restaurants, two specialty and all of the complementary options. All provided the same terrible experience. In general, the food was served cold. It was not very appetizing nor tasty. In fact, there were a few entrees we could not eat. We dined at the specialty steak house. In summary, we should have saved our money. One highlight was the specialty Sushi restaurant. It was good. It was not excellent, just good. As a result, we ate offship while docked, or ordered room service for most meals on ship. The room service food was usually palatable and arrived generally intact (sometimes items were missing, but usually the order was complete).
Drinks: Absolutely this became the worse bar experience ever! It appeared to me that none of the bartenders were trained. There was no consistency in the drinks. Simple drinks were too challenging for some of the staff who also had no sense of urgency. We experienced bars that were out of stock on staple liquors (Grey Goose vodka, Buffalo Trace bourbon, Jameson Irish Whisky, etc,) And garnishes were very limited, limiting what drinks could be made. I found it odd that even the drink of the day was not available at times because required liquor was not in stock. We bought the drink package so we were able to sample hoping to find something that was made well. But that wasn't to happen. The highlight of the bar: the beer was cold!
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
We experienced just a couple of activities. First, we found the North Star to be very lame. Get in/Up/down/get out. We were not impressed, but were happy that we didn't have to wait! Also, we lasted 10 minutes at the Scavenger Hunt. The venue wasn't creative and not very entertaining compared to other Scavenger Hunts that we experienced during past cruises.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The Cabaret show was entertaining as was the 70's night. We enjoyed watching the love and marriage game as well as the Los Vegas singer's show. As for the comedian, we lasted about 15 minutes of the stand up show. Unfortunately, we were also underwhelmed by the piano player and three of the solo guitarists.
Children's Programs
We had no children with us
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
We found the wait staff to be friendly, courteous and attentive. Our room steward should try harder to announce himself before entering the room. The three restaurant supervisors who stopped at our table to chat were engaging.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The ship was clean and well maintained. We experienced the usual elevator backlog. However, other than the Two70degree venue, this vessel has no wow factor. The two elevator clustor design make for a long walk. The Royal Esplanade is not very royal which is a shame since it should be the showcase of the ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
It was what we expected.
Ship tip
Based upon our experience I recommend looking for another ship/cruise.
We arrived in the morning by train from Seattle and traveled to the port by car. We spent the time prior to embarkation enjoying the view, appetizers and drinks at the port. We did not have the opportunity to see much of the city
We spent the day walking through the small town and visiting the local shops. It was nice to get off the ship, but was not worth a revisit. Waiting for the bus to return to the ship was daunting!
We enjoyed a whale watching tour with a small group on a local ship. The weather was good and the tour was enjoyable. We saw many whales and seals. It was nice to have a full day at the state capital. We also enjoyed a beer at the local brewery and ate at a local restaurant which served unremarkable food.
We spent the day walking through the small town and visiting the local shops. It was nice to get off the ship, but was not worth a revisit. We enjoyed a beer at the local brewery and the scenery was nice. Since we didn't take the train ride nor any of the other tours offered, the town didn't fill the time allotted at the port.
We spent the day walking through the small town and visiting the local shops. It was nice to get off the ship, but was not worth a revisit. We enjoyed a beer at the local brewery however the venue was extremely small and not very accommodating. The town was bigger and hillier that we expected, but it was nice to explore the streets and the local fare.
I was on this cruise, and my experience was completely different, and I think I have realistic expectations. After seeing many people post about the food issues since the menu changes in MDR we were worried, but all food in MDR came out quickly and was the right temperature for the dish, and specialty dining was all the better - chops chest service I’ve ever had this cruise, Jamie’s great server and food and manager interaction and wonderland was wonderland, the usual. To say there’s no wow factor on this ship?!? Adults only solarium being surrounded by live plants and glass? That’s not special? Music hall design and space not special ? Royal esplanade not special? Different that other royal ships, sure… but just because it’s not the same doesn’t mean it’s bad. North Star, what did you expect, it goes up and a secret magical experience happens? Yes, obviously it goes up… and down… that’s what it does, and provides beautiful views from an angle and height you can’t see on the ship otherwise.
It also sounds like you did no research on your trip if you’re surprised that Alaska ports are small towns. Any ship in Alaska isn’t going to pull up to Atlantis in the Bahamas.
Best of luck in your future cruises, I hope you do some research before traveling again so you have some realistic expectations.
First cruise? I seriously question the validity of this cruise. I was on Ovation of the Seas on her second cruise of the restart, and although there were some hiccups, I had an amazing time, ship was beautiful and tge food was great. I truly believe that anyone posting a riveting re iew like this either set their expectations so high that it would be impossible to achieve, or the cruiser is an elitists and couldn't be happy no matter any circumstance. Personally, when I go on a cruise, I will not look for everything that is wrong, but enjoy everything. Its money spent either way, so why not enjoy the cruise. I have yet to have a perfect cruise, cause something will go wrong with over 3000 passengers all doing the same thing at the same time, so sometimes things go wrong, but I don't let that one thing ruin the rest of cruise, cause chances are, the cruise line didn't ruin the cruise, you did
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