I have only been on royal carribean once before in 1993 and it was first class and unreal. What happened? This was so disappointing. Very little appearances of the cruise director, shows were ok, dancing was amazing. Only two comedy shows that weren't even advertised as such and one that was at 1130pm. Food was a huge disappointment. Its like they lowered the quality in Mdr and buffet so you are forced to pay for specialty dining. Ship is pretty. Very low personal interaction from staff. It was a strange cruise without many stand out memorable moments
Embarkation
4 out of 5
It was quick at first, then as key holders no one knew where to put us. Eventually they sat us with everyone else and then people began standing over us and at the door to board. They called key guests to go outside and wait longer with the special assist passengers. Non- key guests were also there eventhough they knew not to. It was poorly managed to say the least.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Mdr was not good. Mostly room temp or cold food. Asking for hot food was a challenge because then you didn't eat with the rest of your table. Awkward! There was very little taste to the food. If i didn't see it and imagine it's taste, i wouldn't be able to tell you what it was. Our wait staff didn't know our names or engage with us much at all. We tried with no luck. Yes, we had the same staff every time. We were given water and never asked if we wanted something more. We had to wave them over ( if they made eye contact) to order a different drink. Buffet ... blech. We did wonderland (fun, but was forced to have the appetizers they picked), chops (huge let down...rushed and cold food) and Jaime's Italian- BEST SERVICE AND FOOD! We wished they were all this way.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
So, trivia and bingo.....great ideas, but booooring. Did ifly first day, that was fun but fast and if you have any lower back issues....its a no go. North star was cool, but it gets hot in there! The gym was small, most machines broken, only two benches to do free weights on.
The solarium hot tubs were great. Not super hot, but relaxing.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
This was hit and miss. The shows we liked most was music odessy, the farewell show and mr record (comedian). The dancing was amazing, but mostly contemporary dance. Sequins and Feathers was a cheap vegas showgirl act. I really wanted to see something with music i knew. The guitar player in harp and horn was amazing. Piano bar..wow what a difference than what I'm used to. No one sang along and participated which is the best part of a piano sing along. The most that people did was just clap along. Sad because the piano bar has been my favorite on other cruise lines.
Children's Programs
1 out of 5
Didnt use
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
The crew did a great job with keeping things moving, accessable and clean. Sadly, very few, including our room steward, didn't say hello, look up or engage at all. Don't get me wrong, their hard work showed, it just lacked that personal experience. We actually only got 3 towel animals the whole time when i can't remember ever missing an every night towel animal. It is part of the experiece we were looking forward to :(
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
Our room was almost aft on the ship. There are only two elevator banks, forward and mid. Our walk to our room was so long. We are fit and don't mind walking, but this design is horrible! A lot of the cushions in the common areas were tattered. There were some beautiful areas of the ship. We especially enjoyed the solarium. Walking to or from the solarium from the mid elevators you are forced to walk through the smoking section. Why put that in the indoor pool area where people are trying to relax?
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Loved our cabin although its distance from the closest elevator was far. The shower was awesome. Watchout for super hot water in the shower! The bed is hard, ask for a mattress topper. Request extra towels as the floor gets wet and there is no floor towel or rug to speak of.
Ship tip
don't book an aft area room as it is a walk from the elevator. Next time I would book starboard instead of port as we never had a view of the port we were docked at. Get the key! Do jaime's every night! Expect small drinks. Book excursions though shipmate or at port. Try the solarium bistro for dinner one night. It's free, but you have to reserve. Don't buy purses or watches, cheaper online for the same thing!
Went to the red dog and got a great bloody mary first thing. Jumped on the blue bus and went up to the glacier. Be brave and go left on the trail to the falls when you see the map. It takes you on a route along the beach which is very much less traveled and amazing views that you can't get on the trail itself. Any off shoot to the left will get you there!
Did an excursion through ship mate. I think it was the float tour. Thomas was an amazing guide and really knew how to paddle us around! Such a beautiful experience and only 10 people!
Love it! Must do pike place! Also, go to the public library! Its amazing. Use light rail to get to the airport. Just taxi to downtown after your cruise (20 dollars) and light rail for 3 dollars to the airport. This is especially great if you use port valet and have no bags with you.
We weren't going to get off the ship here, but so glad we did. Took a rickshaw (runner not bicyclist) tour. Omg amazing! Took us to china town and went into the best shop! Park with black squirrels, ducks and peacocks that you can feed.
This was quick because we knew where the key line was after being in line for a while. This should be marked. We did port valet and highly recommend it! Look it up online, it is free and amazing.
Cruising on the main stream cruise lines has become less elite and more of a money making cattle call over the past 20 or so years. Then Covid, China, Russia, and politics combined to put cruise lines in trouble and make expected resources (people and materials) hard to get, drastically worsening things. Hopefully this will recover in a few years, but I am not holding my breath what with events in the US, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the poor world in general.
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