Crown and Anchor disappointment - added expenses.....

Radiance of the Seas Cruise Review to Alaska - Gulf of Alaska

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 15

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Radiance of the Seas

7 Night Alaska Hubbard Glacier Northbound (Vancouver To Seward)

Sail date: August 12, 2016

Ship: Radiance of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 1098

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

We've cruised with Royal Caribbean since the late 1990's, and have always loved the recognition we've received as loyalists.  We were greatly disappointed on this cruise after finally obtaining the Diamond Plus status.  The Loyalty Ambassador was flippant, and didn't seem to care that we didn't receive the perks that we had obtained at this level.  We had to go all the way to the Captain to get any sort of recognition, but we did (eventually, after attempts with the Concierge, loyalty Ambassador, Front desk, and then finally talking directly to the Captain at the "top of the Tier event" that we didn't get invited to).  Fortunately, the Director of Hospitality did reach out to us and seriously worked to resolve everything to our satisfaction.  It did unfortunately leave a sour taste in our mouths, which ultimately resulted in us cancelling two cabins in December with RCL.  As a RCL loyalist (we've paid for seven cabins on RCL this year alone), I'm now questioning the service, dedication to loyalists, and concern that RCL has to their frequent cruisers.  

Our room was tremendous, but the food in the Windjammer was of questionable quality, and disappointing in the formal dining room.  On the plus side, however, dining in the  specialty restaurants has NEVER been a disappointment.  I remember the days when the food in the formal dining room was as good as it is in the specialty restaurants without the added costs.

 

Gratuities are an additional expense that seem to keep going up and are almost as expensive as the cruise itself, so watch for those hidden extras if you are a first time cruiser.  

 

We were greatly pleased with the com booking website and the ease in booking as well as the additional perks that we were provided with.  This was our first booking with them after being loyalists to another travel agency for the past 15 years.  We are pleased to say that we are looking forward to having them as our new travel partner for future reservations with whichever cruise line we decide to book with.  We loved the shipboard credit, and spa credit that they offered for booking this cruise.  We will definitely use them again for future bookings.!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

The specialty dining at Chops has always been well worth the extra costs and comes highly recommended. We always book a specialty restaurant on our cruises!

Ports of call

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

3 out of 5

Cruise Inside Passage, Alaska

5 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

5 out of 5

Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), Alaska

5 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5

Cruise Hubbard Glacier

5 out of 5

Seward (Anchorage), Alaska

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 15

5 Comments

pZhx9sC0Y98N0FEsL90wcSj8C    8 years ago

For giving an opinion? Seriously, don't like it, don't read it. I appreciate the honesty.

cruizy    8 years ago

is loyalist like royalist? never heard the term before

ljkg    8 years ago

We've sailed on many cruise liners. Carnival. Princess. Holland America. Cunard. P&O UK. NorwegianCruise Lines. and our last cruise in was with RCL. I have to say RCL was the worst ever for customer service. The ship was great (Explorer of the Seas) but the staff were not. We had heard so much about this so called brilliant cruise line and were soooo disappointed. Give me Princess any day for customer service.....

eddiemac1    8 years ago

Did you hit diamond plus on the cruise or before the cruise? Makes a difference. You don't get the perks if you hit it on the cruise

joeglo67    8 years ago

I raise my glass to impossible standards.

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