The cruise was fine with a few disappointments. It's all a learning experience. The highlight from me, for this cruise, was the crossing of the Panama Canal, and meeting some very nice people.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
There is construction at the San Diego Port and it was very confusing on where to drop the luggage off. Once inside the terminal, the boarding process was fine, however the ramp to the ship was at a very steep incline. If you had issues walking, or in wheel chair or walker, it was impossible to get on the ship from that ramp.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The three specialty restaurants I visited. Chops, Giovanni's and Samba, were excellent with the exception of Giovanni's. The meal was not worth the price charged. The buffet the food was mediocre, but edible. The dining room menu has less choices and were repeated throughout the cruise. Not the best, but some items were edible.. The quality of the food on Royal has gone down tremendously. Very disappointed, considering what I paid to go on this old ship as a single passenger.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
There seem be to many activities, if that is what you are into. I did not participate in any, as there was always a seat shortage. Hard to find a seat on the pool deck in the shade, as I do not sit in the sun. I stood watching some pool activities, as it what extremely hot on this cruise.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Most of the entertainment was good, however, there was a magician, and a woman comedian, that was terrible. The last night of the cruise, they had an excellent comedian.
Children's Programs
no kids traveling with me
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The service in the dining room was excellent despite the food. The room attendant was very good and friendly. Although they only clean the cabins once a day now, the cabin was always clean. some of the staff in the buffet were friendly, some not so.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Considering the age of the ship is 22 years old, it looked good, but needs lots of work. The crew keep the ship clean for the most part.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
my cabin was changed at the last minute due to fact the a placed a bid for an ocean view and got it 8004. The bed was placed in front of the ocean view window, which caused the pillows to fall in the windows edge every night. It would have been nice if the head of the bed was placed against the wall to keep this from happening, as I constantly had to pull the pillows out of the window every night while trying to sleep and it was very annoying. Otherwise the size of the cabin and cleanliness was fine.
Ship tip
If you like high tech cruise ships, this is not the cruise for you. Only 2 outlets at the mirrors in the rooms. None by the beds. No usb ports, need to bring at least to battery power chargers.
basically a rain forest, not much to see, total was of money for me. Took 1 1/2 hour to get to first stop, to see school girls dance and support local vendors. The other stop and souvenir shop. Not much else to see.
Took a city tour, basically was taken to see two churches and a museum. Got to see the city which has many, many high rise buildings. The down town area, resembles some major American cities. Visited two church's. It was just a tour to view the city and some surrounding areas.
Great experience to watch the ship go through the locks st the canal and travel from the Pacific ocean into the Atlantic ocean. This was the highlight of my cruise.
Extremely hot, took the hop on, hop off excursion. Each stop we were told it would be 30 to 45 minutes before another bus would pick you. This was a major deterrent for me to get off the bus and stayed on it until we got on another air condition bus to take us back to the terminal. If the picks were more timely, I would have gotten of to venture out, but the times did not sit well with me or others on the bus.
Took a city tour, ate lunch at a downtown beach front restaurant and tequila tasting site. It was okay. I enjoyed the nachos for lunch. Been to this port many times. This is a very rich port as there are cruise ships there every single day of the year.
I had a flight booked before noon so could not get a cruise transfer. I had to get to the airport on my own. The problem was I told I could leave the ship at 8am, however, it was delayed, because the luggage was not ready and not on the terminal grounds. We had to wait an additional 30 min's to get off the ship, only to not be able to get our luggage. We had to ask a porter to get it for us. Everyone was trying to get someone to help get thier luggage and only one porter was doing this. You had to give him your seapass card, your name, and what number your luggage was at. I have never been to this cruise port or the airline in Tampa, and was concerned that I would get there in time. I gave the porter some cash to get my luggage, so I could get out of there. This was the worst cruise port experience I have ever had in all my 30 cruises I have taken. I will never sail from or to this port ever again.
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