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Granted I haven't cruised in 14 years, but either the entire cruise standard has declined or Royal Caribbean is really off the mark in regards to quality customer service. The front desk never smiled or acted friendly in anyway. It was as if they were doing us a favor answering our questions. No reminder notices of upcoming show/special dining reservations were sent to the cabin (we have received on other cruise lines). Even when one of the show's times moved to an earlier time (thus our reservation was moved) no call or notice was made to us.
Our cabin steward was friendly, but we didn't receive any of the special touches. 1 night she left a towel animal on my bed, but nothing on my children's beds in the adjoining cabin. My kids were thrilled to see the one on mine, but couldn't understand why they didn't have one. In previous years, gifts (tote bag, tile, etc) were left in the room or at a minimum chocolate on the pillow. Nothing like that on RCCL.
Windjammer is no better than the 'Old Country buffet and while there is a variety of options, those options don't change. Good for the first couple of days, but it would have been nice to see some different items towards the end of the cruise. Dining room food was hit or miss. Some items were very good, but others just okay. Our waiter was pleasant, but nothing special. On Holland American Line,our waiter remembered our preferences (i.e., i prefer my salad dressing on the side)this is not the case on RCCL. Each night on RCCL I had to make this request otherwise the dressing was placed on my salad. It is the little things that make quality customer service. Meal portions have declined as well. On Holland American Line we had an appetizer, salad, soup, main course and then dessert. All amazing. On Royal Carribean we had a starter, main course and dessert.
Air circulation seemed poor at times, almost felt like we were on a floating casino.
Finding a deck chair was near impossible and the water in the pool is terribly cold. The rationing of one pool towel is silly.
Embarkation and Disembarkation are nightmares! I wish there was an "already checked in online" line as all of our paperwork had been completed (save the health form)prior to arriving, but we had to wait in line with everyone else. Easily in line over an hour. There are also only 4 customs official to clear a ship of 6,000 people. Here again the lines should be split into citizen vs non citizen in attempt to have the lines move more quickly.
Overall everything on the liberty of seas seemed to be on the cheap and at the bare minimum. Perhaps if i hadn't experienced better service and food years ago on Holland American Line i would have been happy on Royal Caribbean
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