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I have read other reviews of this cruise, and of others from Malaga, and have to disagree with many points raised. So, we arrived the night before having made our own plans and stayed close to the port, which of course meant a very long and expensive taxi trip to the port. Malaga is undergoing extensive building work and the best place to stay at present is the Old Town area.
We arrived at 11am - earlier than the time recommended by RCCL, so we can't complain about the cabins being locked or the Windjammer not being open.
We did queue for about 10mins after dropping our luggage off outside the terminal and by reading the signs and asking for help, we found our way in. We faced a long line for security checks but were only held up by people who could not understand what to do (same as an airport really). We headed for the Diamond check-in and were quickly through, no lines there, or at the Platinum or Suite desks.
On-board the ship we found a bar for our normal arrival drink and to await the opening of the Windjammer. Our first impression was that the ship is showing her age and is in need of a little tidy-up.
We went to our cabin at about 2:30am and were very pleased with it. As usual it was clean, tidy and very welcoming - our attendant introduced himself to us and had our luggage with us by 4pm. We were unpacked and ready for the delayed muster at 5pm.
The delay was so that guests coudl watch the Liverpool vs Manchester United football game - including extra snacks and hot food, in three areas.Thsi of course runied the sailaway for those who had no interest in football as we were all standing at our muster stations when the Captain crept out of Malaga. By the tiem we were "dismissed" we had long left land behind.
We then headed to the Diamond VIP Event - what a total abuse of the phrase VIP Event. We were relegated to the upper area of the Cosmopolitan L:ounge (Vicking Crown) where we were forced to stay for our free drink. So much for the access we had to the Concierge Lounges in 2008 and the Diamond Lounge we had on Indy in August 09. Gone were the personal touches such as someone from the crew to welcome us and offre help and advice. However, the waiter was fantastic and he was by far the best advertisment for loyal guest that RCCL had on this trip.
My discussion with thr Loyalty Ambassador became difficult when she told me that no-one on the ship had any control over how the Diamond benefits were implemented - so no food for us, but plenty for football fans! Our happy hour discount was only given if my wife bought her own drinks as did I.
OK, as she requested, I wrote to her putting all of my observations to pen and paper and copied the Guest Relations Manager and Hotel Director. She ignored my letter until after I challenged her later for an acknowledgement, which I duly got the next day - still no action though. Also the GRM and Hotel Dircetor also acknoweldged my letter eventually, the first verbally the latter in writing - but still no action. I have never before found a team of senior managers so unresponsive to what they admitted, were polite and considered concerns and requests. I declined the chance to meet the Hotel Director to discuss my letter, as I thought my last afternoon on the ship was better spent enjoying what was left of my holiday.
Clearly the Loyalty Ambassador was more concerned with selling future cruises - but of course we were all very valued members of the Crown and Anchor Society - as long as we don't cause trouble by asking questions.
So, back to the good things. The entertainment was excellent, the Cruise Director and his staff did a good job considering they were catering for so many different nationalities.
Interestingly there were only just under 400 Spanish on-board, so all the suggestions by others that it was the locals who caused problems with pushing in and causing problems is not supported by the numbers. In fact there were over 2500 British passengers.
We found the food very good indeed, only one small issue which was dealt with quickly. In all the bars we used the staff were excellent as were the MTD dining room team and those in Portofino and Chops.
Leaving the ship was very easy. We followed the instructions for our time and colour label and were on shore in 20mins from leaving our cabin. The only issue was with the taxi rank - not RCCL's problem - the guys there could not organise a knobbly knees contest.
Incidentally I did write again to the Hotel Director expressing our thanks for the way his staff (with two exceptions the LA & GRM) had looked after us and naming three for special recognition. After all, we enjoyed our cruise, the people we met, the food the places and the entertainment, but so much for brand loyalty - Tesco are more consistent.
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