We sailed on this ship to celebrate my special birthday but the cruise was far from ideal, at best it was mediocre. The ship was dated, we had booked a junior suite and were informed by our agent that we had been upgraded to a grand suite 8014 which we accepted but on embarkation Royal Caribbean said they did not get a confirmation from the agent so they had given it to someone else, they were unhelpful and rude, so we didn't get the upgrade but their view was that as we hadn't paid for it that we shouldn't be unhappy about the situation so we decided to drop the issue and enjoy our cruise as our feelings did not count. Customer relation did say they would look into what went wrong and let us know but they never got in touch. my husband did follow it up with them. Our junior suite had a large crack in the bathroom sink, which they knew about and were waiting to have it done. The metal rack for toiletries over the bath was broken and the room smelt stale and musty, we had to leave the balcony door open all the time. I had paid full price for this cruise so I expected better as I have cruised before and know what to expect. On a positive note the room was a good size and housekeeping were helpful. As for the entertainment it was okay but not spectacular but then it appeared to be a budget ship. The entertainment in the Centrum was popular but due to lack of seating in a small ship I could never find anywhere to sit and with knee surgery I could not stand for long. The Karoke was very entertaining and some very talented guests. The food in the King and I dining room was not very good and always cold when it arrived and also very salty. I mentioned this to the waiter and he said the other people had also complained of these things. So ate in the windjammer restaurant and food here was reasonable and we could always find something nice to eat though it was difficult to find a table at busy times and the staff were always very pleasant and helpful. As for the Royal Caribbean ethos of sell sell sell and lack of care for their customers they will not be on my future sailings list. I have not sailed with them before and maybe I just picked a poor ship that has been sold and general apathy has set in as all the staff have been transferred to other ships after the sale. Read Less

Just returned from 7 night cruise departing Dubai and was very disappointed, this our 4th cruise with Royal Caribbean the last one about five years ago but oh! how standards have fallen, boarding at Dubai was straight forward with minimum waiting but that was the last of the good things, our cabin although small was OK but lacked some things that other cruise lines provide like a fridge, tea/coffee making facilities and bathroom toiletries. There has obviously been cuts in staff numbers and this was evident in the windjammer café as almost every time we visited we had to clear the table ourselves and find someone to wipe the table, whilst there was a good selection of food it was rather bland and on several occasions I had to ask for banana's and grapes which I would have thought would be basic items on any fruit bar. The entertainment was truly basic, one night we had a man and a woman hanging from a shiny metal square doing what was described as acrobatics for 40 minutes, on another night we had what was described as a comic magician but all I can say is he wasn't, the remaining night the shows were the put on by the resident theatre group, we saw one but passed on the others. The excursions were as usual very over priced and not value for money, we tried one at our first stop but after that we got off the ship at our other stops and arranged our own much cheaper and better value for money. The food in the dining room again was bland with the service slow and the waiters overall demeanour indicating they were not happy. Staff at the guest services desk gave the impression that guest were a nuisance preventing them from getting on with other more important work and the IT room was completely devoid of staff meaning no help was available for people like me who are elderly and not very computer literate. Overall this was a cruise to forget and is the worst of all the 20 or so we have been on to date Read Less

This is my third cruise on Royal and I have not been wowed until now. Every time I have travelled with Norweigian it has been an experience to remember and I have done their larger and smaller ships. The entertainment on board was mediocre. The shows consisted of a really bad magician and a pretty good juggler. I found that the bands lacked performance. The activities on the ship did not always happen and the staff sometimes did not even show up to coordinated the planned activities. The dinner service in the main dining room was extremely slow. The food was ok. The food choices in the windjammer were poor but the service there was always friendly and fast. I didn't find that there was very much to do on this ship, the ship is dated, the staff is tired and I found that the overall offerings and service on the ship were poor compared to what I am used to. The Dj onboard was horrible and seemed to be playing the same songs over and over and over. Be sure to look into whether or not you need a multiple entry visa with the type of passport that you have. This visa is quite expensive. The line ups for embarkation were long and I would have liked to have been informed before hand that they needed to keep my passport. Traveling 101 : Never give up your passport so I was quite nervous when I had to do that. They keep your passport for customs purposes until 2 days before disembarkation. Disembarkation was easy. They don't want you to walk off with your luggage on this ship but I did as I always do on other ships. Most ships encourage it but this one didn't. Don't go on this trip for the ship, go for the destinations which is what I did :) I enjoyed the ports of call, the culture and my excursions. The excursions were well organized and the tour operators were awesome. I would definitely recommend these destinations but keep in mind that if you are used to great service, amenities, activities & better offerings then you may be disappointed with this ship. If it will be your first cruise you'll be fine. Read Less

I have been cruising for over 20 years and my cruise with RCI is without doubt the worst I have ever been on. First the good points: the ship was clean and the staff very friendly and accommodating. The bad points: I booked flights and transfers through RCI. On arrival in Dubai the RCI staff were disorganised & we were passed from one member of staff to another. Finally we were put on a coach to a hotel for breakfast. At about10.30 am we were taken to the ship where we had to wait until gone 13.00 to get into our cabins, which was understandable, but we couldn't get any form of refreshments until that time either. On the return, we had to leave our cabins at 08.30 & we were taken straight to the airport. I had a 6 hour wait in the airport, other guests had longer. The cabins were clean & the steward was very good. I had an outside cabin & there was no fridge, drink making facilities or toiletries. There was a good choice of food and it was of a reasonable quality except there was no where to eat after about 11 pm. In the self service restaurant you had to eat off plastic! The Christmas dinner was nothing special although they did give us a 3 inch candy stick! Entertainment was generally poor and the internet useless. Customer service after the cruise has been useless. A lot of apologise but no action - offered a voucher for 150 towards a future cruise, as if I'd cruise with them again! Read Less

This statement is based on comparisons with numerous other cruises we have enjoyed with several cruise companies including two with Royal Caribbean (although they were about ten years ago). Our latest cruises have been with P and O, Thompson and Azamara, all of which we would travel with again. In November four of us traveled to Venice to join the cruise ship Splendour of the Seas for another cruise, this time from Venice to Dubia via the Suez Canal. All started well, getting on the ship was simple and well managed and we were quickly settling in on board. In view of the high bar prices we decided to purchase a drinks package which served us well and I think we got our monies worth out of it. Our first disappointment came when we entered our cabin and found that we had no Tea and Coffee making facilities and no fridge. The room itself was well appointed and cared for and our cabin steward was excellent throughout the cruise. On entering the washroom in our cabin we were surprised to find that the dispensers for shower gel etc. were empty and they remained so for the cruise. We dined on the first sitting on a table for ten guests and quite frankly the service was poor. Not only did we not get any wine/bar service for the first two nights, the food service to the table was slow and the food arrived luke warm. A discussion with the person supervising our waiter at the end of night two did not seem to fix any of the problems, so part way through the third evenings service I found another supervisor and asked him to send the Maître D to our table. He never arrived. At the conclusion of our meal we went and found the Maître D who said he had been told we wanted to speak to us but he had not come over and had passed the issue onto his supervisor. The following night’s service improved but it was never brilliant. It would have helped if our waiter could have remembered which meal went to which guest. Whilst on with the meals, the menus started to repeat early in week two which is another issue we have not had on other cruises. Also on our previous cruises the evening meal has usually consisted a starter course, soup, main course, sweet, cheese and biscuits and coffee. This was a starter, main course and sweet with coffee. If you wanted cheese and biscuits it came as a choice on the sweet menu, but did not give you a choice of cheeses or biscuits. The internet packages on board were unbelievably expensive with no option to simply pay for the minutes you use, the daily packages varied from 40 usd a day down to 20 usd depending on how many days you were purchasing. When compared to our last cruise when our internet bill for the whole of the fourteen days was less than £20.00. Disembarkation arrangements became a nightmare. Firstly we filled in the departure cards and handed them in as requested. Our travelling companions had luggage labels delivered to their room stating they were leaving the night before they were scheduled to leave, we got no labels at all. Jointly we went to find out what was happening and was met by a curt and unhelpful clerk who said the labels were wrong, we shouldn’t get any labels at all as we were leaving independently and we had to carry our own bags. Later we received a letter in our cabin contradicting this and stating we were all leaving the ship the night before our departure date. We returned to the desk and were advised by a more helpful young woman that the system had a glitch and she would sort the problems, we were to do nothing. The following day we returned to the desk to find out what was happening and were told the problems had been caused by us filling in the departure cards wrongly with the incorrect details on them. Then they went back to the glitch causation. A fifth trip to the desk finally got us some baggage labels and we had a plan to leave the ship. On every other cruise we have disembarked the ship and traveled in transport provided by the cruise company to the airport. On this trip we could access this option if we paid extra for it, it would cost the four of us almost 80usd. We settled for a taxi costing us less than £2.50 each. We will not be going back with Royal Caribbean again. Read Less

Food was subpar in the main dining room, average in the windjammer cafe. However the Windjammer cafe seating area was slow at removing dirty dishes and actually wiping down tables. We had 8:30 seating in the main dining room, the food was not what we expected. Cold or bland was the normal for the dining room, 4 out of 6 nights the Creme Brule was not even torched on the top. The last night we were served for the Seafood Medley, previously frozen fish and scallops battered/deep fried. The wait staff was prompt, courteous and apologetic and gave us the we need a 10 rating to keep our job speach. Our table was never visited by anyone higher in authority except the last night looking for gratuities, they should all be replaced. The casino was very small, staff was friendly as usual with cruise lines. The entertainment was horific, they tried to do acrobatic shows in the Centrum but they were either out of sync or scared of heights, instead of a Balet/dance group when doing routines. Read Less

This was a family cruise with seasoned cruisers from 35 to 72. We had 4 cabins from an interior (tiny) to balcony (nice), and the nicest were the Panorama rooms (huge). Having priority boarding we literally walked right on the ship. Debarkation was equally as fast due to the fact that since you don't leave the EU there is no customs coming back. That being said other than the ports that was the highlight of the cruise. The reason for my title is that the entire ship seemed deserted. We always stick to the smaller ships to avoid the crowds, but this was ridiculous. The cruise was sold out several weeks in advance but unless half the guests missed the ship they must have stayed in their cabins. There was never anybody on deck. No real deck parties. The most people that attended trivia was about 20. Bingo wasn't much better with maybe 40-50 for the biggest jackpot. The casino was even worse. The Blackjack tournament was cancelled due to only 3 entrants and the slot tournament only had 11 entrants. On past cruises the preliminary rounds take hours because so many people play. On the second night of the cruise at midnight there was only 5 total people in the entire casino. It didn't get much better. The shows were mediocre at best. It was the last cruise for the singers and dancers and they seemed tired. The new Cirque type shows were being practiced everyday in the Atrium. I understand they need to practice if the Atrium is supposed to be the focal point of the ship, why is it blocked off all day long for practices? No comedians and only 1 fly in entertainer magician act. Skipped it, as these shows are always boring. The worst part of this cruise was the food. After eating at Chop's the first night, which was fabulous, the rest of the food was horrible. The main dining room food was so bad and salt laden the head chef came to our table 2 nights in a row to apologize and try to make something better. This didn't happen either due to the fact that when you have low grade ingredients there is only so much you can do with it. Izumi was hit or miss with the Sushi and Hot rock Filet being very good, while the rice and dumplings were terrible. The buffet got worse throughout the week as they recycled meat and vegetables into other dishes. The burger bar which was present at every meal was awful, stale buns and what tasted like soy burgers. The moral of the crew was terrible. Most were from Eastern Europe and were stone faced and had no personality what so ever. Casino dealers were seriously lacking in skill and needed to be retrained if in fact they were ever taught how the games were run. The exception was our room steward who was great and our server Leonard who overcame his brashness to be a great server. The low of this cruise was that the ship had an engine fire on the 6th day forcing us to miss our last port of Argostoli. According to other passengers on deck 1 and 2 the fire was so bad that the bottom 2 decks were sent to muster and waited on lifeboats as a precaution. Being on higher decks we were not even woken up and notified of the potential danger. There were no announcements to prepare and we only learned of the danger after the fact. This was totally unacceptable. Imagine going to breakfast and seeing a life raft in the pool, that was our reality. The ports were phenomenal. Athens is something to be seen. The one thing we learned is to not listen to the Royal Caribbean salespeople. There is plenty of transportation in all the ports, and the 12EU bus to get to Corfu town is a joke. Take a cab its cheaper and you will be much happier. Also, if you have a large group, we booked a 5hr private tour in Athens for 8 people. We had a private minibus for only 35EU a person. Much better than the 90EU Royal was charging to be jammed on a 60 or 80 passenger bus. To sum it all up Royal Caribbean is at the bottom rung of cruises. This was our 4th and probably last cruise with them. From the demeanor of the crew to the nonchalant attitude of their passengers safety. Another thing, the sanitizer people need to go. They stand outside every dining area and try to force you to use sanitizer. These alcohol based sanitizers do nothing to kill most diseases including Norovirus. These people will follow you and try to force it on you. I am not a child and know how to properly wash my hands. Read Less

This ship is old and so much of the public space is inadequate for 2000 passengers. Food is good but the bars, lounges and other public spaces just can't cope. The entertainment is poor and very amateurish. We saw a string quartet "comedy" show that was almost identical to a primary school workshop I saw. Same jokes. The magician night was something you'd expect in a church hall and the singers/dancers etc were all like 6th formers on a bad night. The films were shown on the on deck outside "big screen". As the evenings were freezing less than 20 people each night braved the weather. I would liked to have seen several of the movies but I didn't want to freeze. BUT the worst part of the week was on the Thursday when we were due to arrive in Argostoli. A fire started in the engine room. Response was confused and confusing. Lower decks were eventually sent to muster stations but crew were not organised about the "incident". Captain decided this wan't an "emergency" so not all decks were evacuated. Contary info given to passengers and we spent 2 hours shivering at station. Room and corridors stunk of smoke, we believe 17 crew members were injured but Captain still failed to give us full or frank information. Subsquently we lost our final port of call and spent 2 days at sea with little extra in terms of activities. Eventually we received a sort of apology letter, which offered little info and only $300 compensation per stateroom. Many fellow passengers said they would never cruise with RC again. Disembarkation was well handled though. Read Less

The ship itself is in great nick considering it is being sold next year. The food was of good quality. The entertainment was OK, nothing great. However I marked this cruise down due to the extremely poor service we received . Firstly we are Crown and Anchor Diamond members and RC provide a Diamond lounge on board along with a concierge who is there to assist you . The first day we were there we asked the concierge which side of the ship we should be on to see the best of Venice when the ship departed. He told us the ship didn't pass by Venice but went straight out to sea. This was totally wrong and as a result we missed seeing Venice from the deck. When we visited the Diamond lounge that evening he flatly denied what he said at first. Then he relented and said it was his first day on board and he didn't know if the ship passed Venice or not. That is totally unacceptable behaviour from someone in his position. If he didn't know, why didn't he say that ? However what happened next was unbelievable. I was having a drink with my family and he came over and asked me to go to his desk with him. I won't go into details as to what he said and did next but suffice it to say that he insulted and embarrassed me right there in front of my family . So much so that we left and didn't go back to the Diamond lounge for the rest of the cruise. Secondly, Royal Caribbean allow you to bring a bottle of wine on board for consumption in your stateroom. Perhaps they should tell that to their bar staff . The third day of our cruise was our anniversary. I went to the bar to get two wine glasses to take back to the room. The barman refused to give me any. I told him it was for the bottle in my room. He then barked very loudly that we were not allowed alcohol in our stateroom. Again, quite embarrassing. If RC allow you to bring this on board, can I suggest they leave a couple of glasses in the room too. Either that or educate your crew better as to your policies. As I said earlier the food is OK but to wait an hour for your starter to arrive in the Main Dining Room is not acceptable. Our worst night was a two and a half hour sitting. Not good enough RC. Finally, one which seems to be repeating itself on each of my RC cruises is the incorrect charges appearing on my account which I then have to go to guest services to correct. When I am on holiday , I really don't want to spend time standing in a queue only for the guest services representative to go on the defensive each time I point out their error. I had to go to get incorrect charges removed four times on this 7 day trip. That is not on. I have given up asking them why this keeps happening. As I said it seems to be the norm now on a RC cruise. I can only suggest other passengers regularly check their account. Read Less

My third day aboard now of the Splendour of the Seas, time for some remarks to share. - The internet is slow slow slow.. One day, due to "bad weather" said the guest relations, it even didn't work at all. I bought the unlimited package, currently at USD 30 a day for 2 devices, and wonder now how or if I will be refunded for the time it didn't work, that will surely be a tricky one on checkout.. Anyway, even when it works, it is unbearably slow, and, by the way, Whatsapp calls are blocked by the server of the ship, just that you know.. - Cleanliness: on a ageing ship as this one, the crew should be especially vigilant to make the old ship at least look shiny and clean. On the contrary, dirt lying around in the corridors is no unusual sight, bad odors come and ago unexplained, as if the crew is aware the ship will be written of anyway anytime soon.. - Atmosphere and service: while there are some exceptions, some crew are very nice, it does look as if Royal Caribbean has relocated all their best elements to the bigger and newer ships. Service in the main dining room is mediocre, and ambiance fits that level. For example, the pianist in the main dining room plays for 45 min with a long face and then promptly leaves in the middle of the dinner. - Cabin: we have 3 junior suites. Don't expect any special service for the junior suites. I slept late today, until 12, and that means there will be no more make up service of my cabin before 5:30pm...! The cabin itself is nicely laid out, the balcony is spacy. Bathroom is basically the same as in any other room. For those who have cruised on the newer ships, don't expect the same, this ship is older, the cabins do show their age. Also, the motor on this smaller ship vibrates the whole ship, making it harder to sleep for some persons. - Casino: I'm a casino player, so here is some info on the casino. The casino is small, this has the disadvantage that, for a non-smoker as myself, the smell of smoke is more present than in the casino's on the larger vessels. Almost all of the dealers are Romanian. - Ports: On the bright side, this cruise stops at very nice ports and many great sights are in reach. Also, the departure from Venice is amazing. - Activities: same as on most Royal Caribbean cruises, only that activities for teens and kids are rather limited due to the small size of the ship. In general, this is a ship that has no captain looking after it. Staff is unhelpful, or maybe untrained, some are basically rude, speaking to customers without using "please" or "sorry". On a ageing ship, the age should be made up by excellent service, unfortunately RC has not lived up to this. Read Less

So to start with the transfers were all good and well organised as you would expect, food was good to very good and a lot of the staff very friendly. I am not keen on the over bearing style that some adopted but I recognise some people like this. However there was some buts-the first is that it was expensive, $15 for a cocktail $10 for a beer (approx £10 and £7 respectively), they took any wine you bought on the ship, including from arranged trips to vineyards and confiscated it until the end of the trip like you were school kids! On "my dine" you can go to one restaurant but to visit others you pay $30 per person per night other than the buffet. The second "but" was that the dress code was largely ignored so that on the formal night, we were all dressed up in long dresses and tuxes and queued with an American family in jean shorts who almost ridiculed us for taking it too seriously. We really enjoy the sense of occasion and to see everyone dressed up, as we have on all the P&O cruises we have been on, so this wide spread disinterest was for me a real disappointment. You could basically dine anywhere wearing anything and truthfully felt a bit of the odd one out dressed up :(. The trips were good but they tried to fit in too much shopping so that a trip to Olympia was an hour in the ruins and then half an hour shopping in souvenir shops, literally up the road, so to be honest it would have been more appropriate to let people choose what they wanted to do, as we saw only a small part of Olympia. This pattern was repeated on all the trips we went on. All in all it is unlikely we would choose Royal Caribbean again, I loved the reasonable priced P&O cruises where 2 years ago we were paying £4.50 for a cocktail and £3.0 for a beer, you had a fridge in your room and you could have a glass of wine while getting ready, without being told off! and enjoy dressing up and having real cruise experience. Read Less

My husband and I were very disappointed in the Royal Caribbean cruise. We spent more to go on RC then we have on other cruises because we thought it would be a better experience and better everything. Nothing was better, and in many ways this trip was far worse that the other cruises we’ve taken. nothing special. Also, the guides on the expensive shore excursions were more interested in taking us to shopping places then to the ruins that we paid to go see. We purchased the premium drink package and the bartenders were very slow, never enough of them, could never find a waiter/waitress to serve drinks, the dining room never knew what went with the package - which water we got, whether other coffee drinks went with it - overall very disappointing. It was expensive to purchase and then we always had to chase down someone to give us a drink. Not what I would have expected. We paid more to go on a RC cruise line and expected more, but all we got was less of everything. I would not recommend RC to anyone. Read Less

On arrival to ship embarkation was swift and fast once aboard our cabin was not ready this was not a problem as we had packed swimgear in our bags and made our way to the pool,to our amazement the pool was closed and we where unable to use it.Then we where able to go to our cabin at 2pm first thing that amazed us was the standard of the fixture and fitting's they where very badly worn and ill fitting.We where still prepared to overlook this and the dirty window which you could barely see through,and the thread bare shower curtain which soaked the floor everytime you showered.Then we opened the drawers to place clothes in and to our amazement they were filthy I was going to place a towel down then put my clothes on top but we said no lets go to guest services,whilst standing in the cue there was a lady very angry because the rooms have no mini fridge the R/C girl behind the desk was so rude to her I couldnt believe my ears.We got another staff member who was just as bad he broke me off midsentence saying "well you are not getting an upgrade"to be honest that hadnt even crossed my mind.They got the room recleaned saying we will keep in touch we never heard from them again.The window was never cleaned. The first night we cued for 40mins outside the King and I until we left and went to the windjammer.We where amazed how the windjammer did not serve food until 7pm every night which if you had young children might be a little late.Compared to other R/C ships the range of snacks available during the day is very poor and limited this really needs to be addressed.We had a soft drinks package and my husband got up in the windjammer to get us drinks there was nowhere availabe he was told to sit down and wait to be served we sat through 4 meals with no drinks as service was very poor.The food was also not piping hot which I dont enjoy my husband became ill during the cruise.We are crown and anchor members with entitlements when you use the sea pass card firstly there was nowhere to check the bill until we recieved on the last day but we had told the bar man to apply the savings he said it was saying that discounts had been applied so as we thought when bill arrived they hadnt we went to guest services again and had to argue to get the discounts applied!!!! We did the Santaroni tour with R/C which I feel was very overpriced we got a cablecar ticket for coming down by the time we arrived the cue was so long we had to walk down the steps or we might have missed the boat you could defnitately do this trip a lot cheaper yourself.We did Croatia cable car trip with R/C we enjoyed it but again you could probably do it a lot cheaper on your own.The olympia site ourselves by going into the local town catching a bus trip 8 euro return giving you 2 and half hours at the site then 6 euro entrance fee it still worked out alot cheaper than R/C charge.The entertainment on the first and last night was awful but the other shows where great and centrum show was wonderful. Overall we had a good holiday and we loved the ports of call but I would not book this ship again.We have travelled with R/C before and it fell below our exoectations we will be trying other cruise liners as the standard has slipped. Read Less

Arrived at Manchester airport at 5am to absolute chaos at the Jet2 desks. Had checked in on line, so presumed it would be plain sailing ... wrong! The line stretched back almost to the doors. There was no indication as to whether the queue was for check in or baggage drop off. It finally transpired that checking in on line was the worst thing to do, as the baggage drop off line was 4x as long as the check in queue. After finally dropping off my bag I saw an RCL rep standing at the bottom of the escalator but all she did was point me towards the next nightmare ... security. This was so busy that people with flight times of 6.20am or earlier were being 'fast tracked'. When I finally got to the desk I said to the security officer 'You're busy today' to which she replied 'This is a good day, if it was bad you'd be in the car park'. I got to the departure gate just in time for boarding at 6.20am, a full hour and 20mins after arriving without any time for using the Ladies, having a sit down or look round duty free. The flight was as pleasant as could be for someone who doesn't enjoy the process and after a late take off (25 mins) we arrived in Venice on time, courtesy of a helpful tail wind. The RCL reps at Venice airport were friendly and well organised and we were soon on our way to the ship. You had to unload your own luggage at the port though, which I'm not used to. Anyway, went towards the Emerald check in and was soon being processed. The last time I cruised (2yrs ago on Jewel to the Baltics) I used my debit card for onboard spend. However, this time they wouldn't accept it, so set up a cash account for me, didn't make any difference really as I didn't intend spending anything on board, but just couldn't understand the change. Boarded the ship and as the cabins weren't ready went up to the Park Cafe for lunch. There was a good selection of sandwiches, pre-made salads, choose your own salad ingredients, fresh whole and chopped fruit and cakes/cookies. I ate most of my meals there throughout the trip, as the Windjammer is far too small, (capacity 500 when the ship holds almost 4x that). There isn't much variety and the quality wasn't as good as Jewel (can't understand wny Splendour earns a 'best food' mention on CC - presume it must be for speciality restaurants?) After lunch I found my cabin without too much trouble (there was a time when you used to be escorted there, though that's long gone, along with lots of other touches that made the experience just that little bit more special) I was lucky enough to be in a Junior Suite and was pleasantly surprised. I had a little a parquet floor just inside the door, carpet in the rest of the room, a bathtub with a shower over, complimentary Vitality toiletries, a coffee maker, flat screen TV, iPad, sofa and 2 chairs, and a table and 2 chairs on the large balcony. Overall the decoration and cleanliness were good, though there were signs of wear and tear (laminate coming off one of the drawers and bathroom mirror losing some of its silvering) As I was travelling alone there was more than ample room and must say it has spoiled me for future trips, I usually have a balcony cabin but appreciated the little touches and extra space. As it was hot I had a shower and relaxed until the mandatory safety drill at 4.30pm. In between I met my cabin steward (Bablee from Mauritius) The drill was held on deck in the blazing sunshine yet on Jewel it was held in the Theatre, a much better option. When we were dismissed by the Captain I returned to my cabin until dinner. I was on a table of 10 and thoroughly enjoyed the company. The Head and Assistant Waiters were both from the Philippines. Service was competent if a little lacking at times, due to the workload RCL expects of its staff. I wouldn’t consider myself a fussy eater but was frankly disappointed by the standard of food in the MDR. There was also no regional food, which I had particularly been looking forward to as I enjoy Greek and Eastern Mediterranean dishes. Lobster and filet mignon are still available but at an extra cost, rather than being on the standard menu. This is yet another example of declining standards, it’s just a pity the overall cruise cost hasn’t reduced to reflect the downgrading. A table mate went to Chops Grille one night but said the standard of food was not appreciably better than the MDR and certainly not high enough to justify the extra fee. There was not enough to do onboard the ship during the day. There was no guest lecturer, which on a cruise around the Greek Isles is frankly laughable and a missed opportunity. Neither were there any local entertainers. The ship spends 6 months of the year in Brazil and I felt this was reflected in the timings of events. On the last 2 nights there was an aerial display in the Centrum. However, it took place at 10.45pm. This was especially baffling as on the last night your cases had to be outside your cabin door by 11pm! There was also an issue regarding timings in port. On the occasions when we had to tender it seemed as though the crew had never done this before. They had guests who were not on tours waiting in one of the lounges. Then they started giving out tickets at the door, meaning that people sitting down for sometimes up to an hour were now at the back of the queue. When we were cleared by the authorities it took up to an hour to get off, and you only had a finite number of hours there anyway. Overall the process was very poor. I didn't do any organised tours as I had thoroughly researched the ports (courtesy of CC member reviews) Kotor was OK. Walked up the city walls for 3 euros. The path was uneven, with loose stones, no safety rails and a gradient of at least 1 in 10 (health & safety nightmare). Would have preferred to miss this port and have an overnight in Athens instead, as there was far more to see there and not nearly enough time to do it in. Corfu was lovely. Piraeus is 45mins from Athens which isn’t RCL’s fault but as I said I would have preferred an overnight there. Mykonos was spectacular, though the ferry back from Delos was horrendous. There was a very strong wind and the boat bobbed around like a kitten in a washing machine on the fastest spin cycle. I’m not religious but made sure to light a candle when I arrived back on dry land, seeing as how I didn’t think I would live to see it again! Kefalonia was also lovely, very hot but offset by a strong breeze. The sea day back to Venice was tough as there wasn’t enough to do onboard. Early disembarkation (7.30am) with efficient baggage claim and transportation to airport. However, we arrived there at approx 8am for an 11.25am flight and the check in desks don’t open until 2hrs before the flight so a lot of sitting around on cases as there aren’t enough chairs and sweating as the air con didn’t seem to be working. The flight took off late and we arrived back to torrential rain and thunderstorms in Manchester. All in all I had a good time, met some lovely people and saw some wonderful places. However, overall I was disappointed in the ship's food and entertainment and feel perhaps it’s time to look at another cruise line as on this occasion RCL certainly didn’t justify the cost of my cruise (over £2,500) Read Less

We took back to back cruises in South America. We have traveled on over 25 cruises and these two were the worst ever! The food was terrible. There was no variety. You might as well flip a coin if you thought you were going to get a glass, ice and tea at the same time. Even though SA is known for its beef and other cuisine- we did not have one decent piece of beef on the cruise. There was no SA food. Very little seafood. Service in the dining room was very slow. In the buffet eating area they have gone to a format where you have to wait in a line until they had a table ready to seat you. They often it 4 people at a table meant for 2. The only entertainment they had was a show in the theatre on two nights and a short 10 minute show of acrobats in the centrum on three other nights. Otherwise playing "junior high" level games in the centrum and the pool was the only other entertainment. The library is pathetic. The ship advertises that they just remodeled/redecorated in 2012. Our cabin room certainly had no improvements in it. It was the same as when we sailed on this ship during her first sailing season. Plus RCCL has some of the smallest cabins in the industry. There are very few shore excursion available to choose from. Usually only one per port. I would recommend that you visit South America taking Princess, Oceania or Celebrity. Read Less

This was my fourth cruise (wife's first) and my first with Royal Caribbean. Given the totality of our experience, I would rate the cruise 2.5 on a scale of 5. The main reason for the average score was the quality of the food. It was really disappointing. With one exception, the servings were small, the presentation was uninspired, and the taste was bland. For example: their soups could have come out of a can for all I know. The cream of mushroom was advertised as having chunks of mushroom, but there were none. The lobster bisque had no chunks of lobster. The french onion soup was basically a spare consomme. Same kind of results for main courses and appetizers. We could have gone to Chops or Izumi, but chose not to. After all we paid for this cruise, I really didn't feel compelled to spend any more. The only really good meal was on the last night, when they served lamb shank. Huge portion, great food quality. Breakfast in the Windjammer Lounge on deck 9 was intolerable. Crowded, people literally fighting for table space. It tended to bring out the worst in people. We did that the second day and then I said, "Never again!" My preference was to go to the King and I dining room on deck 4, at least they seat you there and you don't have to sink to guerilla tactics! Plus there was a buffet there that you could get what you wanted, for the most part. A much more pleasurable experience, IMHO. Our cabin steward and the two gentlemen who took care of us in the dining room were excellent. This was typical of all staff on the ship. I kind of felt sorry for our two waiters, they did their best to "put lipstick on a pig" but in the end, the food spoke for itself. When it was launched, the Splendour and its sister vessels were the largest in the RCL fleet. Now they are the smallest. The ship recently went through a renovation and we were pleased with our cabin on deck 6. It was on the outside of the hull and therefore, we had a balcony to enjoy. My cousin was right next door, and the panel between balcony cabins could be swing back so we could all sit together. Bathroom was a bit cramped, but you expect that on a cruise ship. The shower was great, plenty of hot water. The sink faucet had flow control and this was a bit of a pain but not terrible. Cabins are outfitted with two European 220-volt outlets and two US 120-volt outlets. Starbucks right down the hall on our deck was a welcome place to get a cup of coffee in the morning. I enjoyed our ports but time on land was limited and sometimes we had to rush. That's the deal with land excursions. It's been about 25 years since my last cruise and the difference between then and now is telling. We will probably cruise again but not likely with Royal Caribbean. Read Less

We booked this cruise because of the ports and the week my wife had off from graduate school. We have been on 4 cruise lines and previously liked RCCL for Europe. This time there was a big difference. The layout of the ship with the interactive locator screens strategically located plus the diagram of the ship by the elevators was great. The entertainment was better than average too. The balcony on the back of the ship worked out better than the small add-on balconies on the sides. The bad news is that the service and food SUCKED! Unlike Princess there are only busboys at the Windjammer which at times was overcrowded. The breakfast and lunch at the buffet was of an inferior quality. Even the cakes were made from cheap mixes.I suggest that you bring an oven glove with for the self serve hot food so you don't get burned from the heat lamps that are directly on the serving utensils. For dinner in the dining room there was no Lobster dinner or decent steak unless you wanted to pay extra. Even the extra cost restaurants have a cover charge plus ala carte pricing. For anytime dining if you have a reservation you may be seated with people who are finishing their dinners or people are added on to your table when you are ready to order dessert. bar service. If you want a drink you must go to the bar and order it. No one comes around in the theater or on deck during the day. The new I-Pads that were supposed to be in the room were not there and the TV was not interactive either. If you are gold or above there is a coupon boom in your room but watch out for double charges on the buy one get one drinks. My biggest complaint besides the food is the guest relations desk. I had to go there 5 times the last night and the morning we were leaving to get my bill straightened out. We pre-booked some excursions that were prepaid 2 months ago but RCCL cancelled them at the last minute because of low numbers of sign ups and I couldn't get anyone to credit my account. My credit card was already billed 2 months ago but no one knew what they were doing. Announcements are made in several languages and they do have 3 Cruise directors, English, German and Italian. Although I don't speak Italian he was the most charismatic of the 3. The casino was not very large and there was no craps table but plenty of machines. I didn't see anyone winning so I didn't play. Read Less

Having cruised with RCCL a couple of times before I was expecting a lot better than what we got. First the ship: Cabins are of reasonable size and have plenty of storage space, have just been refreshed with new carpets flat screen TVs etc although they don't seem to have any interactive components in them, there were also no IPADS which were supposed to have been installed during the refurb. Public areas are adequate without being anything too flash. Casino reeked of smoke so didn't go near that Service: Mostly OK apart from the Guest relations front desk staff who seem hopeless. I have read recently about the cruise industry trimming budgets for staff training and that certainly seems to be the case here. Food: Run of the mill boring menus produced by head office in Miami.Salad bar in the main dining room at lunch time is very good. Chops grill was very good. Wine is very expensive. Entertainment, Rubbish, I am sure I had seen the same shows on other RCCL boats a few years ago. The cruise director seemed to have absolutely no charisma about him, told the same jokes I had heard years before as well, the whole entertainment package seemed stale and uninviting.  There seems to be an insistence on this boat for having a loud band play in the centrum most nights until at least 12am. Our cabin was near the centrum and as a result we could not sleep or even sit in our cabin and watch TV with out hearing this loud out of key so called band. We made complaints to the guest relations desk staff who didn't seem to care, the Cruise director also didn't seem to care and even walked off while we were talking to him ! Not good and not acceptable RCCL! We were finally moved to a new cabin on the third night of our cruise which made the rest of the cruise tolerable, but surely if you have paid for a cabin you have the right to be in that cabin without having to be bombarded by the so called entertainment, it was even suggested to us to go to the solarium as it was usually quieter in there ( it wasn't) and anyway we paid for the room so should be able to use it ! Overall the boat is okay, probably better sized cabins than on newer cruise ships, entertainment is rubbish and food is ok without being anything to write home about. Read Less

I will bring out both the good parts and problems this ship has when you sail on it. Pros: 1. The ship was old but really clean. They shampooed rugs outside cabins every day. 2. The Itinerary was excellent. Venice, Montenegro, Ephesus,Bodrum,Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Split were wonderful choices for ports that provided great options. We felt the food was pretty good, have not experienced anything better on the past few cruises we sailed on. 3. Our Cabin Stewart, Head Waiter, and Assistant Waiter did a wonderful job.4. Cabin was slightly bigger than most (had an inside because we use the ship like a floating hotel and don't spend enough time in it to justify high end cabins.5. The orchestra at the large auditorium was just excellent, a few of their guest entertainer (singer & violin player) did a nice job. Music throughout the ship in small areas was also very good. The crew director was also very good 6. Embarkment and Disembarkment went well.Cons: 1.The pursers office was virtually helpless except for a couple of people.They dealt with the internet problems and gave some credit for lost time. They would ask the few that knew something if there was someone up front that could give an answer. Otherwise, they would go to the back for several minutes to try to answer your questions or problems. On girl could only give you a statement, and if you wanted something else she would tell you to get back in line because she was new. We pre-paid gratuties and got the envelopes but no vouchers for the recipients. We asked for them and they said they had to be with the envelope (which they weren't) so took about 10 minutes to reprint them. The purser next to us had someone complaining after we had and while we waited was back with reprints in a couple of minutes. Apparently it was just another thing our purser didn't know what to do and was in the back trying to get someone to show her how. Two days before departure I told the head purser that the printer for the internet wasn't working several times and they should have someone check to see that they would function correctly because several people who were already frustrated with the internet service and printer would be losing minutes and others no computers due to other passengers being tied up on them and her response was asking me to go up and try to print something and if it didn't work just let them know. We had transfers to and from the ship and when we arrived someone from RCI kept all the paperwork and we had no voucher for returning to the airport. We asked for a duplicate and at first the purser said just go out to the buses and they will take you. She said we were on a list. I asked to see the list and she said "oh it isn't on there" you have to call your travel agent because I didn't do it directly thru RCI. We showed her with our confirmation that we had paid it and it showed that on RCI's confirmation. The usual I'm sorry but you have to call your travel agent. I'm telling you it was a nightmare dealing with them. I approached one of the officers in another area because no one with any authority was ever at the office when we presented questions or problems. He said that was ridiculous and said to go back in three hrs. and it would all be sorted out. They said no one had contacted them. Many times they just had 1 or 2 people at the desk and the lines grew to up to 15 people on certain occasions when we were there.2. The Windjammer was way too small for the 2100 guests that occupied the ship. We always got up early and always got a seat but just a little later it had all kinds of guests searching for a table to no avail. We heard people that went on tours or just off the ship complaining because they didn't have time to eat breakfast. In the regular dining room (The King & I), they had very limited hours and they didn't fit well to cope with the overflow in the Windjammer. This was especially true on days when people had tours with the ship.3. Our service from our waiter at the 6:30 P.M. dining was terrible. There was always the statement that I try hard for you and we have someone from the head office that is making changes that don't work and that is holding your dinner up. Finally, about the 4th night one couple at our table were just getting up to leave and magical they said it was now coming. It was 8:10 P.M. by that time. Every evening we were held up after dinner with the waiter telling us how hard he was working for us and how was he doing. Then the last 3 or 4 nights we started hearing about how he needs an excellent rating on our survey form at the end and how he also depends on gratuties. Most of us thought that was totally unprofessional (have never hear anything like that on our previous 11 cruises on various cruise lines). Our head waiter was all over the waiter on getting the dinners earlier for us and it improved. Finally I brought up the talk about constant highest rating and needing gratuties and he said he would address it and I'm sure he did. He said it goes on their record for something like that but it was well warranted. No one at our table wanted anyone to lose their job but hopefully a skilled talk and reprimand by his head waiter will make him a better waiter so he can keep his job. 4. The main stage perfomers from the ship were not up to what we have seen on other ships but the band was great as I said earlier and was unbelievable in the way they melded in with the guest performers. 5. First, there was no one ever stationed at the internet cafe to talk to resolve any questions. You always had to call the purser desk or go down to them. The first few days, many went away frustrated because to enter the internet the screen said to hit either the spacebar or enter. Everyone I saw (like myself) thought they weren't working. You pay $100 for 250 minutes and no one to help, finally on the 2nd day when I was trying to get on I heard a gentleman telling a frustrated lady to hit left click on the mouse and sure enough it worked. The internet was extremely slow (like on most ships) but once you were in it would lock up on passengers and you couldn't get out so finally the word got around that when this happens you hit control, delete, and capital letters. That usually worked. I tried to print something on three or four days but the printer would read maintenance required. That is why I asked the purser desk to make sure the computers that did work would be able to print. When my wife and I went to print our boarding passes there was frustration in the air. Problems with the printer. It took us 80 minutes to finally get them printed because after entering all the information it was so slow that it said your time had expired and you would have to re-enter everything again after the 4th try we finally got through and then printed it. 6. The final blow was for those who had transfers to the airport. As expected our names were not on the list in spite of being assured that they were. They had numerous others that had no listing. The young lady checking was just writing cabin numbers all over her list and said go to the buses. Now a last adventure. People that were scheduled for buses before us were still trying to get on the two buses they had. It was a mad scramble but first you had to put your own luggage in the compartment under the bus. It goes from one side of the bus to the other and whether you are 5 or 85 it is up to you to get it on the bus. No driver help and of course no one from the "Splendor of the Sea" to put people or luggage on the bus. Read Less

we have cruised Ocean Village, Thomsons, airtours and P&O - thought we'd give RCCL a go and I personally was quite excited after reading the reviews. PROs - great food, dining service excellent, good cabins cons- MANY!!!! - be very careful about your flight times RCCL throw u off the ship as early as 7am -we were in airport 9.30 and flight wasn't until 3.45 (others were as late as 7pm!!!) - friends had hotel in Portugal and had to be off ship by 7am!! DRINKS- extortionate!!! approx £10 for 1 beer & Vodka & diet coke. Trips ridiculous prices-so much so no-one went on them. entertainment- BORING!!! been on many cruise ships and this was by far the worst ever really don't know why people rate RCCL so much - only advantage to Ocean Village is the formal dining Read Less

Having taken over 18 cruises on various lines (5 with RCCL) I've been able to gauge expectations fairly well. This one threw me a curve ball. The itinerary was absolutely fabulous! The ship not. Built in 96, she's 12 years old but looks 20. I recently sailed on the Sovereign (built in 88) and thanks to a recent refurbishment, she looks fantastic, so age isn't a true gauge. A 12 year old ship CAN look fabulous, but the Splendour did not. Here are a few obvious examples we noticed... Public Rooms: Cigarette burns in the leather seats of the Champagne bar, torn leather seats in the Viking Crown lounge, carpet stains, stains on chairs in dining room and in solarium lounge cushions. Cabins: Our cabin hadn't been cleaned upon arrival. We met with the cabin steward to discuss the condition and he did return that night to clean, but there were still sticky glass rings on the tables, spots from splashed liquids on the mirrors, and dirt/hair inside the drawers. He never provided room service order forms, and did the minimum for the remaining cruise. There was mildew in the torn fabric lining on the shower walls and the mirrors inside the bathroom were cracked. Clearly, the Splendour needs a refit! One is forgiving if all else shines. But it didn't. Shops closed early without notice, shore excursion desk was rarely open, shows were OK, food in the Windjammer was below average, service in the Windjammer was downright rude at times. Food and service in the main dining room was better but not up to RCCL standards. They've cut out the Ship Shape Program, poolside band, midnight buffets, ice carvings, Baked Alaska night and some onboard activities. Yes, these are in part, a sign of the times. Cruise lines are looking for ways to cut expenses and increase onboard revenue. But if you offer something else in place, and deliver excellent service, you can get by with it. In this case, the staff argued and exhibited a poor attitude with the passengers leaving a bad image with many of the cruisers. A woman at our table was missing the port book from her suite. Her cabin steward argued with her and told her she must have overlooked it, then proceeded to rummage through the drawers filled with her clothes, etc. looking for a book that was never there. The woman (a previous Princess cruiser) was appalled. Another table mate was standing in front of the logo shop looking at greeting cards and the staff member turned off the lights and started shutting the gate (at 10:05 AM and shops were to close at 11:00AM). He handed the card over to her and said he'd just get that one (since obviously there wasn't time to continue looking). She took the card from his hand, returned it to the rack and said "We're closed." I could go on. The attitude permeated throughout the ship and poor attitude is not acceptable. There are always the outstanding crew members that are MUCH appreciated, but they can't carry the entire staff. However, the solarium is a lovely place to spend time, and their bar staff did an excellent job of chasing children out of the adults-only pool. The string quartet in the Centrum was excellent and provided a touch of elegance. The port lecturer gave great tips for those exploring on their own. PORTS - VENICE With independent air arrangements, we arrived a day prior and stayed at the Antiche Figure Hotel in Santa Croce which I would highly recommend. It's a lovely, boutique hotel on the Grand Canal and a 5 minute walk from Piazzalle Roma where the taxis or buses will leave you. From the hotel, walk back to Piazzalle Roma and take the free RCCL shuttle bus to the ship, or a taxi (it's only a 5 minute ride). You could walk to the ship in about 15 minutes but it's not a pleasant walk especially with luggage. The pier at Venice is industrial with lots of shipping activity. The port isn't great but thanks to RCCL's efficient boarding procedure, you won't be there for long. It only took us 15 minutes to check in, clear security and board the ship. You can walk all of Venice and see quite a bit in a day! ATHENS It's a 20 minute walk to the metro/train station where you can buy a train ticket for 1.65 Euros. Once you board, you'll get off on the 7th stop to visit Plaka and the Acropolis (takes about 15-20 minutes). It's an easy walk to the lovely shops and cafes in Plaka which is delightful. The walk to Acropolis is an energetic one and there's no A/C or shade once you reach the Acropolis, but there is a nice breeze and it's SO worth the walk. You can see the restoration of the Parthenon and gorgeous views of Athens. Our ship was in port from 12 - 7 and we didn't debark until 12:30 but still had time to visit the Acropolis, shop almost EVERY shop in Plaka, and take in a long, late lunch. We took the subway back to Piraeus and were onboard by 5:30 without rushing. MYKONOS Probably the most unique and picturesque port with lovely white washed buildings, wind mills, shops and lovely beaches. RCCL provides a shuttle into town and you can walk 10 minutes to a square where public buses will take you to the beaches or you can just take a taxi. KATAKALON RCCL downplays this port and sells the excursions to Olympia, but if you chose to stay in town, it's really delightful. There's 1 street with shops lined along both sides. You'll find horse-drawn carriages to ride you around and there's a mix of souvenir shops and higher end artistic shops. 12-15 restaurants line the waterfront with outdoor tables under umbrellas, perfect for enjoying a lunch or drink while watching the sailboats in the marina. SPLIT GREAT! Full of history, ritzy shops, grand promenades and cafes everywhere. If you're tired of souvenir shops, you'll love shopping here with upscale name brand stores. Visit the temple of Jupiter, explore the cobblestone streets of the medieval section, and smell the fresh lavender from the flower stalls at the open air fruit and flower market. The marble promenade is breathtaking and a picturesque place for a drink. But if you walk into the town, you'll find amazing cafes with great food facing various squares. Local students dress in colonial attire and will pose for photos. CORFU Probably my least favorite port. The shops all carry the same cheap tourist souvenirs. Not many of the historical buildings within town have been restored. The new section of the city is definitely city, complete with traffic, noise and trash. The older section is more charming but you can see everything in about an hour, unless you take an excursion. In the old days, it was a given that you either booked a great ship with a weak itinerary, or a great itinerary with an average ship. With so much competition and new builds entering the marketplace, we've become spoiled with fantastic ships sailing exotic itineraries. This is not the case. I would definitely recommend this itinerary but probably not the ship until the line addresses some of these issues. The Splendour could be great again - but she needs some attention both to the hardware and staff. Read Less

First let me state if you sail Royal Caribbean NEVER book your next cruise on board the ship with the Loyalty Ambassador. We made this mistake and it cost us an additional 800.00 per person. When we booked on board we were assured that we were receiving the lowest possible price at 3200.00 for a Junior Suite and if we ever saw it priced for less we would be credited the amount. Well guess what...NOT! Royal Caribbean REFUSED to grant us the lower amount even after many phone calls and letters. To make matters worse not only did we find people on board who also did not receive the lower price we found people on board who WERE granted the lower price. Needless to say we were irritated and disappointed by all the Royal Crap. We sailed Royal Caribbean on two prior occasions and could not say enough wonderful things about our cruise. This time we are singing a very different tune. Our Royal Caribbean Cruise was aboard the Splendor of the Seas. The Cruise was for 15 days. We boarded in Valparaiso, Chile on 22 March and sailed around the Cape Horn ending at our last port of call in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 5 April. The ship is older and small. Much to small for a 15 day cruise. I would only consider this ship for a 5 day cruise of less. Our ship became a sick ship within two days of sailing. The medical staff suspect the Norwalk virus was the cause. For the safety of all concerned the guests were not permitted to even get a cup of coffee and had to be served by a gloved staff member. Our food at the buffet was also served by a gloved staff member. This precaution I consider to be acceptable and reasonable (I am an RN) for the over all health and safety of all aboard the ship. What was NOT reasonable was the cancelation of the vast majority of ship board activities. The object being so people did not congregate. This gave us eight days at sea, board out of our minds for lack of much to do that you would normally find about a cruise ship. Also remember we are on a small old ship. On the very last day at sea they finally allowed activities to take place but everything was all crammed together at the same times so we remained discouraged even on this last day. The evening entertainment on the Splendor of the Seas was fair at best. The normal Royal Caribbean dancers only performed twice and were good. The other nights they brought in guest entertainers. A few of the performers were good. However, most were not. They had a magician, Carlos Barragan, who's performance could have been topped by an ten year old with a deck of cards. Really, this guy sucked. The Tango Buenos Aires on day 13 was dull after the first dance as each dance was nothing more than a repeat and the guy who sang one song was not good either. One nights entertainment they showed an old movie, Oceans Thirteen. They had three guys give a Tribute to the Temptations one night. Most people left before the show was over. I could go on and on but I think I made my point. Bottom line the entertainment was of far less quality than we expected from Royal Caribbean. Our dining experience was worse than the entertainment. The quality of the food was fair on the best evening. I ordered steak three times while on board. I couldn't even chew it because it was so tough. The staff was very slow and not attentive. I never once had a cup of coffee with my desert no matter how many times I requested it, it never made it to the table in time before my ice cream melted. We often waited an hour before the main course was served. We were told by other staff members that this ship was required by Brazil to hire 30% Brazilians for the South American cruise and that this was their first time on board and was also their training ship. I believe it. It is the only thing I can think of that could cause the Royal Caribbean standards to fall so low. We feel so cheated out of a vacation. So, let me tell you what was good about our trip besides the fact it is over. We did enjoy going around the horn. It was exciting doing something that you know few other people have ever done. We also enjoyed seeing all the glaciers. The excursions we had were good. The people that took the train ride in Argentina said it was a total waste of their money. Argentina and Chile were beautiful. The cities were clean and there was no obvious sign of poverty. Brazil was the opposite and the pollution of the water in the bays of the ports made me want to cry. The filth of the water was worse than I had seen in India. Read Less

We went on a 4 night cruise leaving from Galveston. Our cruise was delayed due to a medical emergency that took place on the prior cruise. We should have boarded by 1:00pm Thursday afternoon and be sailing for 5:00pm. We did not board until 11:45 pm. The ship left dock after midnight. We stood in line for hours, with no place to sit, nothing to eat or drink. It was after midnight before we got to our room, and then our luggage was misplaced. Our room numbers were changed which caused the problem with the luggage. It also gave us problems in the dining room, the table numbers were changed, so they made us switch tables with other guests. Of course, it also delayed our trip to Cozumel. We didn't get there until 10:00 am instead of the 7:00am advertised time. With the late arrival at Cozumel, everyone was trying to leave the ship at once. We were packed into a very small area waiting for tender to Cozumel. There were no RC employees in sight as we waited in line, once again, for a very long time. Royal Caribbean gave each guest a $20.00 credit to use on the ship for the delay. I called and spoke to Royal Caribbean and they said that they are not planning any additional compensation for the delay. I feel that is totally out of line. We paid for a 4 day cruise, and got 3 days and a miserable day of waiting. Also a short day for our excursion. Royal Caribbean said that the delay was beyond their control. A medical emergency is beyond their control. But part of the delay was due to computer problems with the terminal that we had to leave from. Their terminal in Galveston is only used during the day, and it is not lighted for a nighttime sailing. So we had to use Carnival's terminal. The trouble with the computers and terminal is something that they should have a back up plan for. And we felt totally abandoned by them, we heard nothing while we were waiting, and had no offers of even a drink of water (until about 15 minutes before boarding). Even though a monetary compensation would not compensate us for the miserable time we spent waiting on Royal Caribbean to get us boarded, as well as the delays on all the other activities, it would have been a step in the right direction. It would show that they actually cared about their passengers. Other than the awful experience with the delay, the food was okay, not exceptional. The areas around the pools were crowded. The room attendant was very good, but I felt the employees at the pursers desk were not as helpful as could be. Read Less

It started off really great. The staff before embarkation was wonderful. When we got on the boat lunch was served. The set up they have in the Windjammer makes everything very difficult to get to. It was like a maze trying to get from a table to the buffet and back again. We met 2 other couples and hit it off right away. RCL was very accomidating in changing our dinner tables so we could dine together. Off we went.... we set sail a little early which I was very glad since we had early dinner seating. bags made it to room very early and dinner was wonderful. The first night there was a comedian, I was a bit surprised for the first night but hey this wasn't Carnival........lol We made it about 20 minutes into the show and left for lack of humour. We made it much longer than a lot of people. Nothing else going on tonight so we headed to the casino till about 1am and then off to bed. Day 2 a day at sea... Rough waters (no fault of RCL) I don't so much mind the waves, it was the rain that was the problem. It rained all day and RCL failed to provide any indoor activities. A whole day at sea and nothing to do... We slept. Went to dinner another great meal and off to the show. Another blooper. And to top it off people were getting sick all over the boat. RCL was doing more to cover up the problem then cleaning up the problem. I understand they can't control someone getting sick but they can control others from walking through it and tracking it everywhere. What a disaster this was. The staff acted as though they just gave up. Off to the casino and bed around 12am. Day 3... Cozumel Rough tendering in but all in all it was a beautiful day. They failed to tell anyone who had a water excursion that it was canceled do to the wind and rough seas. so as we were tendering in some very angry people were tendering back bringing their belongings back to the boat so they could once again tender out and go shopping. Prices have gone up since we were there in Sept. Do to Wilma i am sure. Day 4 ...Day at sea Another boring day. We have taken over 11 cruises with Carnival and never been bored. There was nothing to do on this ship. No planned activities. What I missed most on this cruise was all the laughter we have shared on all our previous cruises. The average age on this ship is 60. Went to the Captain's deal only to find out he wasn't there. out of over 2000 guest only a little over 300 were return guest, i wonder why....DUH! Oh and by the way the worst part of the trip was the beds.... What a joke. It is a cot mattress on a board.......lol unbelievable! RCL your not for me I'm going back to Carnival. Read Less