We had a family and friends cruise, with 16 people. Of our group, this was a first cruise for two couples. They absolutely loved the whole experience. This is my 6th cruise with RCI. I am used to having the crew fawn over the passengers, but not this trip. My room attendant introduced herself on Day 2, and we had a 15 second conversation. She spent the rest of the week ducking out of sight in the hallways. She did her job, and that was it. There was no going "above and beyond" in service. I am sorry I prepaid my gratuities.

Our wait staff was adequate, but not very friendly. The head waiter breezed by our table twice during the week for less than a minute, but on the last night stayed a few minutes trolling for additional tips.

My bar tab this trip was about half of a normal cruise, even though the prices for drinks have increased. There were very few roaming servers. I estimate about 75% of my drinks were me going to the bar itself. The bartenders were not talkative, even if not busy. RCI lost some drink profits on this ship. Read more