My husband and I took our first cruise with RCI in November 2014. Sadly it will also be our last. There are other companies sailing the high seas who value their guests and this is not how we were made to feel on this cruise. The ship in itself was fine. Our cabin and steward were great. The restaurants and food were on the whole excellent. I say to people that the cruise companies are really good at what they do - that is why we go cruising. RCI have let themselves down both on this cruise and in their response to our complaints. If you are thinking of cruising Asia then bear the following in mind - unless you are from Asia you are probably not their preferred guest, and it will not be your expectations that are being catered to.

The embarkation in Shanghai was a shambles. The staff spoke little or poor English and many of the queues were crossing over each other which made things extremely chaotic. Here are some of the other shortcomings:-

1. There was an very obvious lack of staff. We often had to go and get our own drinks both on deck and in the entertainment areas, as there was an clear shortage of drinks waiters. In the coffee shop the wait was interminable, even when only a couple of people queuing. Several times we sat in a lounge area and after 20 minutes or so, we just gave up and went to the bar ourselves, and even then there was quite a wait. Read more