Where do you start? I have always been able to look back on our cruising holidays- 9 in total- fondly, looking back on memorable experiences. Our recent trip on Voyager of the Seas certainly generated memories but not of the kind I would think any company with any shred of pride would gladly promote.

I have not cruised before on a line where the grumblings and complaints of seasoned cruisers were so prolific. It is not surprising that first time cruisers are often swept away with the bright lights because RCL are very clever operators in self promotion and creation of a 'wonder ship' with everything that opens and shuts- scratch the surface and the cracks appear very quickly.

Firstly the problems are not with the staff- on the whole many of them are committed to delivering a first class cruise experience- the problem is management- and it starts from the Captain down. Every cruise we have been on the Captain's address to the ship is a daily occurrence- Voyager of the Seas Captain address is sporadic and other than the 'official welcome' of cruisers and presentation of his senior officers-which incidentally did not occur in the theater as usual practice- and the obligatory photo opportunity, the Captain was not seen again- meeting or greeting passengers, visiting the Main Dining Room as is customary on other lines. In fact, the anxiety of staff was palpable and it is not hard to understand why. Read more