Benidorm of the Seas

This is our second RC Cruise. The previous cruise had been to The Fjords and Iceland which we really enjoyed. The reason we choose this cruise was that the children's clubs are excellent, we can barely get our children out of them! It also gives us time to go sightseeing.

The food in the main dining room was excellent and quite unbelievable considering the amount of people on board. We also ate breakfast in the main dining rooms as it was less busy.

Positives:

*Outstanding Food and service in main dining areas. Staff provided a high level of service.

* Excellent children's clubs

* Good facilities for children - ice skating /flow rider

* Entertainment excellent we saw a production of "Grease" it was of a very high standard and definitely of London West End level

Negatives:

* On sea days there is no where near enough space on deck to sunbathe. You literally need to be on a sunbed by 7.30am to get a bed, which we didn't bother with. I complained a couple of times to guest relations, but there was little they could do. Although there is a policy for reserving sun beds it was impossible to police as guests were getting irate (drunk) . Many guests reserved beds for the whole family. You dare not move a towel!

* Mix of nationalities. On the previous cruise with RC there had been a good mix of nationalities ie: Europeans/Americans/International etc.. The English were in the minority on the previous RC cruise . We preferred this mix as it made an interesting cultural experience.

Unfortunately on this particular cruise I felt we had entered the set of the TV program "Benidorm" within hours of arriving in Southampton most people were literally hammered and staggering around. It was clear that the ship was mostly English and enjoying the drinks package a little too much. We were pretty shocked. There were also teenagers walking around in large groups at night. It was as if they had sold all the left over cabins off for a £1 at the last minute. The "All Inclusive" idea has definitely gone wrong somewhere or the cabins have been sold off last minute too cheaply to obtain full occupancy.

*Spa fully booked. You need to book before you go to get a space.

We have already booked another cruise with RC but are thinking of cancelling due to this experience and reading other reviews.

We stayed in Cabin 1700 port side. Large cabin with a pole in the middle of the room, due to this inconvenience you get a larger stateroom for the price. Huge balcony. The room sits below the Windjammer. No noise but also no sun due to the overhang of the windjammer.