We booked our family cruise on Royal Caribbean out of South Hampton to launch the start of our vacation in England. We have cruised often and on many cruise lines, and we were excited to try Royal Caribbean. We had our children and grandchildren with us, so we were a multi-generational group. The ship itself was beautiful, but we were very disappointed with the service and the food, as well as the lack of some amenities that we are used to on cruises.

The service in the dining room was adequate, but the waiter and assistant waiter were efficient but not very friendly. We are used to becoming fast friends with the wait-staff when we cruise! It was worse in the buffet. The tables were not cleared, even though staff were standing around talking and if you were walking in the aisle you had to get out of their way, or they would mow you down. Service in the bars was also mediocre, and although they would show they had certain beers or wines on their menu, they often did not have that specific brand, and you would have to search the ship to find it.

The food was mediocre. Often it had little flavor, and there was very little fresh fish, other than shell fish, offered in the dining room They also had a rule that you could not go into the buffet in a bathing suit, or swim attire. However, they had no grill or salad bar around the pool. They did have a specialty hamburger place, but would charge a service charge for you to eat there. They also charged for room service, which we have never been charged for! Read more