2nd Royal Caribbean cruise. My 9th cruise overall. The title review is the pros of this cruise/ship.Very impressed with service staff of this ship. Being in the food industry myself I see the issues on this ship. And the staff is doing too well in dealing with it. What I see is issues with corporate staff and the decisions that are being made in dealing with guest service issues. For this problem I will unfortunately not be sailing with Royal Caribbean ever again. Part of the problem was a mistake I made in dealing with a travel agent( first time, last time) but the cruise line refused to get involved. And they should have. It was blatant dishonesty. Guest services also on ship would not help. Only thing i was offered was a blanket promo package for next cruise. My girlfriend was a first time cruiser so I did not make a big deal or let it take up my vacation time on ship. For her sake. A 250.00 stateroom credit would have made me happy because it would have demonstrated that customer retention is relevant in this case. So my bad for trusting a travel agent that is ready for the velvet pillow that doesn't care who he rips off. And shame on Royal for letting this happen. You had all the agent's info. You should have stepped in.
Great service staff. Dining room food very good. Windjammer food mediocre. My last cruise in 2006 was much better in food quality. Service budgets and food budgets have been cut down clearly. I see that staff is being pushed harder for a rising standard that corporate refuses to resource properly. And yes i spoke professionally to a couple of your team leaders. They did not complain to me about the problems I saw. Very Very PROFESSIONAL. Clearly they know how to keep their jobs. Brian Alexander at The Mast Bar was one of the best bartenders I've ever had on a cruise ship. He would be working for me for sure if you let him go. Also my Head Waiter Marlon was great; despite all the bad decisions his super was making on staffing issues. Bob my housekeeper at 11-546 was equally exceptional.
I hope this review is helpful for the owners- most likely they will not see it-and is helpful for other cruisers.
great cabin and stateroom attendant. loved location. Only thing the travel agent did right for me.
Stayed 2 nights before cruises. Went to Los Olas Art festival. Great Bars and food along the street.
Great beaches and shopping and drinking/eating in town. Girlfriend loved it.