We wanted to visit St Petersburg and considered a number of cruise lines but chose RCI as we thought it was a premium brand. How wrong we were! First the good areas; the “spacious ocean view” cabin and bathroom were very good - probably the best we’ve had on ship or in a hotel for a long time. Very friendly staff even when dealing with the problems below.

However, the overall service provided was poor due to the lack of attention to detail, insufficient space for so many guests, getting it right first time and poor ‘systems’.

1. Our first evening meal was in the self service restaurant which was absolutely packed, very noisy and an unpleasant place to try to relax. It’s fine if you want to eat as much as you can in the shortest time possible and then get out. The second night, also a formal night, we tried the main restaurant but had to queue for 30 minutes despite having a reservation time. The meal then took 2 hours to complete for just a starter, main course and desert with 40 minutes waiting for the next course. The waiting time between courses seemed to be the main reason for the queues outside which were bizarre as we could see empty tables presumably for guests with later reservations. A complaint via Guest Services resolved the problem and we received prompt attention for the rest of the cruise. Read more