I see a fellow passenger has already written about the disaster awaiting the guests arriving for Royal Caribbeans - The Explorer of the Seas - cruise of January 14 - January 24 2010.

Let's jump ahead so I can start positive. The crew - the ladies and gentlemen doing the scut work (at least those I came in contact with, our cabin steward, the dining room staff) extremely accommodating and smiling all the time. The guest services employees - you should all be fired immediately. Nice enough for sure - but absolutely unbending in trying to make us feel good about getting screwed on this cruise.

The departure was an absolute disaster. As was mentioned, the "temps" hired to process us essentially could have cared less - and they most certainly let that be known. The Captain of this ship should have dispatched dozens of "staff" to help process passengers - or at the very least - act as emissaries of the cruise line. No such luck. Shame on you. I actually called Royal Caribbeans 800 number to find out what was going on, maybe get someone in "customer service" to get with the program. I was not alone in being hung up on! Apparently they were overwhelmed. The agent that booked this cruise (Vacation's To Go) tried to help but was equally frustrated and unable to help. Customer Service ranking on a scale of 1-10 (one being the worst) - a 1. Read more