We booked 11 family members for this cruise to celebrate my parents 50th anniversary. When we originally booked we booked an entirely different ship for a 5 day cruise with stops in the Bahamas and Mexico. About six weeks prior to cruising RC changed our ship and port stops to Cozumel and Costa de Maya. We rolled with the changes and selected our excursions. Three weeks prior to cruising Covid regulations were shared with us. We had 3 children under 12 who could not be fully vaccinated. These three were required to take a Covid test 2 days prior to boarding like the rest of us, another Covid test prior to boarding, and a third prior to getting off. While on the ship everyone was required to be masked and there were many areas where the unvaccinated children could not go. Requiring 3 Covid tests for healthy children is so over the top. And while on board the children were yelled at and one vaccinated adult was even threatened with security to be called for moving the mask for a few minutes during a show. I would not have cruised with kids if I realized how they would be treated.

Once on board after the first night, we woke up on day 2 to find that we had returned to the port in Tampa. We were never fully told the reason except “medical emergency.” The staff was vague and dismissive if you asked questions. Due to this return to port, one of our two stops in Mexico was completely eliminated. On a five day cruise, we were only given one stop. When we politely asked the RC staff if there was some type of compensation they could give for not delivering on what we signed up for (a 5 day cruise with 2 ports), we were told absolutely no compensation would be given besides a credit for the prepaid excursions. They refused to upgrade our internet or drink package or anything. In addition, RC was short staffed so even with 4 days at sea, the attractions such as the climbing wall and water slide weren’t opened more than an hour or so per day.

Also, while forced to stay on the boat for 4 days we were nickel and dimed for everything. There were up charges to participate in exercise classes and to select specific menu items. A $15 per person per day gratuity charge was added to our bill as well. Read more