The RCYC needs to pause all cruises and take the necessary time to modify the experience they promise, but fail to deliver on. This was our first cruise so we decided to go all out and rent 1 of the 2 owner’s suites (in fact we were the only ones in the owner’s suite, as the other one was vacant during our trip). Price was extreme, but with the private jacuzzi/sun deck, along with a much larger suite with 2 bathrooms, we decided to take the plunge so we could visit Corsica, Portofino, Monte Carlo, and Saint Tropez. We could not have dreamed of better locations to visit, but everything else about this cruise was a failure from start to finish.

First, the RCYC representative who helped us book the trip was a terrible communicator. Every request or question we asked was met with promises for answers which never came. The amount of follow-up we needed to do to get answers to simple questions was the first sign of trouble. Correspondence from the representative was sporadic, at best, and requests for ground transportation, yacht entertainment, laundry facilities, streaming services, additional guests/fees, and pre-trip accommodations/tours in Rome were only addressed after several follow-up efforts to by me. Additional information about the destinations were not provided in advance, but instead were given the night before arrival. This information should be provided online months before, when the excursion info is provided to help make better decisions on how to optimize your time.

The second sign was that our preferences were never requested. We knew the suite would include small amenities like alcohol, flowers, snacks, but at no time were we asked about our preferences. As expected, once we made it to our owner’s suite, we saw 7 bottles of liquor (I don’t drink alcohol at all, and my wife only drinks wine). We informed our personal concierge and housekeeping that they could replace the liquor with wine, but they never did. Instead my wife received one bottle of bottom shelf red wine and when she requested a slightly higher end bottle, we were charged for it. This did not seem fair since we did not touch the over $500 of alcohol they provided, gratis. We simply wanted to exchange for wine of similar value. Read more