My wife, son and I were spending Christmas with my daughter, son in law and granddaughter who live in California. We decided to do a short 4 day cruise from long beach to Mexico and back as a taster for my son in law who has never cruised before.
Embarkation was average, taking 30-45 minutes. Part of the process was the mandatory safety briefing which consisted of us visiting the 3 lifeboat ...
Wanted to do the panama canal cruise from LA to Miami.
Advertisement with johnny rockets and starbucks.
On board reality hits you:
No johnny rockets, no starbucks, to
Mislead you they ise starbucks cups but not eh coffee brand itself.
Ship is old and dirty, somethimes my plate from the windjammer was not clean. Food is left out to long resulting in bad food experience with burger ...
The ship is very old and the furniture is ripped and needs cleaning. We were surprised how dirty the ship is. Carpet desperately needs cleaning. Service and all amenities are cut back. The cabin service has been cutting back. The Windjammer food is HORRIBLE. Cold burgers are served. Most dishes are very tasteless. I really not looking forward to the food on this ship.The specialty restaurants ...
The design of the casino on deck 5 just underneath the plaza makes it so that all the cigarette smoke rises up to the promenade. Bad ship design. I had to wear my mask the fist night as the smoke was too potent in the promenade it made it hard to breath. The music in the main pool on deck 11 was so loud I couldn't carry on a conversation with my spouse. It was definitely a party crowd as there ...
I went on this ship because it was the Star Trek cruise. I had been disappointed by the last 2 RCL cruises since COVID and this was about the same. I fear the next cruise I have scheduled in September on the Serenade of the Seas. If it wasn't with four other people in the family I would cancel it.
First let me say that the Star Trek part of the cruise rocked! I won't get into it here but I ...
Traveling with a big group, this is the shortest cruise I've ever taken. This was my 8th with RCL, and I'd always enjoyed the quality of the overall experience. Some differences this time, though. The quality of the food was slipping -- tater tots served with prime rib, 2 shrimp in the shrimp cocktail, a very bready French onion soup -- but I still appreciated the menu on a cruise that was a ...
This is our 6th cruise with RC and it’s our 10th cruise overall having taken Celebrity for our other past cruises. I mention this to give you context.
Port of LA
Prepare before you leave to be waiting quite a bit to drop your luggage as well as collect it after the cruise. Despite a timed arrival, the port was completely overwhelmed and under-staffed. Prepare for 60-90 min to get on the ...
Let me start by saying I don't think I should be treated "special", but when you are sold a Grand Suite because of all the supposed wonderful extras and ammenities, then you sort-of have a raised expectation... especially when I have sailed a suite-class on other cruise lines. And because I have often sailed with RC's sister company, Celebrity, I was Platinum level in their Crown & Anchor Society ...
There were some good things about our cruise. The COVID testing process for kids, while unfortunate to have to do, went as smoothly as it could have. The staff running it were helpful and efficient; we were in and out in less than half an hour. On the ship, the service in Windjammer and Cafe Promenade was fantastic - the people who work there were so kind and attentive! The food from El Loco ...
I've never been involved in cruise ship work nor management, but I have some experience in entertainment and hospitality, and a lot of ship operations experience. Based upon those and other experiences I think I know things that some people whose occupation is managing cruise ships don't realize. The income and lives of many people depend upon the continuity of cruise ship operations. If I ...