First the good:
The ship is huge and awesome. Felt like we were in a large hotel. Minimal sway on the “rough days”. Room a Central Park balcony was clean and had plenty of storage. Zero wind and nice music in the evening from the band playing in Central Park.
Some random things I really disliked in no particular order:
Upon unpacking, our cabin steward told us they no longer ...
Pros:
Loved the ports - beware though tendering at Zakynthos; unless you had a ship tour booked you could wait 3 hours plus to get off (we gave up)
But the ships tours WERE very good and would recommend.
I had the “key” package and loved the little perks (great WiFi!)
Food - excellent food in MDR and service (buffet not so good - food often tepid and dining area itself is dismal ...
We chose this cruise as we are Diamond Class on Royal Caribbean and so far they have never disappointed. We wanted to try this ship as the only RCI Southampton based and needed to sample before commiting to other sailings. For us this ship is too big and even though it was not a School break there were 500 children on board. We had a balcony but also a young family either side, when they were ...
Took this cruise for the itinerary. Mykonos, Santorini & Israel. Unfortunately war broke out and the Israel stops were cancelled. Not RCL fault. Completely understood this. MDR food was ok. Much smaller portions served on BIG plates doesn't impress me. No lobster night (could pay $17.99 + 18% gratuity for a 4 oz tail). Onion soup great, but the cheese on top was like chewing bubble gum, too thick ...
I have been on the Empress, Freedom, Enchantment with upcoming cruises on Celebrity Ascent and Radiance. Enchantment has been my least favorite. I will say that the service was good. Drinks were good as well as the ports. This cruise was more about the itinerary than the ship. I would never recommend this ship to just be on the ship.
Issues
Cabins. Very dated. We were in a Junior Suite. ...
Chose this ship as we loved Oasis and other RCL cruises. This one however was torturous with the amount of noise around the pool decks from the really loud amplified music to the blaring screeching voice on the microphone. Even in Central Park 5 decks down we could not escape the noise and even the brass band could not be heard over the voice commentary from deck 15. The promenade deck had ...
The food was mediocre at best.
The itinerary was why we chose this cruise. I have been around long enough to know that the new, splashy ships have the least interesting itineraries, and the older tired ships have the most interesting itineraries. However, I did not expect the older ship to offer subpar food and experiences.
The salad dressings had no flavor at all, and the soups were just ...
We chose this cruise primarily because of the itinerary. We are not novice cruises, having done over 60 of them. The ship is older, but appears to be well maintained for the most part. Embarktation was slow, stood in line for over an hour before we boarded. We had a balcony cabin that was spacious and featured good storage. Most employees try very hard to please, but overall management is ...
Cleaning of rooms only once a day.
You can choose either in the morning or in the evening.
Very poor desserts, both in the buffet and in the restaurant on the 3rd floor.
We tried breakfast at the restaurant on the 4th floor. We won't do it anymore.
There was very small selection of food.
Price of drinks includes service charge.
The quality of the food, not like in the past.
...
While it is not one of the best cruises I’ve experienced, as the room was not as clean as it appears. The wifi was expensive, you have to pay 100$ for unlimited soft drinks, The service was excellent. So many members in the cruise made us feel welcomed, appreciated and cared for. Now I can’t list down all of the crew members but ernesto and sarvesh and cleon the waiters, and safiya the janitor ...