My wife and our adult daughter sailed on Adventure of the Seas on July 6 to the Bahamas. This cruise was our birthday gift to our daughter, who had never been on a cruise before. My wife and I have been sailing almost exclusively over the years with Celebrity. We gave our daughter the choice of a Celebrity cruise to Bermuda or a Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas. Both were for one week and both were on older ships. Our daughter chose the Royal Caribbean cruise because of the itinerary. She and my wife shared a balcony cabin.
Some observations, courtesy of my wife:
1. The public restrooms were filthy. There were no attendants to clean them during daylight hours. The bathroom floors on the pool deck were wet, slippery and dangerous.
2. Hand sanitizers which should be ubiquitous on all cruise ships were no where to be found. Sinks at the entrance to the Windjammer buffet restaurant were not used by all passengers. My wife had to actually ask for hand sanitizers and she was told on one occasion that none were available.
3. Overheated passengers returning to the ship from shore were not offered cold face towels or cold drinks to refresh themselves, and of course, no hand sanitizers were on display. Clearly, cleanliness was not a priority on this ship.
4. My wife described the vaunted on-board entertainment, allegedly a Royal Caribbean strength, as nothing special.
5. On a number of occasions the staff was slow clearing dirty plates from tables in the always crowded Windjammer buffet restaurant.
6. Even though disembarking at the port of Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean’s private island) is a ritual the ship performs on a weekly basis, you would think the crew would have learned how and known better. Thousands of impatient passengers were trapped in small, narrow, overheated, confining exit ways for 90 brutal minutes before being allowed off the ship. There were no water fountains at hand. Not surprisingly, under these extremely uncomfortable conditions the mob of passengers became unruly. My wife said she’s seen better organized riots.
7. My wife noted the door frames in their cabin shower were rusty. Same with the floor surface on the balcony. Curiously, these features did not appear in the Royal Caribbean cruise brochure.
8. Although she was Diamond class by virtue of her past cruises on Celebrity, my wife had to actually ask for basics like a shower cap and lotions and a robe. The cabin had no carafe of ice water.
9. Having purchased a soda package, my wife had to continually ask for straws, which the crew were stingy to hand out allegedly due to environmental concerns — but they were ever present on more expensive alcoholic beverages.
10. To be sure, and in fairness to Royal Caribbean, there were parts of the cruise my wife did enjoy. Contrary to her low expectations, my wife said the food was decent, though selections on the MDR menu were limited. She said her cabin attendant and MDR server were very good. But maybe because we booked this cruise late, the fare was no bargain compared to what we pay on Celebrity (where we normally book early) — and yet she received a lot less for our money. For years we’ve heard Celebrity described as an upscale version of Royal Caribbean (they are both owned by the same parent company), but until my wife’s upsetting experiences on this cruise we were unable to appreciate what upscale really means.
My wife and I and our extended family were also on this cruise, It was our first on Royal Caribbean as we normally cruise on Celebrity. I did not often use the public rest rooms, but when I did they were adequately cleaned. There was a person at the entry of the Windjammer with sanitizer about half of the time; I did not observe them anywhere else on the ship. I thought the wash sinks were superior to the use of sanitizer, and most passengers seemed to use them. We missed the cold towels when returning to the ship from excursions, but did not expect them on this line. I also expected more from the entertainment, and too often it seemed there was a lack of available entertainment. The musicians were generally quite good, but there could have been additional variety available. The Windjammer was always very crowded; when we were able to get a table, the staff was quick to clean it, even if at times we had to get their attention first. Getting of at Coco Cay was very poorly organized. We waited until about an hour after the tenders began running, so our wait to get off the ship was "only" about 30 minutes. We had a deluxe cabana and this stop was a highlight of the cruise as a result. We did not have any concerns about the condition of the ship. We are also Diamond, and did have robes and lotion in our cabin; since we had a junior suite, perhaps that was part of the reason. We had the refreshment package. Straws were readily available even though we did not generally use them. Our cabin attendant and waiter were outstanding. We had a party of 12 from 5 different reservations, and the ship had no difficulty linking the reservations. We had to use My Time dining since traditional was sold out, but were able to have the same table each day which was always ready for us when we arrived. Overall, this cruise was a good experience. We are going to try another (larger) Royal Caribbean ship to see if that improves the entertainment options.
A Poor Imitation Of Celebrity
in Royal Caribbean International
Posted
My wife and I and our extended family were also on this cruise, It was our first on Royal Caribbean as we normally cruise on Celebrity. I did not often use the public rest rooms, but when I did they were adequately cleaned. There was a person at the entry of the Windjammer with sanitizer about half of the time; I did not observe them anywhere else on the ship. I thought the wash sinks were superior to the use of sanitizer, and most passengers seemed to use them. We missed the cold towels when returning to the ship from excursions, but did not expect them on this line. I also expected more from the entertainment, and too often it seemed there was a lack of available entertainment. The musicians were generally quite good, but there could have been additional variety available. The Windjammer was always very crowded; when we were able to get a table, the staff was quick to clean it, even if at times we had to get their attention first. Getting of at Coco Cay was very poorly organized. We waited until about an hour after the tenders began running, so our wait to get off the ship was "only" about 30 minutes. We had a deluxe cabana and this stop was a highlight of the cruise as a result. We did not have any concerns about the condition of the ship. We are also Diamond, and did have robes and lotion in our cabin; since we had a junior suite, perhaps that was part of the reason. We had the refreshment package. Straws were readily available even though we did not generally use them. Our cabin attendant and waiter were outstanding. We had a party of 12 from 5 different reservations, and the ship had no difficulty linking the reservations. We had to use My Time dining since traditional was sold out, but were able to have the same table each day which was always ready for us when we arrived. Overall, this cruise was a good experience. We are going to try another (larger) Royal Caribbean ship to see if that improves the entertainment options.