This is our first ever RSSC cruise booked as an early special birthday celebration. We were excepting wonderful things from the “world’s most luxurious cruise ship” after having incredible experiences on Silverseas and Crystal. Sadly, the first couple of days were disappointing. Our suite and amenities are excellent; however, the let downs were with the restaurants and bars. Definitely no WOW factor!
On the first night, after having to queue then wait for a table for two in CR, we were seated in a corner and forgotten about leading to long wait times to order and then to be served. The atmosphere was rather manic. The food was inedible. The second night in CR was similar with regard to getting seated but after giving feedback to the maître d’ there were subsequent improvements.
In the Meridian Lounge there was a single bartender and one waiter in the busy lounge resulting in long waits for service. The Explorer Lounge had most of the lights off that we were sitting in darkness. The floor was dirty.
We also had the same experience of the shambolic breakfast service that morning in La Veranda. The morning when we ordered room service breakfast, it was delivered late meaning we rushed to eat in order to make our tour departure on time. Lunch at the Pool Grill was also a poor experience: long wait and wrong food arrived.
During first couple of days, when I asked staff about our food or drink orders, the response was always “we’re busy, Sir!” Yes we could see they’re busy but it made us feel like we were an inconvenience.
On the third night, while having drinks in the ML and after saying to the waiter it was not right he was having to work a busy bar on his own / he needed help, the drinks manager approached us and we gave him our feedback. Then the following day, while we were coming up the main staircase at reception, the bar manager approached us as he heard about our comments and we had a fairly lengthy chat. Also, later that day, the restaurant manager approached us to discuss our experience and feedback.
We left like we were marked men! 😂
Anyway, since the exchanges, there has been a marked improvement. Somewhat uncomfortably, nearly every staff in the restaurants and bars and even in the pool area are addressing us by name “Mr. First Name” and checking that we happy with the food / drinks, offering to get more, etc.
In our discussions with managers, the striking difference we noticed with this ship and our previous cruises, was the lack of managers presence. For example, on our last Silverseas cruise, the bar manager was going about checking things were going smoothly, moving staff to more busier areas and also engaging with the passengers. This was lacking since we embarked this cruise but noticed since yesterday, this was happening.