It wasn't Good. My AOS Review on the July 7th Cruise from Cape Liberty

[johnjen]

Overall, a questionable itinerary (Bermuda, St. Maarten, San Juan, Labadee). Questionable due to extremely shortened times in port. The cruise line is trying to save money at the cost of customers.

Night before hotel - This isn't RCL's problem, it was mine. Avoid "Springhill Suites by Marriott" at Newark/Elizabeth. Terrible routing. Massive pot holes. No shuttle service to the port. We paid $65 on a car service there, and $18 back on an Uber. I'm miffed at myself over the poor planning on that leg of the trip. Avoid Newark. On our way out, we thought we wandered onto a zombie scene (need I say more).

Check-in - GREAT!! We were onboard by 1015am. Suite wasn't ready until 1pm but we snuck through 15 mins early. It was ready and our cabin attendant was a great guy who really took care of us. Always ice in the bucket. Always a clean stateroom. I felt bad for him having to take care of cluttered rooms. We never leave ANYTHING out. This helps the attendants get their work done and ours did everything right. Well deserving of a couple of extra $20's on top of our pre-paid gratuities.

Concierge - We had three. The first one was only via email contact. The next two were outstanding. Very good with communication and any needs were met promptly.

Suite lounge service - Outstanding. Sofyan. We will miss you greatly. Such a good man and dedicated to the service. He headed back home to Indonesia for a break the day we pulled back in.

Dining - Overall, a C. And I am being generous. Like a 9th grade teacher grading on a bell curve.

Giovanni's - With the understanding they were short staffed, we were ready for delays. Not for 2.5 hours of dining though. Food was good. The Vongole was a bit bland; lacked color. It was much better on other ships. Steak was decent. I'd give Giovanni's a C. Again, generous on grading.

Chops - OUTSTANDING. Filets were amazing. Wait staff, same. Gruyere tater tots? WOW! Dessert, I think Jen had the chocolate cake. She loved it. I skipped out on dessert. Chops ended up being the place for dinner. An A is well deserved.

MDR - Some comments on noted dishes..
* The NY Strip steak looked like a lung. Lacked flavor, color. and presentation. Literally, it was GRAY.
* Beef Bourguinon, however, was very tasty!
* Seafood fry, it lacked appeal, appearance, and taste. It looked as if someone found some bits of seafood from the floor and placed them randomly on top of...mashed potatoes.
* Charcuterie board - Mortadella and a piece of random lettuce - an olive....and brown prosciutto, which USED to be healthy pink - told me a sad story about that board. It also told me that food preparation was appalling and done in haste. That's due to lack of staff. And, a lack of CARING.

* Chicken Parm - Bland. Lacked tomato sauce (except for the small dry spot). Chicken was thick. No taste to it.
*Scallops served in an escargot dish - greasy, TINY....I think they were chunks of a single scallop floating in butter and garlic. Not good at all.

The rest of the dishes were okay at most, but they needed more flavor. Blandness throughout, but overall I'd give the MDR a C-. Quantity per serving has definitely been cut back, but I prefer that; some, however, do not....this is the cruise line, again, trying to save money at the cost of the customer.

Table staff were outstanding, hard working and friendly. That Head Waiter we had, she needs work on manners while we were talking. Besides walking up and interrupting the table discussion, what does the HW actually DO? And, why do they even deserve to be part of the gratuity distribution? Royal needs to simply ditch that position.

Izumi's - Took me 25 mins to get the Sapporo I ordered once seated. Dinner arrived nearly an hour later. Sushi had a sauce all through it. Ketchup with mayo stirred in?? I forget the name of the roll, it was a "chef's specialty" one. Had the decorative hair all over it. Wasn't impressed. C- grade.

Windjammer - we literally ate there 2 times for breakfast, I can't say much, except it's a place loaded with very hangry people wanting to cut in line or literally bump into me while trying to find a seat with a bowl of cheerios and milk. The service staff (given the situation) were doing their absolute BEST in trying to serve drinks or wipe off the tables. There were far too many people in it.

Venues - The bars, casino, nicely laid out, good experiences in there playing trivia, getting a drink, etc. Typical RCL venues that may need updating.

Entertainment - Campy. Terrible. This comes from a musician in a rock band. ROYAL - Where are the Rock & Roll bands?? One of the bands called Blaze were very good; the Latin band (I forgot their name) they too, did a fine job, I enjoyed hearing them all over the ship, no matter where they played at. It must be the acoustics! A juggler though? Come on. We passed that up. Get us a decent comedy act instead. Games and contests were pretty cool. Had a great time at one of them. I think I might've been drinking too much, haha.

Cruise Director - Campy announcements, but she was all over the place doing her job. Very involved. 

Condition of the ship - Absolutely terrible. This comes from a 20 year Navy veteran. The appearance of our balcony showed multitudes of rust. The wooden rails were badly needing sanding and coating. All of the exterior windows on Adventure were.....filthy with salt. I should've taken pics of the decay. Adventure badly needs to be drydocked. They were painting over rust instead of treating it properly using needle guns and some good grinding and priming. This is the cost of a cruise line trying to save money and cut corners.

By the 7th day we were ready to get back home!

We have rebooked on Anthem for June 2023 on a Canaries cruise out of Southampton. We turn Diamond. Is it worthwhile that we use it to experience Diamond, or head off to another cruise line? These are the questions on our minds today.

[Biker19]

6 minutes ago, johnjen said:

Is it worthwhile that we use it to experience Diamond, or head off to another cruise line?

Given your expectations, try another line. Why in the world would you even book such a sailing given your first paragraph?

 

Biker, who wonders if this will be 🍿worthy.

Edited July 17, 2022 by Biker19

[smokeybandit]

So there's food issues (which are well known), staffing issues (which are well known), and you expected the ship to look brand new.

Then the threat to switch to a different cruise line, which surely isn't having the same issues.

[HicksRA]

Seems to be pretty much the status quo for all Royal ships since they maxed the passengers without the staff to accommodate them. 
 

We’re booked for AD in October. Hope it’s better by then. 

Edited July 17, 2022 by HicksRA

[firefly333]

Scallops in the escargot dish. We had that on liberty. I liked it better than escargot though only had it once. I agree tiny. They cut them up into pieces. 

 

We had some long meal waits on grandeur too and a waiter with a attitude. They are short staffed. I was hoping it was better. All the lines are short. Give it time.

 

Yes I like diamond benefits.

[johnjen]

10 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Given your expectations, try another line. Why in the world would you even book such a sailing given your first paragraph?

 

Biker, who wonders if this will be 🍿worthy.

We booked via the "nextcruise" on our second day. Today is what...Sunday? May just cancel it.

[johnjen]

8 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

Seems to be pretty much the status quo for all Royal ships since they maxed the passengers without the staff to accommodate them. 
 

We’re booked for AD in October. Hope it’s better by then. 

We wish you have a great cruise.

[johnjen]

7 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

We had some long meal waits on grandeur too and a waiter with a attitude. They are short staffed. I was hoping it was better. All the lines are short. Give it time.

 

Yes I like diamond benefits.

I agree; it'll be some time for RCL to get back on their feet again. Perhaps it was my fault to revisit cruising this early. 
On Diamond benefits, we get that on our next cruise if there is to be one. I'm thinking now, cancel the Anthem cruise next year and do Virgin instead.

[crzndeb]

26 minutes ago, johnjen said:

We have rebooked on Anthem for June 2023 on a Canaries cruise out of Southampton. We turn Diamond.

You turn Diamond on the Anthem cruise, or will be your first cruise after turning Diamond? Personally, I love the Quantum class ships, and Diamond benefits, but that’s just me. I travel solo, so never eat in MDR or speciality. I am more of a snacker, than a big meal person. 😂

Edited July 17, 2022 by crzndeb

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, johnjen said:

I'm thinking now, cancel the Anthem cruise next year and do Virgin instead.

That line will likely have one of your criteria addressed.

[johnjen]

1 minute ago, crzndeb said:

You turn Diamond on the Anthem cruise, or will be your first cruise after turning Diamond?

We are Emerald but turn Diamond on the next one. Hoping the line shows improvement by next year.

[Another_Critic]

26 minutes ago, johnjen said:

We have rebooked on Anthem for June 2023 on a Canaries cruise out of Southampton. We turn Diamond. Is it worthwhile that we use it to experience Diamond, or head off to another cruise line? 

 

2 minutes ago, johnjen said:

On Diamond benefits, we get that on our next cruise if there is to be one. I'm thinking now, cancel the Anthem cruise next year and do Virgin instead.

Did you earn Diamond on Adventure or will you earn Diamond on Anthem (if you don't cancel)?

[johnjen]

1 minute ago, Another_Critic said:

 

Did you earn Diamond on Adventure or will you earn Diamond on Anthem (if you don't cancel)?

On AOS we earned Diamond.

[Another_Critic]

1 minute ago, johnjen said:

We are Emerald but turn Diamond on the next one. Hoping the line shows improvement by next year.

You do not get Diamond benefits until the cruise after you earn Diamond.  So, you will not get the benefits on your next cruise.

[johnjen]

Just now, Another_Critic said:

You do not get Diamond benefits until the cruise after you earn Diamond.  So, you will not get the benefits on your next cruise.

Yes, we will. 

[Another_Critic]

3 minutes ago, johnjen said:

Yes, we will. 

Well, you were not initially clear when you earned Diamond (you actually said you were Emerald "We are Emerald but turn Diamond on the next one.").  But you have since said you earned Diamond on Adventure.

 

Edited July 17, 2022 by Another_Critic

[crzndeb]

5 minutes ago, johnjen said:

We are Emerald but turn Diamond on the next one. Hoping the line shows improvement by next year.

 

3 minutes ago, johnjen said:

On AOS we earned Diamond.

Your 2 posts contradicted each other, but it looks like you did reach Diamond on the Adventure. I think it was just confusing. Personally, I would give the Anthem a try and enjoy your Diamond benefits.

[Another_Critic]

7 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I've been on four cruises since the restart including three in the last four months. I see the staffing issues. I see the supply chain issue. I see some routine maintenance tasks that are suffering due to staffing issues.  None of them made me want to rush out to a message board and say how awful things were. 

I've been on 5 (Oasis, Anthem, Anthem, Enchantment, Anthem).  Yes, there were staff and supply issues, but there are staff and supply issues landslide too.

 

Of course, I realistically expected their to be potential issues.

 

Edited July 17, 2022 by Another_Critic

[johnjen]

14 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

 

Your 2 posts contradicted each other, but it looks like you did reach Diamond on the Adventure. I think it was just confusing. Personally, I would give the Anthem a try and enjoy your Diamond benefits.

We'll wait for Roberto, Michael and Jason's reply to determine the decision making on my behalf whether or not to go on Anthem or cancel it. That is getting posted in the mail tomorrow.

Edited July 17, 2022 by johnjen

[BND]

Salt on the windows?  Wow, who'd a thunk a ship at sea would have salt on the windows?  It's virtually impossible to stop that.  It's called sea spray.  

 

How did you have 3 concierge?

[Another_Critic]

Just now, BND said:

Salt on the windows?  Wow, who'd a thunk a ship at sea would have salt on the windows?  It's virtually impossible to stop that.  It's called sea spray.  

They used to clean the windows (and paint) in port, but I haven't seen that happen since the restart.

[BND]

Just now, Another_Critic said:

They used to clean the windows (and paint) in port, but I haven't seen that happen since the restart.

We've done 2b2b's since restart and they were cleaning and painting but with fewer crew.  As for the windows, they would have to clean them nonstop to keep the sea spray salt off of them.

[johnjen]

Just now, BND said:

We've done 2b2b's since restart and they were cleaning and painting but with fewer crew.  As for the windows, they would have to clean them nonstop to keep the sea spray salt off of them.

No. The windows were filthier than ever before. They simply don't have the manpower they once had.

[coaster]

34 minutes ago, johnjen said:

I agree; it'll be some time for RCL to get back on their feet again. Perhaps it was my fault to revisit cruising this early. 
On Diamond benefits, we get that on our next cruise if there is to be one. I'm thinking now, cancel the Anthem cruise next year and do Virgin instead.

Believe you should of started cruising again earlier. Our 3 cruises late last year with under 50 percent capacity were the best cruises I recall. No lines or drama with WJ staff plating your food. Able to wait in your cabin until your number was called on departure day.

 

Now they pack the ship regardless of how much crew they have.... Prices were so much cheaper late last year also. It was the best of both world's.

Edited July 17, 2022 by coaster

[johnjen]

13 minutes ago, BND said:

Salt on the windows?  Wow, who'd a thunk a ship at sea would have salt on the windows?  It's virtually impossible to stop that.  It's called sea spray.  

 

How did you have 3 concierge?

THE WINDOWS WERE FILTHIER THAN EVER BEFORE.
3 concierges due to staffing changes. They were all nice though.