Have I "outgrown" cruising? Or am I just done with Royal Caribbean?

[CuseJeff44]

This is going to be a little bit of a random download / trip report so feel free to skip past it if that isn't of interest to you 🙂 It's also a LOT of complaining, so again, feel free to skip if that's not your cup of tea.

 

After far too many years away from cruising, and a cancelled COVID trip, we finally got to sail on the Adventure of the Seas this past week on a 5 night Bermuda cruise. This was our 6th cruise, and all of them have been on Royal. The first 5 we loved and always felt it was money well spent. This time, everything changed. 

 

Topline takeaway : I always felt that even though the cruise came along with upcharges and added costs, I still got the impression that the Cruise line cared that I had a good time in the end. I always felt appreciated and respected as a passenger, and a vacationer, and even though it wasn't an all-inclusive, I always felt that their number one goal was my happiness. Yes. I know their goal is to make money, but they used to be so much better at still leaving me feeling that I got value. 

 

I didn't feel that way at ALL this time around. 

 

First the food. I have LONG defended the food on this cruise line from those who said it wasn't good. It was never 5 star dining, but I always felt well-fed and well taken-care of. Not this time. The quality and quantity of the food in the dining room has declined to the point that I have to agree with the criticism. A shrimp appetizer had 3 small shrimp. That's it. More fun times at Johnny Rockets when we asked "are these starters per person or to share"? He said to share. Then he brings our onion rings. Four small onion rings for four people. *****? And...my wife's burger never came at all. 

 

I also need someone to explain to me. COVID is airborne. How does congregating large groups of people outside the Windjammer so they can wash hands make sense? Seems to be an increase in risk. It would seem that the quick hand sanitizing shots that they did outside the main dining room would make much more sense. I'm also curious why I can't make my own ice cream...sorry, frozen yogurt...cone outside on the pool deck? How is COVID more transmissible in that one spot as opposed to every other surface in the Windjammer? Or on the soda machine touch screens? On the Promenade coffee machine handles? Arbitrary and didnt make sense. 

 

$7.95 upcharge for breakfast room service if it's an egg, but free if its toast. I don't get it. 

 

$200 for a family of four for a premium restaurant now. Oof. 

 

And there used to be SO many more places to get food. Forget about the long gone away midnight buffets, what about even the burgers and dogs poolside? Now, the ONLY place I could find ANY food during non meal hours was the Promenade, and there was always a huge line because of it. 

 

Overcrowding 3,800 people onto a boat despite COVID....fine I can deal with that...but why are you closing half the pools on an AT SEA day? Insanity. People were pouring OUT of the hot tubs. 

 

The WiFi? I paid $400 for 4 devices with "streaming". It was AWFUL. Worked maybe 25% of the time, and not at a speed where anything was streamable. 

 

I could go on (I know this is a total *****-fest and I am sorry)...But It just felt like every possible opportunity to make things harder for passengers, RCI did that thing. And I NEVER felt this way before about RCI. I don't know if cruising just isn't for me any more, or if its just RCI. 

 

Sigh. 

 

[RoyalC]

All valid points. Many share that. It will vary between cruise ships and crew too. In fact, a lot of business have not been able to handle the covid era well. The Fed is also letting inflation run wild. They continue to be a joke. Prices continue to rise. This will not help. 

[Husky1987]

Thanks for the review.

 

Plenty of other cruise lines to try out.

[rrraydon]

Sorry your cruise wasn’t the greatest…that sucks for sure.

 

[TravelGirlinDallas]

We just had a fantastic cruise on Ovation last week. The food and service in buffet & MDRs on that ship was great - we did not eat at specialty restaurants and had room service only once. The room service charge was implemented by Royal before Covid. 

 

We will be on Adventure out of Galveston in November. I hope our experience will be better than yours was. Did you ever find out why they closed the pools? 

Edited July 29, 2022 by TravelGirlinDallas

[neverbeenhere]

This is when you move on to try other cruise lines. We’ve done it. It works out great as you get to try something new. 

[smokeybandit]

Ah, I love these posts.

[sunlover2]

So sorry that your cruise experience was not good. That really sucks. And I agree, they are no longer a deal.

 

It's also disappointing to read your review as we are scheduled to be on Adventure on Sept 1, east coast and Canada. Like you, we have not sailed since covid...2 of our cruises were canceled. We are hitting diamond this cruise so I am really hoping that Royal gets their *hit together for older ships as this is not the first time I have read bad reviews for Adventure. It would be so disappointing to hit Diamond status and change cruise lines. 

[Jerseygirl1416]

I haven’t heard of too many happy with Adventure this summer. I think it’s a combination of summer sailing (huge crowds), older ship, maybe less experienced crew and maybe a crappy F&B officer. 
 

I’ve sailed a few mainstream companies and found that they are all more similar than they are different. The differences in my opinion are in the specific ships. I now only book newer ships that get overall good reviews. And I never sail in the summer and after a Christmas cruise never on a holiday either.

 

I’m sorry you weren’t happy with your cruise. Hopefully the next one will be better.

 

 

[HicksRA]

I and a lot of others have noticed the same deficiencies which seem to be increasing rather than abating. 

But it really shouldn’t be a big surprise based on the current problems in so many areas. 
Supply issues are causing substandard food quality which makes for lousy meals, and complete unavailability of some items;
Crew hiring issues which result in a ship that is understaffed with a majority of overworked, unseasoned or untrained crew; 

And Royal is no doubt pinching every penny possible to try to recover from devastating losses thus limiting maintenance/upgrades to a bare minimum. 
 

It’s aggravating and rightfully so, but I try to keep things in the right perspective and hope for a return to normal in due time. 

[Cruzaholic41]

Thank you for your honest review. At this point, I recommend stepping up to a different line before calling it quits altogether.
 

I very much agree with the mdr criticism. I don’t even eat in RCIs mdr anymore. 
 

If you do try RCI again, consider a suite on the larger Quantum or Oasis Class. More free dining options and Coastal Kitchen is much better than the mdr. 

[superduper123]

I agree with many things said in the post. We were on a cruise in June (Celebrity) and things are definitely different than before covid. Mostly, we noticed slow service due to being understaffed. Hopefully things will soon return to the way they were prior to covid.

 

Side note -  after 20+ cruises on Royal, and two more booked, we do prefer Celebrity a bit more.

Edited July 29, 2022 by superduper123

[BecciBoo]

Dillon:  Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
And you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'

[CuseJeff44]

I may try another line. Problem is, I don't think a try "luxury" line is in the cards financially....Norwegian I have heard is just as hit or miss as RCI...and Celebrity may be nice, but I don't really want to reward RCI by still giving them my money. And I keep asking myself...maybe I should just pivot to the all-inclusive resort thing where, because I've paid up front (more admittedly) they literally only focus on all the little things that make my life easier and my stay better, rather than harder and more expensive. 

[CuseJeff44]

3 minutes ago, superduper123 said:

I agree with many things said in the post. We were on a cruise in June (Celebrity) and things are definitely different than before covid. Mostly, we noticed slow service due to being understaffed. Hopefully things will soon return to the way they were prior to covid.

 

Side note -  after 20+ cruises on Royal, and two more booked, we do prefer Celebrity a bit more.

Problem is, I don't feel inclined to reward RCI's incompetence by putting money into their pockets via Celebrity. Sigh. I dunno, 

[neverbeenhere]

Princess is nice. Many like MSC. These lines have prices in line with Royal. 

[BecciBoo]

2 minutes ago, CuseJeff44 said:

after 20+ cruises on Royal, and two more booked, we do prefer Celebrity a bit more.

Same here but I prefer Royals price mark

[reefgeek83]

We've only cruised Carnival and have our first RC cruise booked on September 2nd. I'm excited to try a new line. The one thing I agree with is all the specialty dining and up-charging. I hate how cruising is going to the Pay-to-Play model. It used to be you paid your cruise fare and everything on the ship was included. Now you have to pay extra for certain restaurant's, iFly, Flowrider, etc. The way things are headed, your cruise fare is only going to include the room and everything else is going to be an upcharge.

[prmssk]

Your post would fit in on the cruise boards of a number of cruise lines. Since the restart, cruise lines are dealing with supply chain issues, staff shortages, and a lot of inexperienced staff. It’s not universally bad across every line. Each ship and each cruise is different (some bad, some okay, some great). And some lines are doing better at trying to improve things. I personally have been more impressed with how Celebrity is handling the restart challenges than how Princess is (the two lines I’ve sailed so far since the restart - I don’t get back on Royal until 2024).
 

My suggestion is to maybe step away from cruising and check in again down the road after the lines have had more time to try to get closer back to how they used to be. 

[kitkat343]

26 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

 

I’ve sailed a few mainstream companies and found that they are all more similar than they are different.

 

 

We've found this to be the case too.  I'm concerned because we are sailing adventure too.  If you are trying to sail out of Bayonne and avoid the flight, its the only ship with decent itineraries (I don't want to just go to Bermuda, but am hoping to see San Juan and St. Marteen).  I hope we are able to at least get decent food somewhere on the ship.

[vjmatty]

18 minutes ago, CuseJeff44 said:

I may try another line. Problem is, I don't think a try "luxury" line is in the cards financially....Norwegian I have heard is just as hit or miss as RCI...and Celebrity may be nice, but I don't really want to reward RCI by still giving them my money. And I keep asking myself...maybe I should just pivot to the all-inclusive resort thing where, because I've paid up front (more admittedly) they literally only focus on all the little things that make my life easier and my stay better, rather than harder and more expensive. 

 

I am starting to think vacations that don't require a whole lot of service are the way to go for now.....weekly rentals on a beach in the Mediterranean with decent restaurants near by, during shoulder seasons. If there is a local little grocery store and wine shop near by, all the better.  Local cabs or car rentals or ferry service... saves a ton of money as well.

[Corby114]

My family of three cruised on the Adventure Of The Seas June 9th five day sailing to Bermuda. During the short five day sailing in the Windjammer there was a shortage of orange juice and lemonade. On the first sea day I went over to the Solarium Bar for a glass of white wine for my wife. The overworked bartender told me there was no white wine available at his station and no one available to go down to the storage hold and get any. My wife ended up with a glass of champagne. The same day I asked for an absolut screwdriver. He pointed to either Gray Goose or Stoli vodka. I went with the Gray Goose. Every night during this sailing we would end up having a drink or two in the Viking Crown Lounge. A twenty three year female veteran bar steward from Jamaica explained that she was finishing up an eight month contract in two weeks. She told us her direct supervisor was begging her to extend her contract for an additional ten weeks because they were so shorthanded. She explained that her knees were shot and she was considering retirement. She said many fellow employees were being strong armed to extend their contracts.

[vjmatty]

20 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

Princess is nice. Many like MSC. These lines have prices in line with Royal. 

 

Princess has been getting some poor reviews as well, in fact some worse involving sewage issues and propulsion problems, in addition to inadequate service to match the increase in travel at the start of the summer.  In October I have one Princess sailing and one RC sailing, so it will be an interesting comparison.

[smokeybandit]

I think some just enjoy being unhappy in life

[LGW59]

1 hour ago, CuseJeff44 said:

This is going to be a little bit of a random download / trip report so feel free to skip past it if that isn't of interest to you 🙂 It's also a LOT of complaining, so again, feel free to skip if that's not your cup of tea.

 

After far too many years away from cruising, and a cancelled COVID trip, we finally got to sail on the Adventure of the Seas this past week on a 5 night Bermuda cruise. This was our 6th cruise, and all of them have been on Royal. The first 5 we loved and always felt it was money well spent. This time, everything changed. 

 

Topline takeaway : I always felt that even though the cruise came along with upcharges and added costs, I still got the impression that the Cruise line cared that I had a good time in the end. I always felt appreciated and respected as a passenger, and a vacationer, and even though it wasn't an all-inclusive, I always felt that their number one goal was my happiness. Yes. I know their goal is to make money, but they used to be so much better at still leaving me feeling that I got value. 

 

I didn't feel that way at ALL this time around. 

 

First the food. I have LONG defended the food on this cruise line from those who said it wasn't good. It was never 5 star dining, but I always felt well-fed and well taken-care of. Not this time. The quality and quantity of the food in the dining room has declined to the point that I have to agree with the criticism. A shrimp appetizer had 3 small shrimp. That's it. More fun times at Johnny Rockets when we asked "are these starters per person or to share"? He said to share. Then he brings our onion rings. Four small onion rings for four people. *****? And...my wife's burger never came at all. 

 

I also need someone to explain to me. COVID is airborne. How does congregating large groups of people outside the Windjammer so they can wash hands make sense? Seems to be an increase in risk. It would seem that the quick hand sanitizing shots that they did outside the main dining room would make much more sense. I'm also curious why I can't make my own ice cream...sorry, frozen yogurt...cone outside on the pool deck? How is COVID more transmissible in that one spot as opposed to every other surface in the Windjammer? Or on the soda machine touch screens? On the Promenade coffee machine handles? Arbitrary and didnt make sense. 

 

$7.95 upcharge for breakfast room service if it's an egg, but free if its toast. I don't get it. 

 

$200 for a family of four for a premium restaurant now. Oof. 

 

And there used to be SO many more places to get food. Forget about the long gone away midnight buffets, what about even the burgers and dogs poolside? Now, the ONLY place I could find ANY food during non meal hours was the Promenade, and there was always a huge line because of it. 

 

Overcrowding 3,800 people onto a boat despite COVID....fine I can deal with that...but why are you closing half the pools on an AT SEA day? Insanity. People were pouring OUT of the hot tubs. 

 

The WiFi? I paid $400 for 4 devices with "streaming". It was AWFUL. Worked maybe 25% of the time, and not at a speed where anything was streamable. 

 

I could go on (I know this is a total *****-fest and I am sorry)...But It just felt like every possible opportunity to make things harder for passengers, RCI did that thing. And I NEVER felt this way before about RCI. I don't know if cruising just isn't for me any more, or if its just RCI. 

 

Sigh. 

 

Not discounting your experience at all, you were there, I was not, so this cruise sucked for you!  That is really too bad, esp after spending so much hard earned cash.  So with 6 cruises, 5 being great and 1 being sucky, that is still an 84% satisfaction level.  If it were me, I'd not give up on cruising altogether, but perhaps I'd try another line when the time is right and see what happens on that experience.