having cruised 5 times with 3 other cruise lines i feel i have a good overall knowledge for comparisons - my party consisted of 4 adults with 2 children.
when i booked with royal caribbean i genuinly thought i was upgrading to a higher level of cruising.
"oops" how wrong can one be:- the staff service was actually no better or worse than any of my previous cruises so no probs there -
the buffet was far inferior than on previous cruises , plus the short opening hours were often inconvenient - we were unable to get an early sitting in the restaurant (apparently its a lottery system) so booked for 9.30 sitting food started arriving about 10pm (try making your family and children wait till 10pm for food when thay are used to eating at about 6.30pm).
the stage entertainment was o.k but not as good as previous cruises -
the deck entertainment when it was on was poor-
2 hour que to get on the climbing wall
the solarium and pool was often to cold for comfort
the day excursions were overly expensive, i had been to two locations previously with thomson cruises and the same tour cost approximately double with this cruise line
we decided to do our own exploring at some destinations but the help and advice we could get from R.C was very inadequate , they grudgingly gave us a photocopied map sheet that had lots of the information missing ,it did not show the bus stop/train/taxi locations or even the point of departure (ie where the ship was on the map) and many street names missing, talking to other passengers we think the reason was to discourage us from not buying their tours.
the only thing that i can praise was the kids clubs, very well organised and secure with lots to do.
they say you can judge a company by its actions when things go wrong -- well this is where RC really showed themselves up:-
we arrived in venice during the volcano cloud (which we understand was a natural disaster with no one to blame) but the way R.C treated us was nothing short of disgraceful, on the ship they assured us arrangements were being made for us , they then said they would tell us our arrangements after the coach transfer , instead they gave us all a phone number in u.s.a that would not work from europe, - they had lied, they had made no arrangements whatsoever. (note! not just my family but all the other passengers) we were left on the pavement with no help or assistance , eventually found own hotel (at £250 per night plus food costs)after 3 nights we were invited to join a group of R.C passengers who had independantly organised a coach to uk as they also had realised R.C were not going to assist us. (it cost me a total of £1700.travel & hotel to get my family home)
we booked this complete package deal through a well known travel agent - today we have found out that R.C refuses to even pay us back for the air fare that was canceled - and offered not a penny for anything else.
i would hate to think how RC would look after us if a problem had happened to the ship at sea!!
I am sorry you found RC disappointing, but I dont think I have ever read a report slating RC to the extent that you have 
We have cruised with RC and found them to be excellent in everything they did for us.
Nothing was to much for the staff at all, anytime of day or night 
We booked the 6.30p.m sitting when booking the original cruise. We found the food at all times to be ample, well cooked and with plenty of choice.
We have cruised with RC and found them to be excellent in everything they did for us.
Nothing was to much for the staff at all, anytime of day or night We booked the 6.30p.m sitting when booking the original cruise. We found the food at all times to be ample, well cooked and with plenty of choice.
Hmmm strong first post. Have been with RCCL a few times and they were excellent, they have to be as a lot of their clients are from the USA and they would be out of business by now! Could it be one of the subsidary cruise lines RCCL have taken over from that inferior company from Spain?
I'm shocked by this review. I've cruised Thomson (on the late lamented Topaz) and RCCL, most recently on Freedom of The Seas last December, and Thomson, in my view, is Blue Square League compared with RCCL, Premier League. I find RCCL's staff helpful, friendly and approachable.
Yes some of their excursions look pricey; you can always go ashore independently and do your own thing.
What puzzles me is why RCCL should be expected to pay for flights??? They didn't cancel the flight home, the airline did, it's surely up to them to refund costs.
Yes some of their excursions look pricey; you can always go ashore independently and do your own thing.
What puzzles me is why RCCL should be expected to pay for flights??? They didn't cancel the flight home, the airline did, it's surely up to them to refund costs.
We have just returned from our 3rd cruise with RCI and have had no problems at all,
Staff were all fantastic and always helpful and happy in their work.
We found the meals in the dining room and buffet to be 1st class and good quality ,
did have a problem on our cruise in 2009 with not having the dining time requested but changed
to My time dining with no problem,this last cruise which was for 18 nights we again booked
My Time in advance,and not one night did we fail to dine at the time we requested,i would
certainly say that over Costa, Carnival, and NCL, RCI come top of the list for us.
annx
Staff were all fantastic and always helpful and happy in their work.
We found the meals in the dining room and buffet to be 1st class and good quality ,
did have a problem on our cruise in 2009 with not having the dining time requested but changed
to My time dining with no problem,this last cruise which was for 18 nights we again booked
My Time in advance,and not one night did we fail to dine at the time we requested,i would
certainly say that over Costa, Carnival, and NCL, RCI come top of the list for us.
annx
We had a very enjoyable cruise on RC's Mariner but can agree with many of the comments about the entertainment (with the exception of the ice show), tour costs and food service. We also have enjoyed excellent cruises with Thomson with super entertainment, reasonable tour costs and outstanding food service. However, Mariner is a gorgeous ship with lovely cabins and the same cannot be said for Destiny, Celebration or Spirit! I suppose it depends on what you find most important; after a day exploring a port, we like to see a song and dance show, have a quiet drink at a reasonable (even all inclusive - if you book early!) price without a huge surcharge and watch the waves. Whilst the base cost for the RCI Caribbean cruise was similar to our Thomson Caribbean cruise, we had direct flights and our on board bill was half of what we paid on Mariner! With RC we had a delay getting to Atlanta which meant we missed our connection and yes, RC didn't want to know.The airline (Delta) lost our luggage too 
So we will stick with Thomson - direct flights with the same company wins hands down for me.
Your treatment from RC sounds nothing short of disgraceful and has certainly made me think twice about booking with RC again. I would like to know how Thomson cruises treated their guests during this crisis before I judge though!
So we will stick with Thomson - direct flights with the same company wins hands down for me.Your treatment from RC sounds nothing short of disgraceful and has certainly made me think twice about booking with RC again. I would like to know how Thomson cruises treated their guests during this crisis before I judge though!
well from the comments received (which i thank you all for) it looks like there are a lot of satisfied customers cruising with R.C( i so wish i was one of them), but human nature means that we all have different expectations. im glad everyone enjoyed there cruise and are full of praise for R.C, this is a very easy thing to say if a disaster did not occur on their cruise . the point im making is:- when things went wrong R.C was found to be lacking, they lied to us and abandoned us and refused us any assistance whatsoever --by comparison the thomson line put their passengers into hotels , the costa cruise ships allowed their passengers to remain on board ocean village also aided their passengers -- im really trying to make you aware that no matter how good the service was on the cruise when things went wrong R.C showed their true colours
remark on one comment - yes the american passengers were treated differently to the british passengers , that is another point of contention.
2nd remark on one comment - i booked with R.C as a complete all in package deal i.e they arranged the flights not me ,i have no knowledge on the cost or arrangement they had with their subcontractors.
i do not ask or expect any compensation from anyone. however i did expect some help or assistance from R.C especially with 2 young children involved.
regards to everyone,john
remark on one comment - yes the american passengers were treated differently to the british passengers , that is another point of contention.
2nd remark on one comment - i booked with R.C as a complete all in package deal i.e they arranged the flights not me ,i have no knowledge on the cost or arrangement they had with their subcontractors.
i do not ask or expect any compensation from anyone. however i did expect some help or assistance from R.C especially with 2 young children involved.
regards to everyone,john
Was it a RCI package or a TA package, this is important.
A lot of UK TAs do cruise only with the cruise line and add their own flights
Which airline were the flights?
then RCI are not responsible for you allthough they should help where they can.
A lot of UK TAs do cruise only with the cruise line and add their own flights
Which airline were the flights?
then RCI are not responsible for you allthough they should help where they can.
For Sancho.
Im sure if you were one of those unfortunate passengers who were stranded and abandoned. Im sure you would not come out with a statement like that.
OF Course the Tour Operator is responsible to ensure you are safe and they should not just dump you off the boat.
So have a think about it matie.
Im sure if you were one of those unfortunate passengers who were stranded and abandoned. Im sure you would not come out with a statement like that.
OF Course the Tour Operator is responsible to ensure you are safe and they should not just dump you off the boat.
So have a think about it matie.
follow up for windjammer's question.. it was an all inclusive package chosen from the R.C brochure and booked with the co-op travel agency, we booked the cruise last autumn - 4 weeks before the cruise they informed us that they were flying us there with jet2.com, incidentally here is a strange quirk- originally we intended to arrange our own flight there and spend a day sight seeing before joining the cruise (which actually worked out cheaper) but we opted to spend the extra money and go with R.C's complete package because we were told that if anything happened to our flight tthen it was down to us but if we booked complete holiday with R.C then if the plane was late or canceled rtc they would make any arrangements for us - isnt hindsight a wonderful thing
Stop Press !!! to add insult to injury, we have just had our first communication from R.C , its a p.r letter saying how sorry they are for the distress that was caused and if we book another cruise with them they will give us a total of £100.00 discount....
Regards all
Stop Press !!! to add insult to injury, we have just had our first communication from R.C , its a p.r letter saying how sorry they are for the distress that was caused and if we book another cruise with them they will give us a total of £100.00 discount....
Regards all
In that case I think you need to look to ATOL after going through RCI complaints procedure.
Check which ATOL number the booking was protected under. RCI or Co-Op.
Check which ATOL number the booking was protected under. RCI or Co-Op.
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