VOS far below what is expected for RCCL

[dr dreamer]

First let me start out by saying that my wife and I are not new to Cruising. we have over 22 cruises under our belt. primarily we have traveled RCCL, NCL and Carnival. We have been on some other lines like Costa and other so long ago that we don't remember.

 

We also understand that it is unreasonable to expect the same level of quality and service that we may have experienced 10 or 15 years ago.

 

Also I want to point out that there in our minds there is really no such thing as a bad cruise. However there are some that are much better than others.

 

Now with these disclaimers out of the way here is our review.

 

We cruised on the VOS sailing out of Ft Lauderdale on 4-29 and returned this Saturday. We chose VOS and RCCL because two years ago we sailed the LOS and we were very satisfied with the service, entertainment, food etc. all in all a very nice cruise experience. So I am not sure if RCCL has gone down hill very fast or if the problem was isolated to the VOS.

 

First the Good . The ship is very beautiful. it is refurbished very fresh, and impeccable. It is a good size ship not too large or small and all public areas are very well appointed.

 

The only negative that I can say about the ship is that it did not have a Cigar Lounge

 

Embarkation and Debarkation was very smooth and organized.

 

Here are the issues we experienced.

 

1) Food - We went to the MDR for breakfast the first morning and the Eggs Benedict were simply not edible.My wife could not eat her breakfast either.

The rest of the food served was mediocre at best. The only exception to this was dinner at the MDR. It was quite good.

2) Where was the lobster and sushi? My friend went on the Carnival Victory same for the same four night cruise the week before and yes Carnival served Lobster and Sushi

3) Entertainment - Boring!!!! the bands were terrible and they seem to play the same thing over and over every night

4) Service- waiters around the pool and lounges were practically non existent. going to the bar to get a drink was a 10 to 15 minute ordeal since the bars were so under staffed.

5) Room staff. Despite begging for more soap, it never came we actually had to take it from the carts in the hall ways.

 

I was really disappointed with RCCL. My wife and I are thinking of going to Celebrity or even the unthinkable Carnival for our next Cruise.

 

I just hope this was a VOS thing and not a trend for RCCL since I really like RCCl

[Darkwolfe]

Vision just finished a repositioning and that is also usually when crew changes take place. I would be willing to bet that you have encountered new crew that aren't totally into the swing of things yet.

 

However, that being said, I'm on Vision in June and if it's bad, the review will show it. Last time I was on that ship it was well above what I expected, so my bar is high.

 

We'll see soon enough. :)

[gerif]

12) Where was the lobster and sushi? My friend went on the Carnival Victory same for the same four night cruise the week before and yes Carnival served Lobster and Sushi

 

Lobster (warm water tails) is only served on cruises of 5 nights or longer. Sushi is available in the Windjammer at dinner - however, since obviously they can't use raw fish, it's not quite the same as one would get in a Japanese restaurant by any stretch. Carnival could serve 2 lb. Maine lobsters every night and you still couldn't get me on one of their ships again - JMHO.