Having Second Thoughts

[Soozie-Q]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service. Lousy staff on board. Dirty ships. We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

[awestover89]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service. Lousy staff on board. Dirty ships. We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

 

You will find bad reviews for pretty much every company in any industry. People are just more likely to complain about a bad experience than praise a good one.

 

Royal Caribbean is one of the most profitable cruise lines for a reason; they are popular. People like them, and they have a lot of loyal cruisers. We are definitely loyal to Royal, having been on 9 Royal Caribbean cruises in the past 4 years, and with another three already booked over the next year (with a fourth and fifth in planning). We had one friend who went on a Carnival cruise and said he'd never cruise again, we convinced him to join us on Harmony last year and he has already gone on a second Royal Caribbean cruise and has two more booked.

 

Harmony is a newer and larger ship, so you don't have much to worry about. Cleanliness can be an issue, but mostly on older ships that are due for a dry dock. Harmony is our favorite ship so far (although we are really excited to try Symphony as well) and we've never had any issues, except for one rude specialty dining employee. That was literally the only time I've ever filed a complaint with Royal Caribbean.

 

I think a lot of it has to do with expectations. Based on some of the complaints I've seen, you'd think some people are expecting ultra luxury from a mass market cruise ship. You aren't staying in a ten thousand dollar a night resort or eating in a three Michelin star restaurant. I do feel the food quality (and buffet selection) has gone down a bit, but it's still better than the food at most all-inclusive resorts I've been to. Rooms are smaller than a typical hotel room, but most people also don't spend a lot of time in their rooms. Again, it's all about expectations. If you understand the room will be a bit small and simple, you'll be fine. If you are expecting something more akin to a typical hotel room, you might be disappointed when you see the size.

[Soozie-Q]

Thanks. That makes me feel better. We have cruised before, just not with RC. In fact we just got off Carnival's Horizon a couple weeks ago. I know some people just like to complain & I do take things with a grain of salt, but just seeing so many bad ones really had me thinking!

[jshmtkgint]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service. Lousy staff on board. Dirty ships. We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

My wife and I were on Harmony a year and a half ago. We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise. The staff was terrific. Extremely attentive and eager to please. Enough so that we are booked on another RCL cruise in December.

 

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[Ocean Boy]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service. Lousy staff on board. Dirty ships. We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

Who is writing those complaints? Are they one time cruisers who encountered and issue and are annoyed or angry because something didn't go their way or people with multiple cruises and are noticing a trend? It make a difference. I have more than a few cruises with RCI under my belt. There have maybe been a hand full of hiccups along the way but so insignificant that I really can't even remember more than one or two. If customer service was really bad, the staff was lousy, and the ships were dirty I would not be spending either my money or my hard to come by vacation time with RCI.

[NolaFireLI]

the problem is - EVERYONE has an option, and not all of them are the same!!

Yeah, the negative reviews are there because well someone wasn't happy with a level of service/cleanliness/rude passengers/food - whatever, but you have to remember the vacation is what YOU make out of it!!!

So and so from down the block said it was great, but Mrs. smith from church said otherwise... that trend can go on & on.

Stressing yourself out about a cruise 8 months away is crazy!!!

 

I will say this - This August will be my 2nd time on Harmony - we booked it last year while on the 1st Harmony cruise. We love the oasis class of ship and have never had any issues with RCI.

 

Stop stressing and stop reading the negative reviews... with over 6000 passengers a week, not everyone is going have an EPIC vacation!!!

[Baron Barracuda]

If you're asking the question on cc you must value member's opinions. Instead of reading general comments on Royal suggest you visit the "reviews" section and scan almost 1600 reviews on Harmony, the ship you'll actually be sailing.

Out of 1590 more than half give the ship 5 stars. Only 5% of reviews are 2 star and 4% are 1 star. I'm not personally a fan of the mega ships but obviously many people are.

[NewSalt]

I found Cruise Critic about a month before our first cruise, which was on the Celebrity Summit. I was ready to cancel when I read about how old, dingy, and rusty she was. My jaw dropped in amazement when I boarded her. She was beautiful! Yes, there were a few—very few—tiny rust spots here and there, but she’s a ship, a ship that sails in salt water. Rust happens. We liked the cruise so much that I booked a family cruise when I got home.

 

Thursday we leave on our seventh RCI cruise. I’ve never been on Harmony, but we’ve enjoyed all of ours. And I’m a PITA and don’t overlook much. There’s been an occasional supercilious employee, but they are the exception. Most are very willing to do whatever it takes to give you a great vacation. And I cannot imagine the cleanliness standards of anyone who would describe any of the ships as “dirty.”

 

You may find after your cruise that you prefer Carnival or another cruise line to RCI. I’ve liked some cruises better than others, but I cannot say I’ve ever regretted any cruise I’ve taken.

[CRZR58]

Read the complaints and decide which ones pertain to you and which ones don't. Things aren't as bad as some say and they aren't as good as others say. Take both the complainers and the cheerleaders opinion's with a grain or two of salt.

 

A lot of the complaints are actual problems. Just because they didn't happen to some posters, doesn't mean they don't happen at all. We've had great experiences and poor ones on the same cruise line on the same class of ship in the same year. Sometimes it's just luck of the draw.

 

Realistic expectations are the key here. Cruises feed around 3000 people each meal. Some will be happy. Others, not so much. Some meals will be great. Others need to be sent back. Most are OK, but nothing special, unless you pay for the 'Specialty' restaurants, which in our experience have been quite good.

[FLACRUISER99]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service. Lousy staff on board. Dirty ships. We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

I currently have 11 RCI cruises booked and I'm not worried.

[BensonFan711]

I would take those reviews with a grain of salt. My boyfriend and I spent 2 weeks on Oasis (sister ship of Harmony), and we LOVED it!! I have sailed NCL a few times, and he had never cruised at all. I was pretty sure that I would be going right back to NCL afterwards, based on reviews and such, but as it turns out, it was amazing. It was better than I could have anticipated, and we've booked another Royal cruise for October. Your cruise is what you make of it. Pack your good attitude, and you'll be fine. I actually found the service on Royal to be leaps and bounds better than what I experienced on NCL.

[Soozie-Q]

Thanks everyone. I have read the reviews on CC & I believe those much more than on random sites. Not stressing about it, just getting opinions. We booked Harmony because of the great reviews. Complaints were more about RC in general & the staff on the ships. We are very easy to please. The only things we can't stand are dirtiness & rudeness. And the chair hogs......That's a whole topic in itself! Lol!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

We cruised with Royal until 2014, when we switched to Princess. I do believe that Princess(Regal and Royal in particular) food is a lot better than Royal Caribbean, but Princess is sooo far off on the entertainment and onboard activities.... There is nothing to do with a kid on Princess if your kid doesn't do kid's club. So, yes, we got great food in MDR, but we were bored the rest of the time. If it weren't for the free on demand programming on Regal/Royal Princess, we'd die of boredom.

 

We are looking forward to our Allure of the Seas cruise next year, because there will be a ton of activities we'll be able to do with our kiddo - ice skating, rock climbing, water activities, zip lines, kid's aqua park, etc., and the shows promise to be spectacular. I am sure we will not starve - actually, it looks like Allure offers a lot more free venues than Princess does, if one doesn't feel like going to a buffet. Especially, when it's overcrowded.

 

We never found RCCL ships to be dirty or dingy, but all of them were not all that old at the time of our sailing. Caribbean Princess was the only older ship when we sailed on it, and yes, it was quite dated. It's been refurbished since then.

[marci22]

In all of my cruises service has usually been great, and the ships have usually been pretty clean. The one disappointment people seem to often have is that the food is not stellar. If you go in expecting average to good buffet you should not be disappointed.

[Melrosgirl]

Some people take the word “critic” way too seriously on this website and only want to point out bad things. You’ll have a great time. Don’t worry.

[ryano]

I would have never rolled onto a cruise ship if I had paid any attention to reviews. I read them and I worried but it was all for nothing. Im cruising on Harmony next September and cant wait! You will have a wonderful time Im sure and will think "what in the world were they talking about, am I even on the same ship they were?"

[beachnative]

Thanks everyone. I have read the reviews on CC & I believe those much more than on random sites. Not stressing about it, just getting opinions. We booked Harmony because of the great reviews. Complaints were more about RC in general & the staff on the ships. We are very easy to please. The only things we can't stand are dirtiness & rudeness. And the chair hogs......That's a whole topic in itself! Lol!

 

Interesting that you posted on another social site the exact wording as you began this thread. After 84 reassurances so far on that site, one would think you would be very satisfied by now. Hopefully you will enjoy the Harmony and be stress free...looking forward to you coming back and sharing your postcruise thoughts. Which sailing have you booked? We have 7 Harmony weeks booked and would enjoy crossing paths with you...and answering any/all questions that you might have about the HM and Royal Caribbean.:):)

[ONECRUISER]

I have been reading lots of terrible reviews about Royal Caribbean. Bad customer service. Lousy staff on board. Dirty ships. We have never cruised with them before & I am getting nervous about our Harmony cruise in March. I am contemplating switching cruises. Can someone please ease my mind?

People are more likely to complain about their cruise issues then you will ever hear about the thousands that had none. I would't worry, in 30yrs on Royal I've never had a bad cruise.

[sparks1093]

Thanks everyone. I have read the reviews on CC & I believe those much more than on random sites. Not stressing about it, just getting opinions. We booked Harmony because of the great reviews. Complaints were more about RC in general & the staff on the ships. We are very easy to please. The only things we can't stand are dirtiness & rudeness. And the chair hogs......That's a whole topic in itself! Lol!

 

There's never been a complaint about the staff on NCL or CCL or the cleanliness of their ships? :D

[jpcello]

Thanks. That makes me feel better. We have cruised before, just not with RC. In fact we just got off Carnival's Horizon a couple weeks ago. I know some people just like to complain & I do take things with a grain of salt, but just seeing so many bad ones really had me thinking!

 

Ironically I've never cruised Carnival because of everything negative I've heard about them. We haven't been on RC in 4 years and we're sailing in 11 days.

 

Generally people speak louder when they're not happy then when they are happy.

 

You'll have a great time on your RC cruise!!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Ironically I've never cruised Carnival because of everything negative I've heard about them.

I was about to book MSC Seaside when I read some pretty bad reviews. And then I saw RCCL's Kids Sale Free and boom - we are on Allure of the Seas next year. Haven't had a single bad RCCL cruise (well, we only had 4).

[Soozie-Q]

beachnative, I posted on both sites at the same time. I had no idea the amount of responses I would get. Sparks1093, I never said I was loyal to NCL or CCL. I was asking about RCI. I have never cruised with them & was just asking opinions. Isn't that what this site is for?

[sparks1093]

beachnative, I posted on both sites at the same time. I had no idea the amount of responses I would get. Sparks1093, I never said I was loyal to NCL or CCL. I was asking about RCI. I have never cruised with them & was just asking opinions. Isn't that what this site is for?

 

No need to be defensive, I was pointing out the simple fact that the same complaints you've read about Royal (which you haven't sailed on) have been written about NCL and CCL (both of which you've sailed with). If you haven't found those complaints to be valid against the cruise lines you have sailed on why would they be valid on the cruise line you haven't sailed on? I haven't cruised with Royal yet, either, that's coming up next April.

[beachnative]

beachnative, I posted on both sites at the same time. I had no idea the amount of responses I would get. Sparks1093, I never said I was loyal to NCL or CCL. I was asking about RCI. I have never cruised with them & was just asking opinions. Isn't that what this site is for?

 

That is absolutely what both sites are for.:)

I think that you will really enjoy the Harmony. We have sailed on her many times and have never been disappointed. However, we have enoucntered a few things that guests do that they shouldn’t: most disgusting is leaving empty glasses and/or plates (some times with half consumed food) on elevator floors, pool deck, beside chairs, in hallways. I chalk that up to “lack of home training” rather than Royal Caribbean. And I totally agree with you about chair hogs.

Because this will be your first time on the Harmony, it would be helpful for you to sign up for your sailing’s “Roll Call”. You wil find people there who will remind you when to book shows, dining, and many other helpful things.

[Soozie-Q]

Thanks beachnative. I did sign up for the Roll Call. Hoping to catch a deal on the drink package. Right now it is way too expensive & totally not worth it.