Royal Caribbean review ratings

[sowhat]

Are the recent  passengers  review rating  after the covid restart representation  of  the way  royal caribbean is heading with the new leadership
The review rating  were more desirable, before  the pandemic  than now.

[smokeybandit]

People love to leave negative ratings. People from competitors love to leave negative ratings, too.

[firefly333]

People are less likely to respond if things were fine.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

We are currently on brilliance in the med. We went to the main dining room on tue and it was absolutely rubbish. By far the worse meal and service we have ever had in a MDR. I had steak, jacket spud and asparagus and i have had much better meals in a Wearherspoons pub in the uk. Thats the only time we have been to the MDR. However buffet has been good, tasty food. Just a lack of clear dietary needs, eg gluten free etc. But will do a proper honest review when i get back to the UK. But i have a feeling with costs of covid and food price rises globally, the food budget has plummeted. 

 

[Cruiser 5452]

Why all the gloom and doom?   You are on vacation….you don’t have to make your bed,  you don’t have to cook your meals, if you don’t like what you ordered,; order something else, no dishes to wash.  Other people clean up your messes.   Enjoy the sunshine, the music, meeting new people, trying new types of food, relax.  Too much negativity in the world.  So what if there is some rust;  this is a ship that sits in salt water 24 hours per day.  So what if there is a little stain here and there.  Try looking at the good things, and the fun, and the sun.  Again, you are on vacation, enjoy it.

[firefly333]

Just now, Cruiser 5452 said:

Why all the gloom and doom?   You are on vacation….you don’t have to make your bed,  you don’t have to cook your meals, if you don’t like what you ordered,; order something else, no dishes to wash.  Other people clean up your messes.   Enjoy the sunshine, the music, meeting new people, trying new types of food, relax.  Too much negativity in the world.  So what if there is some rust;  this is a ship that sits in salt water 24 hours per day.  So what if there is a little stain here and there.  Try looking at the good things, and the fun, and the sun.  Again, you are on vacation, enjoy it.

All comments are valid. I've had some things in the Mdr I didnt like, and can see the cut backs. If he had a bad meal there he did. I'd like to see all view points appreciated more here. 

 

 

 

 

[Ocean Boy]

Fortunately, I have my own personal experiences to go by so the opinions in that first post I take with many grains of salt. However, there certainly were some food issues on my January cruise but they were corrected by the time of my April cruise.

 

As has always been the case, it is possible for people to have different experiences on the same ship and even the same cruise. Plenty of factors come into play such as where you happen to eat, service team that you get, etc.

[soapbxking]

50 minutes ago, sowhat said:

Are the recent  passengers  review rating  after the covid restart representation  of  the way  royal caribbean is heading with the new leadership
The review rating  were more desirable, before  the pandemic  than now.

I think in many cases, and this is not line specific, that many travellers(and possibly with poor advice) choose the wrong ship or line for them!!!!  I mean i have sailed Royal previously, but am very experienced with Carnival.  If i were advising a young couple or family who are very active on a specific ship, it certainly would not be one of Carnival or Royals smaller older ships.  They dont have the bells and whistles etc that would enlighten and entertain them, whereas an older couple simply wanting to relax would find a small to mid size ship relaxing.  Got to know your needs and adjust your style of ship etc accordingly!!

[trajan]

Been tracking the reviews for Mariner and RC in general in prep for our Nov cruise. Pretty clear standards have slipped. Reviews, as usual, are helpful for planning and managing expectations. Right now my expectations are pretty low; we have a big cabin this trip so am intending to do lots of room service meals on the balcony. Which is nice, we like meals on our balcony.

Edited August 18, 2022 by trajan

[retired dude]

had a nice conversation with the food/beverage manager on a sailing several months ago about the decline in food quality...His answer was honest....He mentioned how tough it is to get good talented help, the time to train new help, keeping accounts with vendors that they used before the pandemic and finding new quality vendors that supply good quality items...Rising costs and the inability of the cruise line to pay for the top shelf food that the cruise lovers have been used to.......pretty much summed it all up....

[goldfish65]

1 minute ago, retired dude said:

had a nice conversation with the food/beverage manager on a sailing several months ago about the decline in food quality...His answer was honest....He mentioned how tough it is to get good talented help, the time to train new help, keeping accounts with vendors that they used before the pandemic and finding new quality vendors that supply good quality items...Rising costs and the inability of the cruise line to pay for the top shelf food that the cruise lovers have been used to.......pretty much summed it all up....

Agree, more likely the issues you mention and not the new management.

[shipgeeks]

We have had two cruises this year on Enchantment.  Both were excellent.  The only lack was the cutback in production shows, due to cast illnesses.  Dining service was outstanding.

Foodwise, the more I shop for groceries here, the more I appreciate what RC is able to provide.  All of our shipboard meals were good, and I didn't find any items missing.  At the store here, one day I find milk but no cereal, potatoes but no meat, yogurt but no fruit.  And the prices keep going up and up.

We have three more cruises booked on Enchantment in the coming months.  Looking forward to all of them.

I no longer read reviews, be it cruises, restaurants, products.

[Husky1987]

Once you've seen your favorite restaurant get a one-star on google or yelp with a "Worst food ever, I waited an hour for a glass of water!!", you tend to stop worrying about what reviews say.

 

One person's McDonald's is another person's Metropolitan Grill (Seattle reference, sorry).

[smokeybandit]

49 minutes ago, trajan said:

Been tracking the reviews for Mariner and RC in general in prep for our Nov cruise. Pretty clear standards have slipped. Reviews, as usual, are helpful for planning and managing expectations. Right now my expectations are pretty low; we have a big cabin this trip so am intending to do lots of room service meals on the balcony. Which is nice, we like meals on our balcony.

 

You can't judge things from anonymous reviews.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

 

You can't judge things from anonymous reviews.

I disagree.  If there are 100 reviews and 99 of them are negative, that tells you something.  If there are 100 reviews and 99 of them are positive, that tells you something.  

[ONECRUISER]

1 hour ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

We are currently on brilliance in the med. We went to the main dining room on tue and it was absolutely rubbish. By far the worse meal and service we have ever had in a MDR. I had steak, jacket spud and asparagus and i have had much better meals in a Wearherspoons pub in the uk. Thats the only time we have been to the MDR. However buffet has been good, tasty food. Just a lack of clear dietary needs, eg gluten free etc. But will do a proper honest review when i get back to the UK. But i have a feeling with costs of covid and food price rises globally, the food budget has plummeted. 

 

Agree, Food Prices are really high now. Did you send Meal back? Was replacement better? Unless Traveling with my Family I now almost always eat all my meals in Wind Jammer. Improvements started here Pre-CV and cont since start up, Better Taste, Choice and even presentation. Exception is Desserts...

Edited August 18, 2022 by ONECRUISER

[Lupush]

The cruise I was on last week was mediocre at best.  Food awful. RCCL was definitely better the last time I was on prior to the pandemic.

[ONECRUISER]

1 minute ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

I disagree.  If there are 100 reviews and 99 of them are negative, that tells you something.  If there are 100 reviews and 99 of them are positive, that tells you something.  

Thats an extreme, studies have shown that you will here more often Negative. 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

3 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Thats an extreme, studies have shown that you will here more often Negative. 

Not doubting that.  But you can use online reviews to determine if something is good for you.  You do need to read reviews with a grain of salt.  

[shipgeeks]

Presumably there were some positive reviews as well?

[davekathy]

Exactly why we don't book or book a cruise line, ship, itinerary, etc based on others positive or negative experiences or opinions. 

[sowhat]

2 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

Presumably there were some positive reviews as well?

Yes, 30% positive and the rest below average 

[smokeybandit]

28 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

I disagree.  If there are 100 reviews and 99 of them are negative, that tells you something.  If there are 100 reviews and 99 of them are positive, that tells you something.  

Not at all. If these are a bunch of one-liner reviews saying "it sucked" then those reviews are worthless.

If there is an actual review and the things the review focuses on are trivial or non-sensical ("the ship should go to the scrapyard") then they're worthless.

Edited August 18, 2022 by smokeybandit

[Stealthdog]

I dont pay attention to number ratings.  Everyone has different expectations, experiences, and things they care about.  

 

I once saw Starbucks as the #3 rated "restaurant" in tripadvisor in a city I was visiting, which is absolutely absurd and very unhelpful.

 

Written text reviews are much more important to me.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Stealthdog

[sowhat]

8 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Not at all. If these are a bunch of one-liner reviews saying "it sucked" then those reviews are worthless.

If there is an actual review and the things the review focuses on are trivial or non-sensical ("the ship should go to the scrapyard") then they're worthless.

They are not one line reviews, just the title of the review from cruise  critic  of royal caribbean