Royal Caribbean Cruises
Reviews and Complaints

On December 2009, we cruised on Explorer of the seas, with our 5 year old son. All in all the ship was great, with many activities. In general, lines for embarkation, and to get off of the ship for excursions were disorganized, and seemed to take long compared to Carnival. We missed an excursion, due to following the cruise line's instruction as to where to drop our child for day care in haiti. As we waited an hour in line, then were going to get on the tender boat with the child as told to do, we were instructed to go to the end of the line, as the child could not board. I told the personel that this is what we were told to do. Take the tender to haiti and drop him off at the on Island daycare, then go to the parasailing. I returned to their excursion desk where i had recieved the original incorrect information. the same man was working there. I told him to fix the problem since he was the one that misinformed us. He first stated that he never spoke to me before and basically called me a liar. Then after 45 mins arguing, our parasail money was at least refunded. The next day, we had an am excursion planned. The daycare was supposed to be open by 830 am. We got there and it was closed. Again i marched to the desk, and argued once again, that we would miss our next excursion. They could not reschedule us, as the excursion only left at that time, so I relentlessly argued until they did accomodate and open the daycare for my child. There was not enough sitting room in lunch and breakfast area. we could never find a seat, and there i stood trying to hold two trays and hand feed my child. We tried ordering room service which in general took about 2 hours and was soggy or cold. Many people were vomitting all over the ship. our ship had the Norovirus. A lady vommitted under a bathroom stall and it went onto my son's shoes. By some luck, we did not get the illness. Other than the disorganization with the excursions, we did have an enjoyable cruise, with great service in every other department on board. The food in main dining was exceptional. our room was clean and they made special animals for our son out of towels every night. most staff members new my son's name by heart. After all of my complaints at the excursions desk, they did give my a 20$ on board credit for my troubles. HAHA.

"without prejudice".

Ask 288 customers about the extremely poor customer service and customer experience on the Legend of the Seas between 20- 25 February 2010. Basically the Hotel Director and senior staff ignore customers' representations, provide no resolution to valid customer issues and provide misleading information. They do not deliver on what they promise to do and they do not answer emails at all. This is my personal opinion.

Watch this space for more information from other disgruntled Royal Caribbean International customers .

I’ve been fortunate to enjoy many fine traveling experiences in my lifetime, but my experience aboard the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas during this past Christmas is not among them. I will never cruise again on ANY ship; I do not have any animosity toward Royal Caribbean; I do not want to be contacted by anyone affiliated with RC to compensate or apologize to me; I simply wish to warn others about making the mistake of booking this trip. You really need to accept giving up your freedom if you cruise.

My wife and I are in our forties and we travelled with our 17 and twenty-year-old daughters. I speak for all of them by saying this was hands-down the worst family vacation we ever planned. If you are considering taking the Royal Caribbean Christmas Cruise out of Galveston and you have teenage children, I strongly recommend you consider our experience. Here is the good and the bad:

Boarding in Galveston: Extremely efficient process. We stayed at the Hilton the night before and enjoyed a complimentary shuttle to the pier. Hilton parked our vehicle free.

Stateroom: Room was hospital-clean; however, there was a distinct sewage odor upon opening the door to the stateroom. The room attendant did his best to correct it, and his efforts seemed to help initially. By midweek, we realized the odor was not emanating from the bath but from the ventilation system and it was affecting the adjoining room occupied by my children. RC was very courteous about the problem, but could not repair it and could not relocate us on the ship because there were no available rooms.

Luggage: Everyone in my family received their luggage except me. I finally got mine at 11 p.m. and would have had it sooner if the staffer who called me could actually speak reasonable English. By the time I got to sleep Sunday night, buyer’s remorse was setting in and never really ended for me.

Food: We live in the Dallas area and are certainly spoiled by great restaurants. The food on board was not bad, but certainly lackluster. Aside from the nice presentation and the opportunity to replace any dish you did not like, it is definitely not remarkable unless you appreciate quantity. The ship faces a daunting task trying to feed 3, 000 people in short time periods, so make your mind up before you go to expect somewhat bland food for an entire week. Plan ahead to pay for the upgraded meals occasionally to break the monotony. We could not wait to eat something with some spice in it when we got off the ship. I know we are spoiled; it’s just that I would never plan a trip where I eat hotel food for seven days.

Staff: Very friendly and genuinely engaged all of us. Unfortunately, my stateroom attendant seemed to be in fear of me since I repeatedly told customer service about the odor in our cabins. It was not his fault but apparently he was blamed. I did see a technician working on the air handler in the hallway but the problem never went away.

Weather: Probably the most compelling reason you should reconsider this trip. It was 47 degrees in Galveston upon departure and still too cold on Monday to be on deck. We had good weather in Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamaica, but a storm appeared on Friday after lunch and it quickly became too cold or windy to enjoy the deck. My teenagers had a misconception that they would be in deck chairs for most of the trip, but with the exception of Friday morning, it was too cold.

Age of children: Royal Caribbean can’t help this, but there is very little for a 17 and 20 year –old to do aboard this boat. If you have small children, perhaps pre-middle school age, I think it would be fine.

Excursions: Without getting too lengthy here, the excursions are fine but the mechanics of getting so many people off the ship and onto shuttles takes up too much of the days ashore. Yet another compelling reason to take your dollars and fly to a resort of your choice and not have to deal with lines and transfers. It isn’t that RC isn’t well organized, it’s just a time consuming process to get 3, 000 people where they wish to go. I cannot imagine what it would be like on their newest, even larger craft. In Jamaica, I hired a cab to take us to a private beach just so we could avoid the shuttle herds. I regretted doing so on the return trip back to the ship because beggars were tapping on the windows of the cab and my daughters were justifiably frightened. I really cannot imagine why RC stops there.

Communication: I own my own business and unfortunately I always travel with the laptop and cell phone. I’m used to paying some high fees, but the rates aboard the ship are the worst I’ve encountered anywhere. I did make arrangements with AT&T before the trip so I could concentrate my cell use while ashore and not on the boat where it’s $6.95 per minute. The web speed onboard was excellent and I had no email issues.

Departure: My bill came to my room as promised on Sunday morning, but not without an overcharge. I got to wait in line at customer service only to be told the computers were down but they would correct my bill. I told him a final time about the odor in our room and he said he would make a note of it. He made no such note and some other poor souls spent a week the same way we did. I know that computers fail everywhere, but it did disappoint me again when my visa bill arrived without the correct charges and I had to call RC and write a letter to Visa to protest the charge. RC did agree to correct it.

In summary, we just don’t get it. My family felt trapped in a hotel for a week with the exception of the three days of excursions where more time is spent on the transfers than on the activity itself. If I had flown to a destination and had the sewer odor problem, I would have cut my losses and returned home early. I realize many people enjoy cruises, but my family got a good lesson in making the best of a disappointing situation and we learned how much fun we’ve had on our other vacations enjoying our FREEDOM. For my family, we enjoy doing what we want, when we want and eating when and wherever we wish while on vacation. Other than the Disney trips when the kids were little, we don’t go places where we stand in lines. I backpacked across Europe after college and stayed in my share of unpleasant accommodations, but I would never consider putting my family in those conditions, especially not when trapped aboard a ship. My last thought before drifting off to sleep each night was wondering if Legionnaires disease had an odor.

A final humorous note: we took advantage of the early departure offer and carried our own luggage from the ship. The Hilton shuttle greeted us at the dock and we were quickly transferred back to the hotel parking area. You could sense the relief as we closed the doors on the Suburban to make the drive back to Dallas. We had only travelled a few blocks before my wife asked “My gosh, do you smell that? It’s following us!”

The unpleasant odor of the staterooms had permeated our luggage. We pulled into a Starbucks and drank coffee while watching the open windows of the Suburban!

After retired, my family and I planned the trip of a lifetime, a Mediterranean cruise. We booked through Royal Caribbean since we had enjoyed cruising with them in the past. All flights, hotels, and the cruise, were booked through the cruise line. Things did not start out well. Our flight was cancelled and we missed the sailing of the ship.

We spent two days in airports, sleeping in chairs or on the terminal floor, while we tried to connect to the ship. We finally caught up to the ship, however, we were exhausted, and and in need of a shower! We had missed two days of the cruise and pre planned shore excursions.

Since all travel had been booked through the cruise line, I hold them somewhat responsible for the air travel fiasco, as well as the cruise. Other things that happened were: continuous problems with the plumbing in our cabin, a bus on one of our tours breaking down, and the French authorities not allowing us to land due to swine flue concerns.

Royal Caribbean's response was to say they were sorry and give us credit for the cruising we had missed, although I believe they shorted us on the credit. Although they did apologize, they did not acknowledge any responsibility for any of our misfortune. I will not use this cruise line, or any of it's subsidiaries again.

I just wanted to post my feelings about Royal Caribbean sending cruises to Haiti. Is it just me or does it sound like this cruise company only cares about the money they can make for themselves? With how many people are injured and continue to die, Royal Caribbean should be sending cruise ships full of aid supplies rather than snotty tourists. I'm a Marine veteran and while I was in Iraq we completed many humanitarian missions, which is why this makes me sick. How can you ignore the realities of the world you live in, and continue like nothing ever happened?

I can't tell you how disappointed I am with Royal Caribbean and Oasis of the Seas. From start to finish this cruise was a disaster in the making. I don't blame my travel agency (Ready Set Go Travel), they did everything in their power to help correct all the problems I experienced on board.

Where do I start? The ship is a small city. Gone are the personal touches. Gifts ordered by both ourselves and our travel agent were NOT received (yet Royal Caribbean had BOTH orders on record).

Our cabin attendant didn't clean. Our beds sheets were NEVER changed. I intentionally placed an ink mark on the sheet. In 7 days the sheet was NEVER changed.

Rude passengers everywhere. Forget "My Time Dining" more like when we can seat you dining.

Horrible ports. The ship is simply too big. It's fiasco from the minute you board. This is a case of bigger is NOT better and I will NOT return to Royal Caribbean after the rude, uncaring service I received.

I spend a lot of money booking two to three cruises each year. This is my LAST time with Royal Caribbean or any related cruise line.

The Voyagers of the Seas is a beautiful cruise ship, but be for warmed it is very dangerous, especially for women traveling with girlfriends. Husbands watch your wives and children. I know first hand there is a dangerous criminal who works on board, he preys on women. His name is Rafael Rodriguez. He is from the Dominican Republic, he works in one of the dining rooms in one of the larger restaurants. Rafael is very charming, but dont be fooled he preys on women, single and married women. His goal is to get to know you, so he can steal your money; he will go to any lengths to rob you.DO NOT ALLOW HIM TO SERVE YOU DRINKS! I know because I am a tourist who was violated by him. His accomplice is his wife, who is also facing charges. Be careful he is violent and ruthless, Rafael is wanted by the police back in his own country, is awaiting trial for Criminal and Civil charges against him. Again RC is aware of the criminal activities Rafael is involved in, in fact they make it possible for their employee to continue, as they continue to employee him. I have spoken to other women who have also traveled on Voyagers of the Seas (check Facebook) who also have been violated by him. Sadly two of the women are afraid to come forward. The Company, Royal Caribbean is aware of Mr. Rodriguezcriminal activities, they refuse to get rid of this employee, he remains on board. Think twice about traveling with this company, since the security of Royal Caribbean guests is being compromised, as the company is obviously not particularly concerned with the safety of their female passengers.

My husband and I have cruised for over 10 yrs. We have a trip 4/11/09-4/18/09, we checked luggage at port of Miami, watched them tag it, and put correct room# on, bag's, 3 of them. Never saw them again, we cruised 7 days, nothing, no clothes, toiletries, shoes or cameras. Royal gave us a $200.00 voucher for their online shop, (after 2days)have you ever shopped on board, we purchased 2 bathing suits 1 T-Shirt apiece. There does that $200.00, cancelled excusions, had no long pants or sneakers, can't attend formal, was told "NOT ALLOWED IN EATING INSIDE WITHOUT, SHORTS OR LONG PANTS, ..it was a total waste of $3500.00, plus airfare. Royal stated they ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LUGGAGE AT PIER, THEY DO NOT HIRE, THEM...BUT WAIT..they sure are responsible since they outsorted the job. Long story short ending, they had me spend 5 days itemizing all the items, item description, approx.date purchased, approx. cost. so I did typed it and mailed it. YOU KNOW ALL ALONG ROYAL KNEW THEY WOULD ONLY REPAY $600.00, TOTAL TO US. MY LUGGAGE AND TOILETRIES COST THAT MUCH...WHAT A TERRIBLE HORRIBLE COMPANY THIS IS AND I WILL SEND AS MANY EMAILS AS I CAN ABOUT THIS, AND HOPE NO ONE EVER HAS TO GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN...YOU TALK ABOUT '''''''NO, NOT ANY CUSTOMER SERVICE, '''''HANDS DOWN ROYAL SHOULD GO OUT OF BUSINESS, AND STOCKHOLDERS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THEIR PORR UNFRIENDLY, UNCARING, RUDE WAY OF HANDLING THIS SIUTATION, SO BASICALLY WE WASTED OVER AIRFARE AND CRUISE, $4, 000.00, I SPEND DAYS TO COMPLETE THE FORM KNOWING NO MATTER WHAT I WAS ONLY GETTING A MAX. OF $600. FOR BOTH OF US...BEWARE PEOPLE, THEY ARE A SORRY EXCUSE OF CRUISING AND CUSTOMER SERVICE...TERRIBLE..I AM STILL CONTACTING PEOPLE. BUT, YOU ALL MUST READ THE ARTICLE, WHERE '''ROYAL CARIBBEAN BANS COUPLE FROM SAILING DUE TO COMPLAINING""" READ IT..TERRIBLE.

We booked a cruise directly with RCI, instead we ended up in a reconditioning/construction zone. Imagine being on a cruise ship, for a well-needed vacation, that you paid good money for, and you end up being in TOXIC FUMES for approximately 7 days of your cruise. We went through paint scraping, painting (marine-based paint), tearing down of walls, putting up walls with SPRAYED ON GLUE (maintenance workers wore respirators), the tearing up and putting down rugs in our entire stateroom area! All this with NO FANS and NO VENTILATION.

We all had dull headaches, flu-like symtoms, not to mention we were all cranky.

Areas were closed off, we constantly had to use the elevators to go up and down to cross over mid-ship.

The fumes were in the hallways, elevators, our stateroom area, even the dining area!

AND WE PAID FOR THIS!

Buyer Beware applies here. I just got back from a Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas. It was barely 'okay' because after spending a lot of money for the cruise we got on board only to find that so many things cost extra like juice at lunch, the arcade, yoga classes, and band-aids. (They wanted 50 cents for a band-aid.) All these extra costs ruined the rest of the cruise, and they don't care! The food was okay but there really wasn't a lot to do on the largest cruise ship in the world. My suggestion: go when it's cheap or don't go at all! Spend your money on a trip to Grand Cayman or Kauai where you're not at the mercy of other people! If you do go on a cruise surf the net for complaints like this one.

Cruise on Serenade of the Seas
October 29, 2006 - November 11, 2006
Departing San Diego and arriving in San Juan

When we arrived at Aruba on November 10 and proceeded to leave the ship to go ashore I fell on the ship's gangway. The last section of the ramp, before the stairs, did not have any traction material on it and I slipped once I stepped on it. I fell backwards landing flat on my back with my camera under my right shoulder. Little did I realize that one of my camera lenses broke as a result of the fall until later that day when I attempted to use my camera. The lens in question, a Sigma 28-70 F2.8 EX, was cracked during the fall. My camera and lenses were packed in a Lowe Pro camera bag which helped to minimize the damage that occurred otherwise it could have been much worse.

I filed a personal loss report once I got back on board and was assured that the paperwork would be forwarded to Miami ASAP and that I should call on Monday to ensure it had arrived.

I called RCCL's head office on Monday (Nov 13) and was asked to fax all of the documentation including the original sales receipt for the lens which I did. I called back the following Monday (Nov 20) to get a status update and was advised that my file didn't contain any comments.

I waited for 2 more weeks and then called back again on Dec 4. I was able to speak to an agent and this time I was told that a package had been mailed out to me. When I asked what date the package was sent the agent replied "at the end of November". I said that I would wait for another week or two and if I did not receive anything by then I would be calling back. To date I have not received any package from Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

I called back on Monday, December 18, and was able to speak to an agent and was advised that Betty, a risk agent, was looking after my claim and was transferred to her extension and left a message asking her to call me with a status update.

I called back on Wednesday, December 20, and spoke with a customer service agent and was advised that the agent handling my claim no longer worked for the company. I called their HR department and explained the situation and asked to speak to a supervisor and was directed to Pamela. I left Pamela several messages and the original agent, Glenda Serrano, to call me back and haven't heard a word.

On Thursday, December 21, I called Royal Caribbean again and let the call transfer to the switchboard. I asked to speak to Betty and was advised that she no longer worked for the company. I explained to the operator that I had made a damage claim and was advised that Betty was assigned to my case. The operator said she was mistaken and transferred me to Betty's extension and had to leave her a message.

I have left numerous messages for Glenda, Betty and Pamela asking to be called back with a status update and these requests seem to fall on deaf ears.

On Thursday, December 21 Betty called me back and asked me how I got her name. I explained to her how I was given her name and Betty advised me that she wasn’t looking after my claim and that Glenda Serrano was the agent who is handling my claim. Betty said that Glenda was in a meeting and that she would pass on my message and ask Glenda to call me. Unfortunately Glenda didn’t return my call so I still don’t know what my claim status is.