We always end up back with DCL

[pangyal]

I'll keep it short around four key areas to paint and share the picture of our experience:

CABIN:
I’ll start with the best part. The 2-story Star Loft spacious suite was amazing particularly when you consider cruising through Alaska, sitting on the balcony and taking in the scenery. However, mid-way through the cruise, the downstairs bathroom overflowed and yes this was disgusting given the bathroom is right next to the cabin entry door. Our assigned “genie” was non-responsive to our request to have someone come take a look at the problem (see service for more on genie issues) so we went and found someone to help. Three hours later we were notified the fecal matter was cleaned and the toilet issue was “fixed”.

FOOD:
One of the main issues was food quality. It didn’t matter what venue or which specialty restaurant we dined in. This included in room snacks as well where the best food we had were the fresh berries. We were able to request them but yet, RCCL decided to keep sending inedible nachos. The steak in Chops for example was overcooked and quickly served to us as if we were in a fast food restaurant.

ENTERTAINMENT:
The onboard trivia hosts were at best rude. For example, a planned trivia game started 15 minutes ahead of schedule without notification. Everyone came in and asked the same question to the hosts, can you please repeat the first X questions, etc. We found the entertainment shows lacking just that, entertainment, and would have much preferred seeing another rendition of any DCL show no matter how many times we have already seen it!

SERVICE:
The focus is on the genie given we didn’t get what we paid for. Ahead of our cruise, we did the research and were excited to experience the best RCCL had to offer. We watched the marketing videos and filled out the pre-cruise survey thinking wow this is going to be great. None of the information we provided was either mentioned or used to personalize our experience. We were even naïve enough to present our genie with a gift as we on boarded. Word to the wise, please don’t fall for the marketing propaganda. I realize all genies are not created equally and have read about others having good experiences with them. Our experience was the exact opposite of what they market it as. There were three genies onboard our cruise and while ours was noted as being the worst of the lot, none of the genies took time to get to know the other star class guests, be friendly, or work together as a team.

Our genie was disorganized and anything but a reliable resource. We were provided with a daily agenda including incorrect dates and times for activities as well as not providing us with shore excursion tickets on time. The lack of response to the toilet issue in the stateroom was unacceptable. He responded 1 hour after the call to help was made. Lastly, when all the issues piled up, the genie presented us with FCCs valued over $1K as compensation for our atrocious experiences which included him. Since we had a Celebrity cruise already booked I asked if they could be applied given the affiliation with their rewards program. The response was yes they could because as I stated, why would I want to go through this experience with RCCL again? This was a lie and that is where I draw the line. We have just entered our retirement phase and are ready to go with the flow on things but I simply can’t accept being lied to. My wife and I watched the Wonder sail away as the genie interrupted our dinner that last night and all I could say is we should have sailed with DCL.

Thanks for reading and happy sailing! We are looking forward to two upcoming DCL cruises (September for HOTHS and December for Very Merrytime) before venturing out and trying Virgin in January.

Ouch! I don’t blame you an iota for being upset with this level of nonsense.

 

[zebsterama]

I'll keep it short around four key areas to paint and share the picture of our experience:

CABIN:
I’ll start with the best part. The 2-story Star Loft spacious suite was amazing particularly when you consider cruising through Alaska, sitting on the balcony and taking in the scenery. However, mid-way through the cruise, the downstairs bathroom overflowed and yes this was disgusting given the bathroom is right next to the cabin entry door. Our assigned “genie” was non-responsive to our request to have someone come take a look at the problem (see service for more on genie issues) so we went and found someone to help. Three hours later we were notified the fecal matter was cleaned and the toilet issue was “fixed”.

FOOD:
One of the main issues was food quality. It didn’t matter what venue or which specialty restaurant we dined in. This included in room snacks as well where the best food we had were the fresh berries. We were able to request them but yet, RCCL decided to keep sending inedible nachos. The steak in Chops for example was overcooked and quickly served to us as if we were in a fast food restaurant.

ENTERTAINMENT:
The onboard trivia hosts were at best rude. For example, a planned trivia game started 15 minutes ahead of schedule without notification. Everyone came in and asked the same question to the hosts, can you please repeat the first X questions, etc. We found the entertainment shows lacking just that, entertainment, and would have much preferred seeing another rendition of any DCL show no matter how many times we have already seen it!

SERVICE:
The focus is on the genie given we didn’t get what we paid for. Ahead of our cruise, we did the research and were excited to experience the best RCCL had to offer. We watched the marketing videos and filled out the pre-cruise survey thinking wow this is going to be great. None of the information we provided was either mentioned or used to personalize our experience. We were even naïve enough to present our genie with a gift as we on boarded. Word to the wise, please don’t fall for the marketing propaganda. I realize all genies are not created equally and have read about others having good experiences with them. Our experience was the exact opposite of what they market it as. There were three genies onboard our cruise and while ours was noted as being the worst of the lot, none of the genies took time to get to know the other star class guests, be friendly, or work together as a team.

Our genie was disorganized and anything but a reliable resource. We were provided with a daily agenda including incorrect dates and times for activities as well as not providing us with shore excursion tickets on time. The lack of response to the toilet issue in the stateroom was unacceptable. He responded 1 hour after the call to help was made. Lastly, when all the issues piled up, the genie presented us with FCCs valued over $1K as compensation for our atrocious experiences which included him. Since we had a Celebrity cruise already booked I asked if they could be applied given the affiliation with their rewards program. The response was yes they could because as I stated, why would I want to go through this experience with RCCL again? This was a lie and that is where I draw the line. We have just entered our retirement phase and are ready to go with the flow on things but I simply can’t accept being lied to. My wife and I watched the Wonder sail away as the genie interrupted our dinner that last night and all I could say is we should have sailed with DCL.

Thanks for reading and happy sailing! We are looking forward to two upcoming DCL cruises (September for HOTHS and December for Very Merrytime) before venturing out and trying Virgin in January.

Wow! Thanks for sharing.

 

[mmmears]

I'll keep it short around four key areas to paint and share the picture of our experience:

CABIN:
I’ll start with the best part. The 2-story Star Loft spacious suite was amazing particularly when you consider cruising through Alaska, sitting on the balcony and taking in the scenery. However, mid-way through the cruise, the downstairs bathroom overflowed and yes this was disgusting given the bathroom is right next to the cabin entry door. Our assigned “genie” was non-responsive to our request to have someone come take a look at the problem (see service for more on genie issues) so we went and found someone to help. Three hours later we were notified the fecal matter was cleaned and the toilet issue was “fixed”.

FOOD:
One of the main issues was food quality. It didn’t matter what venue or which specialty restaurant we dined in. This included in room snacks as well where the best food we had were the fresh berries. We were able to request them but yet, RCCL decided to keep sending inedible nachos. The steak in Chops for example was overcooked and quickly served to us as if we were in a fast food restaurant.

ENTERTAINMENT:
The onboard trivia hosts were at best rude. For example, a planned trivia game started 15 minutes ahead of schedule without notification. Everyone came in and asked the same question to the hosts, can you please repeat the first X questions, etc. We found the entertainment shows lacking just that, entertainment, and would have much preferred seeing another rendition of any DCL show no matter how many times we have already seen it!

SERVICE:
The focus is on the genie given we didn’t get what we paid for. Ahead of our cruise, we did the research and were excited to experience the best RCCL had to offer. We watched the marketing videos and filled out the pre-cruise survey thinking wow this is going to be great. None of the information we provided was either mentioned or used to personalize our experience. We were even naïve enough to present our genie with a gift as we on boarded. Word to the wise, please don’t fall for the marketing propaganda. I realize all genies are not created equally and have read about others having good experiences with them. Our experience was the exact opposite of what they market it as. There were three genies onboard our cruise and while ours was noted as being the worst of the lot, none of the genies took time to get to know the other star class guests, be friendly, or work together as a team.

Our genie was disorganized and anything but a reliable resource. We were provided with a daily agenda including incorrect dates and times for activities as well as not providing us with shore excursion tickets on time. The lack of response to the toilet issue in the stateroom was unacceptable. He responded 1 hour after the call to help was made. Lastly, when all the issues piled up, the genie presented us with FCCs valued over $1K as compensation for our atrocious experiences which included him. Since we had a Celebrity cruise already booked I asked if they could be applied given the affiliation with their rewards program. The response was yes they could because as I stated, why would I want to go through this experience with RCCL again? This was a lie and that is where I draw the line. We have just entered our retirement phase and are ready to go with the flow on things but I simply can’t accept being lied to. My wife and I watched the Wonder sail away as the genie interrupted our dinner that last night and all I could say is we should have sailed with DCL.

Thanks for reading and happy sailing! We are looking forward to two upcoming DCL cruises (September for HOTHS and December for Very Merrytime) before venturing out and trying Virgin in January.

This is really interesting. Thank you for sharing your experience.

We kind of had the opposite with Celebrity. All my complaints are about things that happened before the cruise. The cruise itself (along with the service onboard and our butler) was a very positive experience. If you find a way to use those cruise credits on Celebrity I'd suggest giving it a try (on one of the newer ships). I was worried it wouldn't be as nice as DCL, but it was.