Royal Caribbean CruisesReviews 32

First time and last time to cruise with Royal Caribbean. Absolute worst cruise experience I've ever had. Wife and I planned this trip for over a year to take with the whole family. Alaskan cruise, and before we ever even get on the plane to fly out they cancel our second port stop. Supposedly for construction or work at the port. We found out this was a lie as the same ship stopped in that port the previous week, we also checked that ports website which also showed all construction/updates were completed and port was and has been open for weeks. So instead of that stop they added an extra sea day which was supposed to give us more time for our excursion to see the glacier. But oh no! Now we can't do that because of some operational trouble. Food has been horrible in both main dining and the buffet areas. Room Card quit working on our room and stood in the guest service line for an hour and a day later it has quit working again. Bed feels like an army cot, has just been an all around terrible experience.

Royal Caribbean cruise lines canceled the cruise that I had been booked on out of Vancouver. Obviously they could make more money cancelling my cruise and sailing somewhere else. They refused to cover my losses on the cruise. The cruise I was booked on went to Hawaii, I had scheduled business class airfare for two back from Hawaii to Austin. The only thing the airline offered me was a credit on their airline which I can never use. I am out $3500 and Royal Caribbean could care less. They have definitely demonstrated to me that they are way more concerned with their own profits then the losses that they have caused for their customers. The first cruise I ever took was for my honeymoon in 1987 on the Song of America. I have also sailed on the Song of Norway (the very first RCCL ship), along with about 40 other RCCL cruises. I will never sail with them or Celebrity again and have already cancelled some future cruises that I have booked with them.

Worst cruise line ever! Booked a cruise for a week on Odyssey of the seas for this weekend and unfortunately tropical storm is hitting this area with strong winds and rains. Called Royal Caribbean and they declined to give me a refund due to this weather which will put passengers safety on the back burner. My kids have medical conditions that should be taken into consideration however seems like their thirst for money overrides their empathy towards passengers. Let's just say I will not book a Royal Caribbean cruise ever again!

Boarded a cruise out of Galveston,Texas on September 28th for my wife's 60th birthday. Cruise was good and staff seemed to be good as well. I purchased a watch on the last evening of the cruise cause it seemed to be the best price I could find. After we returned home I received my cruise statement to find out they charged me 3 times for the watch. Mistake right and should be easy to fix right! Not so it has been over two months and I have not been credited back on my credit card and have had interest charges that I have to pay because of the scew up. They say they are not responsible for my predicament and that they can't do any thing. It was charged to my card by Royal Caribbean folks no matter what they say. If that is the way they do business then they can keep their boat and won't be getting any of my business, I will be telling all of my friends so they don't get screwed around like we did. Beware!

I booked and paid for a cruise to Bermuda and purchased the cruise insurance, all through Royal Caribbean. The night before the cruise was set to sail, Royal Caribbean emailed me to let me know the itinerary changed from Bermuda to Canada, because of bad weather. We didn't even get a 24 hour notice about this change. We were already packed for Bermuda weather and drove to New Jersey for this cruise. Apparently others received a second email about canceling the cruise and getting a full refund for the change in itinerary. I did not receive that email, even though I purchased cruise insurance. And no one in customer service is answering my question as to why I never received that email.
Also, they stated we would have 2 days in Canada. Day 3, we arrived at midnight. So we had all day for Canada. We then left at 3:00a.m. On Day 4, and they considered that a full day. Idk how 3hours is equivalent to a full day, but according to Royal Caribbean it is. On Day 3, when we got off the boat to explore Canada, literally everything was closed. The Farmer's Market was closed, museum was closed, churches to tour were closed, and the Sky bridge was closed. After finding out there was absolutely nothing for us to do in Canada, we got back on the boat just to find out that shops, some bars, PADI (a diving activity) and the casino were closed. So all we had to do was either sit in a crowded hot tub or an ice cold pool on the cruise ship, in Canada, where it was maybe 60-65 degrees. Since they considered Day 4 a "dock day", even though they left the port at 3:00a.m., some of the previous activities were closed as well.
Royal Caribbean did however give us a $100 Onboard credit. Which they then took back by charging us $16 a day in gratuities.
To top it all off, I have been trying to get a hold of Customer service to express my disappointment and ask why I never received that refund email. Out of 5 different people I've tried contacting, only 1 person got back with me about the issues. But they still aren't answering any of my questions.
If you are considering a cruise, I'd seriously look at reviews at other cruise ships before booking with Royal Caribbean.

RCCL changed their target audience some years ago. No longer a cruise line for traditional cruisers, they went for the young families with kids, to enjoy rock walls, bumper cars, water slides, video games, etc.
Problem is they gave up formal nights, even though they still schedule them, no men bring tuxes anymore.
The dance floors, even in bars and late at night are filled with kids, from toddlers to semi teens, and dancing couples cannot even find the space to do a decent Cha cha. Crowds on Ovation are not handled well. All traffic is funneled on decks 4 & 5, and no one moves aside for you. The current guests are not well dressed bon vivants... over 4000 guests, and 3 tuxes!. They rather look like they are taking the pickup to the dump. Food is terrrible, even though wait staff are friendly. If you are an experienced cruiser, take a pass on Ovation of the seas, in spite of the high class stage shows that RCCL produces.

Without notice RC cancelled our cruise 60 days before we were set to leave. We missed the payment deadline and they provided no notice...no email reminder, no billing statement, nothing. Our deposit was lost and our cabin resold... probably at a higher price.

We just returned from Bahamas cruise on Freedom of the Seas. The ship was beautiful, food mostly good, service too. But the shore excursions turned to be 30% of time standing in long lines: 2 gigantic cruise ships boarded same time on small Coco Cay island - as result on popular slides people had to wait 1+ hour just to go down for 30 secs, 4 huge cruise ships on Nasau the same time so again, we waited in lined to board boats and 5 hours in Blue Lagoon, nicely promised on the website turned to actually 3 hours...the dolphin place run late and they literally chased us away from the place probably to empty it for new customers.
Not sure we will trust Royal Carribean company in future...

We received an email 3 months before the departure time that to enter Colombia you need a passport. We called customer service multiple times to clarify the email and they stated that you only need your original birth certificate and ID to sail but in order to get off in Columbia, their customs will need a passport, if you don't wish to enter Columbia that you can stay in the boat. We immediately still applied for all 5 passports. They all came in but my husband had issues getting his. We called again and told chismee service and they stated again the same story, fine. We also called about our friends daughter that was 8 months old and they said since she's under a year, she doesn't need a passport, fine. That's great, we drive hours to Tampa to be denied sailing. Royal pretty much tells you one thing and customs tells you other. How is this even possible? How do you run a business without knowing all the facts and lie to your clients to collect their hard earned money and then act like there's nothing they can't do. No one has around just 5k to spend on a trip that took us 2 years for a family vacation to save. They stole our money and our kids vacation by giving us wrong information and then they are not responsible for what they did to us. I don't even want to see the word Royal! It's a scam for this company to collect their money and take no responsibility for their actions! We were deceived, I'm requesting all calls that were recorded where multiple times we were told the wrong information and should take responsibility if we are going by what they are telling us!

After arriving at port, I dropped off my luggage with the porter and waited for it to arrive at my room. However, the luggage never arrived, and still hasn't arrived nearly a month later.

I spoke with Guest Services every day and while I appreciated their efforts, there was minimal indication that they hoped to rectify the negative experience that overshadowed my entire weekend and the following week as I was stuck in Florida for Thanksgiving with no clothing.

Eventually they provided the minimum amount of credit for me to purchase overpriced clothing and toiletries on the ship, but it took multiple days for me to get a real response.

A month later and I'm still so disappointed in this experience. Over the past month I've emailed, called (while being left on hold for over an hour), and haven't felt any real response from Royal Caribbean that they understand the plight I was, and am currently, in. I've asked to speak to supervisors and been ignored. I've asked to speak on the phone instead of email and been ignored.

Now I have to replace a quality luggage bag and 10 days worth of clothes because of an unfortunate scenario that Royal Caribbean won't take responsibility for.

I had set sail with them multiple times in the past, but now I see their true colors when faced with a situation where they can make a situation right.

On 8/28/22, cruise for seven days as a Diamond members. Our original REAL Samsonite suitcase with a built-in lock was damaged. Three-man maintenance crew couldn't open the lock and eventually broke it. The built-in lock can not be replaced, and the suitcase can not be locked anymore. They wrote the report. The Senior Guest Service officer, Mr. NK, promised to credit our VISA with $200. It was never credited. Upon our return to the port, seven days later, until 9/30, we had a nightmare of finding anyone in the Royal Caribbean who would solve the problem. Every day we were waiting for over ONE HOUR for someone to answer the phone. Then they forwarded us to another clerk, who responded only after 35-45 minutes of waiting. After a few days of struggling with the multitude of leaks, we discovered that the Senior guest Desk officer, Mr.NK, should give us a yellow copy of the report, which he never gave us. He made us sign the half-blank form and said he would complete the rest of the document. Later we discovered In his claim; he never mentioned the $200 credit he promised to us. The problem is still not solved.
So we ordered our 11 days cruises in November and January with another cruise line for a much cheaper balcony cabin.

RC is nothing but problems. We have had to call over issues many times. We are always on the phone for over an hour and about 50% of the time we get "disconnected." We were sent an invoice that shows a zero balance and then five months before the cruise, 5 months after the booking we were sent a new invoice saying we owe $1000. If we do not pay the cruise is canceled without a refund. We have always booked through Carnival and will only book through Carnival in the future. When I told them that, they basically said they didn't care, I was only one person.

On top of that, the "all-inclusive" cruise doesn't include the majority of restaurants on the ship. All ships have upgraded dining, but RC wants to charge for all of it. The ship is small and outdated compared to others we have sailed on.

The attached itemized receipts show that our payments "disappeared" and new amounts owed. No explanation was given. We were just sent new invoices. After 3 and a half hours on the phone with three different people, we were told there was a system malfunction in April when we booked that made it look like we paid more than we had. We had originally booked in 2020 and had rescheduled several times because of COVID. We did not pay the deposit in April 2022, all balances were carried over from original booking in 2020.

I have no idea how they have four stars.

I was assaulted in international waters on their cruise ship. A clear case of assault and battery per Canada and Seattle codes. Despite securing photos, video, and witness testimony, Royal Caribbean has made zero effort to provide any compensation. Calls went unanswered, emails not returned. A legal case file has been opened, but beware they fly a Bahama flag so enforcing a lawsuit from the USA is challenging. Warning to all that cruise with them that you will not be protected from assault and battery on international waters and you will have minimal recourse since they fly a Bahama based flag. You are on your own. I would suggest that if you travel in international waters to secure a cruise ship that flies an American flag and will enforce American laws. Do not be persuaded by the false variety of multiple flags they show on top of the ship. Their customer service after the trip will not be responsive to you.

Me and my husband plan a 9 day cruise with our three children on June 5,2022. We read the requirement and had all five of us test for Covid with negative result. We drive from Atlanta Georgia for the cruise and only to be told since my nine year old son is not fully vaccinated he cannot go. Per the requirement all he needed was a negative test or a pre test at boarding. We were denied both. The supervisor name Sandra told us he cannot go even with a negative test or pre test. She state he need to be fully vaccinated. We call customer service they were rude, impatient, and lack remorse. The person in customer service say we choose not to go because the problem was with the nine year old not the others. He was asking for me to leave my nine year old behind for nine day on the dock. The customer service personnel was rude and cruel. He had no patient talk or help me. The Covid guide didn't say my son had to be fully vaccinated, it seem like your supervisor made it up so we could go. The customer service kept saying the supervisor can reject you if they want, it doesn't matter about what the guide line say. We were rob out of $4335. 00 and Royal Caribbean deny us any type of refund per the customer personnel. I'm very disappointed they did this to us, that is unethical and unjust. I want my money back and will never use this cruise line and report this thieving behavior. I feel robbed. If there was a zero star that what I would give them.

Royal Caribbean is not willing to refund my money. CDC is advising to avoid cruise ships and after a personal battle with covid, I was sick for three weeks and lost 40lbs recently. My family and I are now deathly afraid to be in large crowds. I pleaded with the resolution specialist named Mario De Leon, and all he can say is sorry but you have a voucher for the year 2022 as if they were a positive thing even after I explained my situation. I continued to explain my family's health and well-being are not worth the risk after my experience. And again all he could repeat was there was no refund but you enjoy the cruise later. It was almost as if I was talking to the wall because he listened to nothing I said. So basically Royal Caribbean is strong-arming customers to take the cruise and risk my family's health or forfeit my 2500 they have held on for the last two years. Below is an article speaking about this situation and the refund policy from their Internation Vice President of Guest Experience. The link is below and an excerpt about this issue. Below is an excerpt from the article dated July 1st, 2021. At a webinar with travel agents on Wednesday, Royal Caribbean International Assistant Vice President of Guest Experience, Aurora Yera-Rodriguez, told travel agents guests can get a refund for their FCC on sailings where protocols have been announced. The question came up if a guest was adamant that they will not get vaccinated and has an FCC, will Royal Caribbean offer a full refund. Ms. Yera-Rodriguez responded that Royal Caribbean will indeed offer a refund for both money paid on the reservation and money owed in most FCCs. "If we've announced protocols for a particular sailing that anyone is booked on, we're glad to offer them a refund." https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/07/01/royal-caribbean-will-refund-your-future-cruise-credits-if-you-dont-new-health-protocols

STOLE OUR MONEY

We purchased the travel insurance for a full refund and when we needed to cancel our trip we were fully aware we would lose the $175 in travel insurance, but they don't take that payment out until you pay for the cruise in full. THIS WAS NOT CLEAR DURING THE TIME OF PURCHASE.

So, I have to pay them over $6000 to get my deposit back minus the $175. Why would I pay them another 6 GRAND when I can't even get $400 back?

When we booked the trip we did not receive ANY receipt of purchase with information regarding our cruise. We got one email telling us to create an online account. So we did that, and then there is ZERO documents to see the itemized receipt of what we have paid, where the money went, and what is the final balance.

They don't show you that until you give them a credit card number...

I will NEVER book a cruise with them again. This was nothing but smoke and mirrors, and every single time you turn around you have to pay for something else, and never get confirmation of your purchases.

We purchased the travel insurance for a full refund and when we needed to cancel our trip we were fully aware we would lose the $175 in travel insurance, but they don't take that payment out until you pay for the cruise in full. THIS WAS NOT CLEAR DURING THE TIME OF PURCHASE. So, I have to pay them over $6000 to get my deposit back minus the $175.

Why would I pay them another 6 GRAND when I can't even get $400 back?

When we booked the trip we did not receive ANY receipt of purchase with information regarding our cruise. We got one email telling us to create an online account. So we did that, and then there is ZERO documents to see the itemized receipt of what we have paid, where the money went, and what is the final balance.

They don't show you that until you give them a credit card number...

I will NEVER book a cruise with them again. This was nothing but smoke and mirrors, and every single time you turn around you have to pay for something else, and never get confirmation of your purchases.

User's recommendation: DONT give them a dime unless you can afford to lose it.

We chose to use an agent for our cruise with CruisesOnly the cruise line RC. "Cruise with confidence" is the claim RC makes, when in fact they do not have the ability to fulfill this obligation. I understand with the pandemic come setbacks. However, the pandemic was not the customers fault either, yet we are the ones penalized! I paid for insurance and deposit twice! This was nonrefundable (approximately $300-375)! Now, we have been unsuccessful at receiving a refund for a cruise that we cannot take because the final booking changed port of call and ship. We have been repeatedly promised a refund from Royal Caribbean, yet are still waiting! On top of this, I have proof from email that we were promised over $200 more than what they are planning to refund of our money! I am so disappointed! It has been almost 3 months since cancellation and still no refund! On top of not receiving the amount that we originally paid for the cruise. DO NOT RISK YOUR MONEY WITH THEM!