Royal Caribbean Cruises Reviews 

We attended the Chef’s Table on our first night onboard, with dinner starting at 8:30 PM and not finishing until nearly 1:00 AM, which was far longer than expected and exhausting.
Unfortunately, the experience did not live up to the premium price. The wine pairings were switched from what was listed on the menu to what appeared to be inexpensive, grocery-store level wines, with no explanation or acknowledgment. For a Chef’s Table experience, this was extremely disappointing.
The five courses reused the same accoutrements repeatedly, making the meal feel repetitive and uninspired rather than thoughtfully curated. Ironically, we found the food in the main dining room throughout the rest of the cruise to be consistently better in both quality and presentation.
Given the time commitment, cost, and expectations set by Royal Caribbean, the Chef’s Table was a waste of both time and money. Starting our cruise with this experience left a bad taste that carried through the rest of the sailing.
We would not recommend Chef’s Table on Allure of the Seas and would advise guests to save their money for other dining options onboard.

You couldn’t pay me to board a Royal Caribbean cruise. It’s become painfully clear that safety is not a priority for them. Time and time again, decisions show that profit comes before people. When a company is willing to cut corners and downplay risks at the expense of human life, that’s not a vacation — that’s a liability. No destination, discount, or luxury experience is worth gambling with safety.

We went on 4 different cruises on 4 different ships . The one thing I've learned is don't tip , I've tried on the very first one to tip everyone and it doesn't matter, you don't get any better service. Infact it took 4 hours for the cabin stuart to unlock the balcony door, the sheets had holes in them the waitress at dinner keep telling us how poor she was and contradicting us at every turn , and stop tipping for drinks , you aren't made of cash so save it , remember your trip is all inclusive and you already paid for everything! NO MATTER What OtherS TELL YOU. This tipping culture has gotten out of hand ! So save your money . The smaller the ship the bigger the cabin . Because on the small ships the "entertainment" goes on the same level as 7-11 drunks and midnight. Get a drink package because you'll needed ! And please DON'T go and see "Cats" it's a 4 hour nightmare and you will be dreaming about "Jericho cat" and will end up with PTSD from it ! On bigger ships there is more leeway because you will be walking a lot , to destinations .
The elevators break a lot, the older the ship the less it's maintained so you have to watch out for that .
AND PLEASE WASH YOUR HANDS ON WINDJAMMER!!!!! It's for everyone's safety !

We did 22 cruises with RCI. During this cruise we were assaulted by a very aggressive man. The man hit me in the back and assaulted and intimidating me. I ask for security. But the way security handless this was poor and disappointing. Because we didn't feel save with this man on the ship. We stayed the last two days in our cabin. And the aggressive man could enjoy his vacation. We are Diamond Plus members and now say goodbye to RCI.

I cruised on the Liberty Of The Seas. It was quite hideous! Within the first 15 minutes I entered Windjammer, I’ve never experienced anything like it. The only option for healthy food options were dried out chicken breast and unripe melon and pineapple. I sat down and one of the other guests on the table next to me started screaming and swearing on her phone. A foul mouthed rant completely ignored by the staff on the ship. This was one of my main concerns on the trip. The staff are so nice the are unable to deal with any kind of anti-social behaviour. My room was old fashioned but clean. No USB ports to charge phones. No iron to iron clothes and a 24 hour turn around on the ironing service which means you have to wear creased clothes on one of the 3 nights. Not that it matters as not many people on the cruise seem to take their appearance seriously. The Promenade area at night is not a pleasant place to be however, first thing in the morning was the best time to visit. The artisan coffee is not artisan coffee. I tried 3 days in a row to get them to make a flat white to my satisfaction and they just couldn’t manage it as they aren’t trained baristas they are just nice friendly people who have been moved into a barista position. I wanted to spend time on my balcony but I had serious cigarette smokers on one side of me and dope smoking, loud music playing people on the other. The handle of my balcony door was hanging off but in fairness it was fixed quickly. To find some positives. The gym was exceptional but the extra charges for the classes seemed unnecessary. The main dining room team provided good food and service at dinner. I had no idea the dining room was open for breakfast and lunch so missed out on that the app doesn’t provide you with the information you need and the WiFi on board is really bad considering how much you pay for it. Doesn’t work well in areas like your balcony which is the one place you want it to work.

I have a long comment, but it won't allow me to post it here. So I summarized it:

We booked Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas to celebrate our first wedding anniversary and our first cruise. While the ship is beautiful and the crew was wonderful, the overall experience didn’t feel worth the price.

The cruise was advertised with four destinations, but after multiple cancellations we only visited two ports, and the refund for three cancelled ports was just over $60 on a trip that cost over $5,000. They lack accountability and initiative on making plans in case there's any cancellations. Onboard, many basics like drinks outside of breakfast required extra charges, and there were communication issues between departments. Called Guest Services to replace the broken lounge chair in the balcony, no follow-up call received and took time for them to fix the issue. I have to call multiple times. Another example when we call the Guest Services to ask if there's available spots for ice skating, we were told none. However, when we arrived at Studio B, where ice skating took place, the staff there happily accommodated us.

There were positives, like great shows and food, but overall, the negatives outweighed the good for us. Sharing this to help others set realistic expectations before booking.

We just had the best cruise on Oasis of the Seas, especially because we were taken care of the most thoughtful & professional staff. I'd really like to give a shout out to Rosalyn, Syruh & Calbert in the main dining room on level 5. We had several allergies at our table and they dealt with them seamlessly. It really put our minds at ease. We looked forward to seeing them every evening, they really made our cruise so enjoyable. We hope to see them again on our next cruise!! We hated when our time came to an end.

My husband and I booked our cruise through RC for our honeymoon. This was my first cruise ever. However, it was my husband’s third cruise. Albeit, his previous cruise was 16 years ago. We went for a Caribbean cruise during Christmas. I try to always keep my expectations low to avoid disappointment… I should have set them lower because this was an extremely disappointing experience. The food in the main dining during dinner time was less than desirable. The food seemed like it was frozen then thawed (I mean how else are you supposed to keep food fresh). It just didn’t seem fresh.

The workers on the ship were lovely and wonderful people. However, I was extremely curious about their working conditions… to say it’s depressing is an understatement. I would encourage everyone to do some research on the exploitation of cruise-ship workers. I wish I had done research prior so that I would not be upholding poor labor practices. Secondly, I would encourage everyone to do some research on the cruise ship industry before you book a trip. There are some very shady corporate practices that are set in place for hoarding money and diverting it away from the local economy. There are many things that I just feel uncomfortable/guilty participating in. I will never go on a cruise again, with any cruise line. Instead, I will book a flight and stay in that destination and pour time, money, and energy into the community.

We went on Odyssey of the Seas in 2024. Had two balcony cabins on a guaranteed basis and ended up with rooms with very obstructed views, huge gantries. After complaining, we were awarded credits which had to be used by 6th April 2026 on a further cruise. Because of the high prices we’ve been unable to afford to book Royal Caribbean until August 2027. I wrote to the cruise company and asked them to honour the credits for our cruise in 2027. They have flatly refused. The credits work out to about £600 per room which means an awful lot to our family but Royal Caribbean say NO! I’m not happy with Royal Caribbean and feel it’s a large company being very unfair. We love their cruises but find them highly priced and it takes us a while to save for two balcony cabins. £600 reduction for each of our cabins would make such a difference!

Crew was outstanding. Food was average at best. Purchased drink package and drinks were subpar..sailed with RC previous year and food and beverages were much better. I realize that its a family oriented cruise line but the kids were a little too much. Kids coming to the liquor bars..sitting on bar stools to order smoothies. Children should NOT be at a liquor bar..period. Parents need to be more accountable. We paid extra to dine at Giovannis on board and were extremely disappointed. Wife ordered a prawn entree and they served her small sized shrimp.Complained to manager and she was gracious and handled the situation professionally. We will be doing adults only cruises from now on just way too many kids.

Currently on the Christmas Caribbean cruise. The food is good in the dining room, Windjammer buffet is ok. However my issue is with the upselling, too much and very pushy. I’m booked on the RC Thailand & Vietnam cruise, I know what to expect now.

Royal Caribbean is not bad company, but it's represented by different people with varying characteristics. You might encounter a decent person who handles matters with care and honesty, or a careless individual who deals with things superficially and unfairly. After my last cruise, I filed out the post-cruise survey with a complaint against a representative at the Loyalty Desk. To my great surprise, 3 days later I received a call from a certain Damion K., who identified himself as a Senior Advocate, Royal Guest Experience, and informed me verbally that my benefits in the Crown and Anchor club were being suspended for 12 months due to my inappropriate behavior.
He didn't want any explanations from me, and on the contrary, when I nevertheless offered them, he stated that my description of the situation was irrelevant to him and the decision was final and and is not subject to appeal.
I have been cruising exclusively with Royal Caribbean for over 15 years, I have Diamond Plus status with almost 500 points, and such behavior towards me by a young man was exceptionally inappropriate.
I think that Damion K. was protecting the employee who was the subject of my complaint, which wouldn't be the first time this department has treated me unfairly.
Two years ago, on the first day of a cruise, I experienced very severe abdominal pain in the lower right side. Due to the terrible pain, I went to the ship's medical department, where the doctor on duty told me that I had COVID and would be confined to an isolation cabin for the entire cruise. My attempts to convince them that I didn't have COVID but only terrible abdominal pain were futile. I was locked in an isolated cabin, and only after 2 days was I given painkillers, while every day I was visited and pressured to accept the COVID diagnosis. After leaving the ship, I went to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with acute appendicitis and immediately underwent surgery to remove it. The doctors stated that it was a miracle I had survived the week on the ship. I was also tested for COVID and the results showed that I had neither currently nor previously had the virus. I therefore filed a complaint with Royal Caribbean, and do you know what I received in response? I received a message stating that "COVID is a very serious threat and the ship's crew reacted completely correctly"!

The cruise was generally fine food just ok, this was on the independence of the seas we did a back to back cruises from 4th October to the 16th October 2025, while we were on board we did a bit of gambling we lost a bit on both cruises, because we had spent a certain amount while gambling they gave us a gift certificate to get a cheap cruise, we got this certificate and we're told to take it to the on board guest next cruise reservations and pay £150 and it would make it official so we did this, And then we we get home we can phone a certain royal Caribbean number and try to book a cruise. When we got home I checked my bank account and found that they had charged my account with the £150 but had charged me a further £150 twice which i did not give them permission to take, I have tried to get the money back but all I get from them is it's none refundable, I have lost patience with royal Caribbean and will never travel with them again.

We went on our first cruise last year to the caribbean with Royal Caribbean cruise. We were hooked so we booked another for 2026. We were informed of changes in port destinations due to unrest in Haiti which is acceptable because of the cause for concern to guests safety. However, they changed two of our ports and the ports they have changed to are two ports we visited on our first cruise April 2025. We contacted RB by phone and email only to be told we would have to pay an admin fee to change our booking to another cruise. Well I am sure some would understand our disappointment !! We have already visited the two replacement ports and do not want to visit again as we were only there in April 2025. RB are not budging on this and I feel their customer services has let them down so we will never book again with them in the future. Has anyone else had the same issue? I certainly will never recommend RB to anyone after experiencing their lack of customer care and understanding of our situation.

We took a 3 Day Cruise on the Royal Caribbean (RCL) ship Wonders of the Seas. The ship itself is an engineering wonder! It’s fantastic! How RCL bills you for services and excursions is a different WONDER….and not the good type! Let me start - first, we (my wife and I) purchased a drink package before we sailed for approximately $600. The very first drink I ordered came with a surcharge because depending on the Bartender serving you there’s a limit on the cost of the drink of either $14 or $16 dollars per drink! So preordering the drink package is a complete ripoff if you’re going to average say 5 -6 drinks per day per person because you’re really on the ship for 3 days but RCL charges you for 4 days. Second, we purchased an excursion for the first port. We went the Hideaway Beach. The charge on the website on board was $75 PP but we were billed $144 PP. I didn’t notice that until we returned home and checked the invoice that RCL provided. So I called RCL and I was informed about “Dynamic Pricing”! Let be honest - Hideaway is a beach on an RCL Private Island. There’s no way the cost should have increased that much even if you accept their “Dynamic Pricing” excuse! Another ripoff! And third, we purchased some jewelry at the EFFY store on board of the ship, the people assisting behave as they are giving you a great discount off of the Retail Price. They also promised to provide a certificate for each item purchased which they never did! So when we returned home my wife contacted the EFFY HQ in New York. At that point she discovered that we were dramatically overcharged for the items! The items were on sale on the EFFY website and the person that my wife spoke with said that the people at the Wonder of the Seas store should have known that! Well let’s call that ripoff number 3 during our cruise! For full disclosure, EFFY is providing a refund for the difference but it, unfortunately, has to go through RCL so it will take longer! Bottom line, RCL is ripping people of while you’re on the ship, in our opinion! So as the expression goes “Buyer beware!”

I booked a cruise to take my two adult children on a cruise and I went through royal Caribbean website and this is what happened the names that I entered were wrong had to call and fix and it was very difficult then 2 days later was informed they charged me 2 times once through Affrim and once on CC so I had to call back customer service to find out how I was charged for this cruise how do you put your CC in and get charged another way after 2 different times with customer service which I hate they said its all straight but who knows very frustrating to book a cruise and have to go through customer service to get things straight. Fix your website.

They deserve an absolute 0 horrible experience my first curse with them and I would never spend another 1$ on them I’m disgusted with the whole experience and how my family was treated and robbed left and right for absolutely non sense if you want to be over sold and under delivered please by all means book with this disgusting cruise line I could go on for days about my experience but I’m at a loss for words at this point just plain disgusting this place need to be shut down

We have booked a cruise for next September and thankfully only paid our deposit . The entire itinerary has reversed and replaced La Rochelle with ….. cherbourg !!! We don’t get as long to visit Paris . They apologise for the inconvenience . Great
Purpose of this is to warn people not to book spain and france cruise as the itinerary has not changed on the website and really Cherbourg is not Bordeaux !!

Extremely misleading and borderline deceptive. I specifically checked whether a drinks package was available for a 3-night cruise, was led to believe it was, booked the cruise, and only after booking was told by phone that drinks packages are not available on 3-night cruises. This crucial restriction is buried deep in obscure FAQs and not made clear at all upfront. Because it was a last-minute booking, we can’t get a refund — and everything is charged in USD on an Australian booking. Our “short break” has now become outrageously expensive just to have a few drinks. If I could give less than one star, I would.