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Have Royal Caribbean lost the plot? |
| Reviewed By: Hammond, Dibden Purlieu, Southampton on 27th Nov 2008 |
| Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean Cruises |
Times cruised before: 6-10 |
| Cruise Ship: Navigator of the Seas |
Sailed:
September,
2008 |
| Destination: Mediterranean |
Age: 65+ |
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Firstly I would like to say that we had a good holiday on the Navigator of the Seas. We joined my sister and her husband on the cruise with 4 friends to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. I was never at all keen to cruise on a very large ship but having been on a RC cruise a few years ago on the Splendour of the Seas we decided to give it a try. The Navigator is a great ship, its beautiful inside. The Mall is very impressive, the cabins are fine, the staff pretty good but not very good. The food was generally very good, a bit unimaginative, and the presentation was poor, more staff canteen than fine dining.The waiters average and a little slow.I think they had too many tables to cover, and they had to serve the wines as well.It was noticeable that they did better towards the end of the cruise, doubtless to ensure their gratuity.This was not like the experience on the Splendour which was terrific.
The shows went from poor to average at best and we saw very little of the entertainment staff around the ship during the day. There seemed to be very little organised during sea days, but we did notice Advanced napkin folding,scrapbook class, various enrichment talks and of course lots of bingo and art auctions, WOW!!!! luckily there were only 4 sea days. Its a big ship, lots of facilites but nothing to do if you dont like lying in the sun all day, and when the weather is poor, as it was, the small bars and cafes are very crowded. Very few quiet corners to relax, perhaps read a book, and by the way the library was very poor.
Big ships mean Big ports. Fine if your going on a tour but if you want to look around on your own, dont bother in Messina not worth the effort apart from the clock tower in the cathedral square. Thessalonika is a little better as is Valetta. Big ships also mean lots of passengers, all wanting to do the same thing.Queuing up for an hour to get the shuttle bus into Istanbull is not much fun.
Returning to entertainment 2 of the pianists were very good, generally playing in the small bars before dinner, and so it was very difficult to get a seat, impossible after 2nd dinner because they were full of 1st sitting diners. The late night entertainment in the Two Poets bar was a guitarist/singer and was quite good that is until he introduced the F word into some songs, received enthusiastically by a minority of his audience, but not by many. Is this what RC cruising has descended to?
Altogether this was not the cruising experience we expected, and not what we have been used to. I believe we all realise that cruising is moving down market as prices get more and more competitive and the move to bigger and bigger ships means the that the cruise companies must attract a wider passenger range and standards will inevitably drop. Goodness knows what it will be like on the Oasis, I dont think I shall bother to find out. So Royal Caribbean what are you aiming for, a cruise experience which one can savour during the period before the next one, and tell friends how great it was, or a Butlins or Magaluf at sea and tell friends it was OK, but it will be back to Spain next year. I know where we shall be, and it wont be with Royal Caribbean or to Spain. It will be back to our favourite cruise line, P&O.
From Gordon Hammond, Southampton
Subject: cruise review
From Gordon Hammond
5 Woodlands Court
Dibden Purlieu
Southampton
SO45 4NU
Tel 023 8084 2615
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| Istanbull, The Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Grand Bazaar | | Staff | |
| | Children's Facilities | n/a |
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Happy HOLIDAY's
Qeen Mary 2 cruise dec 2008
Queen Victoria - Caribbean 2008
MSC Fantasis Christmas Cruise
