Mediterranean Cruise
Written: Oct 23 '08
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Good Itinerary. Check in was hassle free. Stateroom was comfortable and kept clean.
Cons: Entertainment very poor. Drinks very expensive. Staff provided poor service. Breakfast service disgraceful.
The Bottom Line: I would not recommend this cruise line. Staff were rude and provided poor service. Ship is very tired and old. Poor entertainment with little activity provided by cruise staff.
|
|
|
| peteratsea's Full Review: Royal Caribbean Legend of the Seas |
This was the first time that we have cruised with Royal Caribbean and we chose the Legend of the Seas being a smaller ship because we thought it would be more intimate and friendlier than the larger ships in the fleet.
Both my partner and I are seasoned cruisers usually travelling with Princess Cruises or Crystal Cruises. We thought we would try a different cruise line for a change and chose the 13 night Mediterranean cruise sailing from Civitivecchia Rome and calling at various ports including overnight in Venice, Dubrovnik, Naples, Sicily amongst others.
We were able to complete all the check-in formalities on line using their website. This was an excellent way of saving time and I would highly recommend it.
Arriving at the port we were able to go straight on to the ship without any long lines. Unfortunately, the room was not ready which meant we were stuck with our carry on bags for several hours hanging around the pool with many other passengers in the same predicament. It made for an uncomfortable start. We even had to wait for the pool side restaurant to open.
Everywhere we went, we were hassled by staff trying to sell us a wine deal or soda deal. I did not appreciate this type of hard sell. For those interested in these deals, you can purchase a wine deal at the beginning of the cruise which includes making a significant saving on your wine. Depending on the type of wine you prefer will decide on the cost you pay. But you can choose to have a bottle of wine each evening at your table and save quite a bit of money. We chose the Gold Deal which cost us $180 or something like that. It saved us around $70 had we purchased the wine individually each night.
The soda deal cost $70 and is only available on embarkation day. It means you get unlimited soda (not cans) and you get a free drinks cup. I dont really think this is a good deal to be honest unless you have kids.
Talking of kids, there were one or two on board but being the first mediterranean cruise of the season, the ship was not overrun with children. However, the undercover spa pool has rules which state children are not allowed at certain times of the day. This rule was ignored and ships staff did nothing to enforce it.
Eventually they allowed us to our room. It was a comfortable room. We only chose an superior inside room (we figured that we were on the ship for the ports and would not be staying in the room too much). It was a comfortable room. No fridge which was a disappointment but our stateroom steward did deliver ice each day.
He provided an excellent service and I could not fault him. He worked around our schedule and to be honest we only ever saw him in the corridors to say hello.
The ship itself is old and dated. The crew were not that friendly to be honest which we were surprised at. We were hoping for a little more activities on board but the cruise staff just seemed uninterested.
Entertainment on board was in our opinion very poor. The dancers were quite frankly awful and the shows were substandard. The guest entertainers were a mixed bunch. In fact two of the guest entertainers turned up on stage drunk !! Hardly a good advertisement for the cruise line!
The cruise director, an English woman, I have to say was the saving grace of the entertainment staff. She tried very hard and was a nice person. I cant say the same for the rest of her staff.
Dining. Well, I have to say that the food was good. The dining arrangements however was not. We had quite a few problems when it came to breakfast. We ordered the food and waited and waited. When it eventually arrived the order was either wrong or cold. Or we just waited for ages before someone decided to serve our table. Totally unacceptable. When we complainted no one even bothered to contact us or apologise. Disgraceful.
Choice of meals was limited in our opinion at dinner time. But what was offered was usually tasteful and enjoyable. There was just the two of us and initially we were put on a table of 8 which we did not want. On embarkation day we requested a smaller table and were give a table for 2. This pleased us but our first impressions on the dining room staff were short lived due to the service given.
The Cafe bar up on the pool deck was ok. But ask for a fried egg and you get the response, we dont do fried eggs ! We complained to senior staff and sure enough we got our fried egg! This was the level of service we came to expect throughout our cruise and it really marred what should have been an enjoyable time for us onboard.
The Ports of Call, however, we really enjoyed and we chose to do our own thing rather than make use of the very expensive excursions offered on board. In fact, we found that instead of paying something like $80 for an excursion to Taormina in Sicily, we paid $5.00 for our own transport and got the same experience. Shore excursions were overpriced and I would recommend that if you are brave enough, stay away from them. You can do it alot cheaper on your own. The only excursion we did choose to avail ourselves of was the Florence and Pisa on your own, which provided transport. Lining up to get your bus ticket in the theatre however was an experience I would rather not repeat. It was poorly organised and I felt like cattle being herded rather than a cruise line passenger. We were told to meet in one place and when we went there, no one was to be seen. We went to the Pursers Desk only to be told that the meeting point was somewhere else. No one had bothered to inform us or many other passengers of this small fact !! We were lucky that we did not miss the tour.
The overall cleanliness of the ship was good. You would always see cleaners around the ship polishing the hand rails, vacuuming the carpets. But the ship did look old and tired.
The weather was not too favourable for us with rain most days. But you cant hold the cruise line responsible for that ! It did mean that rather than being out on deck enjoying the sunshine, we were in our cabin a little more than we would have liked. Which defeated the object of us choosing a cheaper cabin thinking we would not be in there for much of the cruise. That said, it was comfortable, and quite spacious for an inside double. The bathroom (or should I say shower room) was of a reasonable size. Shampoo and soap was provided on a daily basis.
Each night a chocolate was placed on our pillows and the towells were made into some sort of animal and placed on the bed by our steward. This was a nice touch.
There was a rock climbing wall on board which we had a go at. Also they had a table tennis table but this proved very popular and you were lucky if you got to use it.
In the spa area was an undercover pool which had a retracting roof so on hot days the pool became open air. Unfortunately on the couple of days when it was excellent weather, they never bothered to retract the roof.
The Spa was well designed and my partner and I both decided to pamper ourselves. Whilst expensive, it was worth doing and the staff there were friendly which made a change.
The Pursers Desk. Staff were rude and curt. Five times I went there to get something changed on my account. It never got done. I just gave up in the end.
Overall, our first impressions of Royal Carribean Cruise Line was poor. I dont think we will choose this ship again. Maybe if we choose one of the larger ships which may have more to do, our impressions would be different. I prefer smaller ships usually because the atmosphere is more intimate but on this ship, the Legend of the Seas, this was not the case.
In summary - ship is old and tired
staff are rude, gave poor service (except for cabin steward who was excellent)
Food - main meals were good, breakfast was poor, choice and quality in the buffet acceptable - there was 24 hour hotdogs and burgers available which was nice. (room service was quick but food not good)
Entertainment - production shows abismal and poorly executed. Some of the guest entertainment was good but on the whole mediocre.
Shore Excursions - from the experience of the one we participated in, poorly organised and overpriced
Ports of Call - Excellent - we missed on port of call Portofino due to the weather as we were not able to tender. No apology was made by ships staff and no alternative offered.
Bars - A good choice of bars - drinks expensive and a compulsory 15% tip added whether you liked it or not
Be Warned - if you have a credit card which is not US you will be charged a surcharge for currency conversion. You do have the option of requesting that you be charged in US, but this is ignored despite requests to the contrary.
In summary, I would not recommend this cruise line based on this one experience. Perhaps a different ship may give a different perspective but I am not sure I will want to take the chance.
Recommended:
No
Best Suited For: Couples
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
peteratsea
|
|
Member: Peter Stevens
Location: Southampton, UK
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
I work as a Police Officer in Guildford, Surrey UK.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.