We had the worst time on a March 2007 cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean ship Sovereign of the Seas, mostly because the ship cared more about its college-age passengers celebrating Spring Break than its families with small children. Complaints to Customer Relations personnel were USELESS. It's ironic because who do you think left the bigger tips for its crew members: college kids or adults with children? Despite our dissatisfaction with RC security, we certainly took care of those who took care of us, namely our servers and maid staff.

I don't know how college kids are able to afford cruises, but apparently RC must make it pretty cheap for them. Our ship was probably 70 percent college kids. Most of the activities centered around the bar, and alcoholic drinks were peddled relentlessly. Toddlers were not allowed in the pool in swim diapers and the activities for children were strictly for ages 3 and up. None of this was revealed to us beforehand in any literature. We found out when we were aboard ship. Our hallway turned into a dormitory style party at night, usually between midnight and 5 am. By the end of the week, the college kids on our floor were purposefully banging on our door at those hours because we had called security on them. The head of customer relations had absolutely no interest in our pleas for quiet during these hours. Between that and the smell of sewage and diesel fuel below decks, I will never travel aboard a Royal Caribbean ship ever again.


Recommended: No

Best Suited For: Students