Review Time
Absolute shit show from the start. My complaint is so long I cannot even type it out. But a quick synopsis.
Room had no AC, Phone in room did not work, Door handle fell off inside the room, Dining was a disaster, moved every night and the first night the service was so bad I left after 40 min without even being served my drink.
9 year old daughter was kicked out of the kiddy area because the life guard claimed she looked older than 9 all while she had he child wrist band on.
Scuba Excursion was canceled without notice, royal promised to pay for our next excursion and that never happened. Another excursion they allowed us to set up our 19 and 17 year old sons to do together then refused our sons service because the 17 year old was not accompanied by a parent even though his adult brother was with him. But they let us sign him up for it and did not make us aware.
At the end all of Royal Caribbean upper management has ghosted us and offered us a 10% discount for a future cruise.
It was an absolute shit show and the worst vacation I have ever been on!
very Disappointing Handling of Delay – No Compensation at All
Our cruise with Royal Caribbean International aboard the Odyssey of the Seas started with a significant delay due to extreme snowfall. While the weather is, of course, beyond their control, the way this situation was handled was downright disappointing.
Due to the delay, our entire day in Nassau was canceled. This was one of the main destinations for us on this trip. Yet, no form of compensation was offered — no credit, no partial refund, not even a goodwill gesture.
What made it even more frustrating was being sent back and forth. Guest Services onboard referred us to the headquarters in Miami, and the headquarters then sent us back to Guest Services. No one took responsibility, and no one offered a concrete solution. As a paying guest, you expect at least clear communication and serious attention to your complaint.
We fully understand that weather conditions can affect a cruise. But customer focus, taking responsibility, and providing appropriate service are well within the cruise line’s control. In our view, Royal Caribbean fell seriously short here.
For a company of this size and reputation, this level of customer service is simply unacceptable.
Our cruise was cancelled 24hrs out from departure that we were planning for over a year, it's hard to not get mad at the cruise line for this and I'm not as they do not cancel trips easily.
What I am mad and frustrated at I still have not received 1 cent back of my promised 100% refund, some 10k as they tell me that it will be processed from the 6th Feb yes, the last day of the non-cruise, instead of the 25th Jan when it was officially cancelled.
If I did not have another cruise booked already so I can use the future cruise credits, I would not sail with Royal Caribbean again.
This is a large company holding onto millions of dollars that they owe customers for goods and services that were not supplied, earning big interest.
Pay my money back you owe me.
⭐ Absolutely the WORST experience with Royal Caribbean — I’m shocked this is even possible.
I booked my cruise on October 16 for a family vacation scheduled Nov 30–Dec 7. I paid $2,287 in full, the payment went through with no issues, and after about 15 days I even received my boarding ticket booklet. Everything looked perfectly smooth — we had been planning this trip for three months.
Then out of nowhere, when I logged in just to check arrival times, I see my entire reservation canceled. No call. No email. No notification at all. Just gone.
So I called Royal Caribbean and the explanation they gave me was honestly unbelievable:
“Your bank requested a cancellation and refund.”
Really? After 17 days? For a trip fully paid and confirmed?
I contacted my bank immediately — and guess what?
They never requested ANY cancellation or refund.
And this is where the situation turned from frustrating to outrageous.
I called Royal Caribbean 3–4 times, and every single time they pushed the responsibility onto my bank. At first they said refunds “take 14 days.” Well, it’s been over 30 days, and now their answer is still:
“Contact your financial institution.”
Even the supervisor couldn’t help — just repeated the same script.
And here’s the part that truly shows how little they care:
When I asked to simply rebook the same cruise, the same dates, the same ocean-view room that they canceled, they refused to honor the original price. Instead, they wanted $700 MORE for the exact same room.
So not only did they cancel my fully paid reservation without telling me, they tried to charge me extra to get it back.
This is honestly terrifying.
What if I had shown up at the port with my family — including my 2-year-old child — ready to board, only to be told my reservation was canceled behind my back? Can you imagine being stranded there, bags in hand, because of their mistake?
Royal Caribbean completely ruined what should have been a beautiful family trip — and they’re still refusing to own up to their error.
If this is how they treat fully paid, confirmed reservations… I will NEVER trust Royal Caribbean again.
Nickle and dime you to death, horrible wait times for a drink at casino, excursion cancelation policy is trash, just stay away from this cruise line had way better experience on carnival and carnival being way more affordable, usually more you pay better experience and amenities you get while amenities you get are more due to their larger ships everything else goes down the tube they had only one complimentary restaurant open 24/7 which i find disgusting for the price you pay.
We encountered unexpected charges, being billed 20% as a mandatory fee after our massage. During the onboarding process, we were informed that gratuity was not expected on this cruise in Australia. I have no issue with tipping when it's warranted, but being told it's non-negotiable and not mentioned in the promotional materials was frustrating.
Important Warning for Injectable Medication Users
If you rely on injectable medication that needs refrigeration, proceed with caution. The staff provided me with a portable refrigerator since the one in the room wasn’t cool enough. However, while I was away, they moved my insulin from the room cooler to the one they brought in, but they forgot to switch it to cold. As a result, my insulin was ruined. It took three days to recover my medication on the island. Additionally, they attempted to charge me for a hospital visit, but fortunately, that was unsuccessful. This could have had serious consequences, so be vigilant. They should not have handled my medication without my consent.
Update: They initially denied the incident until I presented documentation. All reports were logged in their system.
We arranged a family cruise for March 2026 well in advance, but it was ultimately cancelled due to incorrect information regarding infant age requirements. The subsequent customer service was very disappointing. Communication was slow, callbacks were nonexistent, and our request to switch to a different sailing was ignored unless we paid a substantial fee, despite the issue stemming from the company's mistake. The booking was cancelled and refunded without any notification, leaving us without a vacation and no feasible alternatives on short notice. Booking early provided no security. Based on our experience, this is not a service you can rely on!
We had a delightful cruise around the Greek islands. The boat was a lot of fun and beautifully maintained. Boarding was smooth and efficient. The staff were incredibly attentive, and the team at the bar was especially fantastic. However, the formal night didn't quite hit the mark. It felt a bit off to be in a nice suit in the main dining area next to someone in shorts and flip flops, which slightly detracted from the experience. Overall, we were very satisfied.
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.
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