Legend of the Seas Review

3.0 / 5.0
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Somewhat disappointed with our first Royal Caribbean experience

Review for Australia & New Zealand Cruise on Legend of the Seas
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PMRB2005
2-5 Cruises • Age 40s

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Sail Date: Dec 2016
Cabin: Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

I was so looking forward to finally cruising with Royal Caribbean, I had been wanting to go for so long and was really looking forward to it, so when we saw a 3 night weekend cruise we jumped at the chance. I travelled with my mother (her first cruise), sister and a group of friends and their mothers.

I'll start with the positives....embarkation in Brisbane was seamless and we were enjoying lunch in the Windjammer by midday. Staff in both the Windjammer and the Romeo & Juliet Dining room were very friendly and helpful, service was what I'd expect based on other cruises I've done with P&O. The food in the Windjammer was mostly good, I am not a huge fan of buffets usually but we found this the easiest option for such a short cruise. The food in the dining room was also quite good, although I'd have to say some dishes were slightly below par compared to meals I've had on P&O. We dined in Chops Grille one night which was excellent (but of course you pay extra for that so it would want to be). Our cabin was always very clean and so were public areas, toilets etc. Housekeeping staff work very hard on these cruises and deserve their tips. The Ab-Fab show was fairly good and we all enjoyed that.

Unfortunately though the negatives outweigh the positives. Our biggest disappointment of all was the Ultimate Drinks package we purchased prior to the cruise. We paid $67USD per day for unlimited beer, wine, spirits, cocktails under $12, soft drinks, juices, tea, coffee etc. My friends and I enjoy a cocktail or two and figured this would probably be the way to go. Not only was the variety & quality of cocktails disappointing, the service in ALL bars was simply appalling. Incredibly slow and took forever to get served! Waiters would slowly wipe down tables and bench tops before casually serving the next passenger, it was so obvious this was deliberate. There was no sense of urgency or rushing whatsoever, even when the bar was crowded. They simply did not seem to care and we all felt this was a blatant attempt by RC to limit the value passengers received out of purchasing these packages. It was disgusting really and false advertising at its worst. I have been on 2 other cruises with P&O and the bar service on both was simply outstanding. This was a joke, and so many people we spoke to were complaining about it. Furthermore, we had pre-paid our gratuities and felt this was a huge mistake but there was nothing we could do about it. Someone onboard told us Australians have a reputation for refusing to tip (which definitely seems to be the case), so I understand why they offer this service and they also automatically add it to everyones sea pass who hasn't prepaid them, but I feel this policy has contributed to a huge drop in quality of service onboard.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin E1
3 Helpful Votes
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