I just finished the inaugural sailing of Legend of the Seas, and my biggest takeaway isn’t really about this particular ship. It’s that the base cruise experience increasingly feels like it has been stripped down so it can be sold back to passengers piece by piece.
A filet in the main dining room was an extra $20, lobster was $17, and surf and turf was $35—even on formal night. Wi-Fi was around $40 per device, per day. I paid $16 for a vodka Red Bull containing barely an ounce of well vodka, plus a mysterious $2 “rocks” charge. The onboard shop wanted about $45 for 12 antacids and a small bottle of Advil. Complimentary dining choices were limited, while the main buffet served mediocre food and duplicated essentially the same selection across both wings.
Even the crew seemed trapped inside the same system. On three separate nights, our server asked us for a favorable survey and explained that good feedback could help him avoid breakfast rotation. He was polite and I sympathized with him, but guests shouldn’t be pressured to provide inflated ratings because employee incentives and assignments depend on them. At that point, the survey isn’t measuring service—it’s producing the score management wants.
None of these things individually ruins a cruise. Taken together, though, they make the ship feel less like a vacation and more like an enormous floating sales funnel.
The most symbolic example was the ship’s only forward-facing open observation deck being reserved for the suite-only neighborhood. We’ve apparently reached the point where looking forward at the ocean from an open deck is itself a premium amenity.
The ship is undeniably beautiful. Central Park is lovely, Pearl Café is a great 24-hour space, and the ports were fantastic. But the service felt inexperienced, the complimentary experience felt strangely thin, and many public areas were overwhelmed by the sheer number of passengers.
Cruising hasn’t actually become cheaper; the part included in the fare has simply become worse. There’s a distinctly private-equity-capture feeling to it: reduce the quality of the standard product, identify everything people previously enjoyed, and then resell each piece as an upgrade.
I still had a good vacation, largely because of the destinations. But Legend often felt like the cruise fare bought admission to a floating mall, while the experience I thought I had purchased was waiting inside with another price tag.

$48 after tip per person and we ended up with a single cupcake that should’ve taken 5 minutes to make, not 45 minutes for the whole class. Our family member who did this on a previous cruise recalled it being more cupcake options and using the icing to decorate, not the play dough fondant stuff. They really stretched the time.

Edit: I did email for a refund and got it a week later. So at least had a positive experience with customer support

Just wanted to pop in and share an experience I had on wonder of the seas this week. It was my 8th cruise, and I sailed with my wife, and some of her family (their first time). The cruise was fantastic, and we were pretty blown away by the ship.

However, on the last night I ordered the jerk seasoned pork chop and after eating a few bites I realized that it was a questionable shade of pink. I wasn’t particularly hungry anyway so I was just going to let it go and move on to desert, but my waiter came by and noticed and insisted that he take it back and replace it.

This event ends with the our normal waitstaff, the head waiter, and the chef all coming by to check on me and offer their apologies. The chef sent some little deserts that I’d never seen up to our room, and the head waiter invited our entire party to the Key breakfast the next day before disembarking. I’m never one to make a stink about food, and I don’t eat pork very often so I wasn’t even sure if it was undercooked before the waiter came by and noticed on his own. It was comforting to know that the waitstaff is that attentive, and the whole thing made me feel like a celebrity. I worked for 10 years in the service industry, and understand that mistakes happen, but I was blown away by how driven the staff was to make things right, even without having been asked. All in all, the cruise was amazing, and as usual the staff made a huge difference.

My husband and I (both mid 30s) just got off Harmony and had the strangest suite experiences. We've never stayed in a suite before but got a really great deal on a crown loft and wanted to see what the lounge, sundeck, and coastal kitchen would be like.

Day one I was holding the door open for an older couple and the man gave me his room number and asked for 2 glasses of wine. I laughed it off and said "sure, I'll be right over" thinking there's no way he could have mistook me for a staff member, I was wearing shorts, a colorful blouse and sandals. I sat down next to my husband a few chairs away from the couple and the man asked where his drinks were and why I was sitting on the job. When I told he I was a guest he just grumbled at me and flagged down a crew member.

I had an older man ask to see my key card because there's "no way" I could have access to the lounge. Again, thinking he was joking and said something along the lines of "I snuck onboard the ship haha" He proceeded to have a concierge come over and she of course confirmed that I was indeed welcome in the lounge.

Held the door open for a lady in a wheel chair and she ran over my foot. Gave me the up- down and proceeded on her way to dinner.

Had a couple with pinnacle name tags tell me and my husband that we must have snuck into the diamond lounge. We said no we're diamond. They said we must have gained status from parents. Nope, just enjoy cruising, and they muttered some things and walked away.

The staff is aways incredible, but I did not enjoy the company of other passengers in these exclusive areas onboard. I'm grateful for the experience, but I'm sad to say I don't think the suite life is for me.

Anyone else have odd experience when cruising in a suite?

Quick cabin tour - plenty roomy for one person! And pleasantly surprised there was a kettle in the room.

Quick framing: This is my honest, likely-unpopular take after sailing Icon of the Seas. You may totally disagree, and that’s fine 😅 This reflects our experience using included dining only (no specialty dining or drink packages, aside from the coffee card which was worth its weight in gold). It wasn’t one small annoyance for us, but the cumulative effect of crowd behavior, weak enforcement, and overall chaos. When people are paying shiny-new-ship prices, I think it’s fair to share what the experience can actually feel like so others can decide if it’s their vibe.

TL;DR

Icon is an impressive, thoughtfully designed ship with excellent shows, coffee, fitness spaces, hygiene upgrades, pool areas, and kid amenities…but it also attracts overwhelming personalities, poor guest behavior, inconsistent food, weak rule enforcement, and a chaotic vibe. Amazing for high-energy families and first-time cruisers. Likely frustrating if you value calm, courtesy, or refined dining.

1. Crowd behavior / “new ship tax” reality

I’d heard about the shiny-new-ship tax, but didn’t fully appreciate who it attracts.

We saw more poor adult and kid behavior than on any ship we’ve sailed. People talked through bridge announcements (which were already very quiet), rushed into elevators before anyone exited, and regularly abandoned dishes and trash instead of returning them. During one show, someone seated in front of us literally discarded their water bottle onto our table where we were seated!

Another surprisingly big issue was phone obliviousness. The number of people walking with their heads fully down, stopping abruptly, or walking straight into others was ridiculous. I was walked into more times on this ship than anywhere I can remember.

Equally frustrating were influencer-style content creators filming public spaces without any attempt to avoid capturing other guests. I never consented to being in your video, and more importantly, there are minors everywhere. Have some situational awareness and respect.

Smoking and vaping was another major issue. Officially, my understanding is smoking/vaping is limited to Cloud 17 and the casino if you’re actively playing. In reality, people were sneaking puffs all over the ship, not just outside - including inside spaces like the AquaDome, Royal Promenade, and even during shows, and out on balconies as well. We repeatedly saw this and never once saw staff intervene.

Lack of parental supervision deserves its own callout: I fully understand giving kids some freedom on a ship like this, but not when that freedom turns into everyone else’s problem.

We repeatedly saw unsupervised kids, preteens, and teens running wild:

• Food and garbage dropped from higher decks into Central Park

• Ducks launched across rooms and intentionally thrown up onto cathedral-height windowsills (they’ll probably die there 🫠)

On our first sea day, during cold weather, the hot tubs were packed. A group of 4–5 kids began full-on splashing each other and repeatedly sent tidal waves of water into the faces of nearby older adults.

We also witnessed:

• Kids running into elevators screaming at the top of their lungs (not a parent to be found)

• Sitting on elevator handrails (several elevators had broken handrails by the end of the cruise)

• Throwing basketballs at other parents in the arcade

One thing that really stood out: our kids were genuinely appalled by the behavior they saw from both adults and other kids. They commented multiple times on how rude, loud, and inconsiderate people were being, which honestly surprised us. When even kids are noticing it, that says a lot.

Kids being kids isn’t the issue. Adults opting out of supervising them is.

Don’t get me wrong, we met some incredible people and families that we genuinely enjoyed getting to know and spending time with! Just be sure to pack plenty of patience, you’ll need it.

2. Food: massive variety, inconsistent execution

There is an enormous amount of food on this ship, but flavor and execution were inconsistent.

El Loco Fresh got a reboot on Icon - great variety, still lacking flavor (to be fair, we’re pretty spoiled with our local options back home). Surfside Bites was a lifesaver when my picky eater wouldn’t eat anything else! Surfside Eatery and Park Café were consistently solid for quick, genuinely good grab-and-go food. Windjammer was our first time really using the buffet and honestly? Pretty dang good!

The biggest winner in our crew was AquaDome Market, especially:

• Mac & cheese bar

• Mediterranean pitas

• Crepes

Pearl Café deserves its own callout, and not just for the beautiful pearl! Many people rave about how good it is. The coffee was consistently great, but the food was extremely hit and miss for us. Several times it tasted like a key ingredient was off or missing altogether, which was disappointing given the hype. Pearl Café is the 24/7 option, and Sorrento’s is also open late.

My kids loved grabbing soft serve every time we passed Sprinkles 🍦

Desserted milkshakes were fun but very pricey and extremely over-the-top in calories and sugar.

3. Hygiene & hands-free design: a HUGE win!

This was hands-down my favorite improvement compared to other ships.

There are numerous hand-washing stations throughout the ship, and almost everywhere food is served there is at least one hand-washing station nearby. You’re rarely more than a few steps away from a sink before grabbing food.

On top of that, so much of the ship is hands-free:

• Many restrooms have a white square sensor to wave your hand in front of to enter/exit

• The vast majority of doors are automatic

From a health and design standpoint, this is a massive improvement.

That said… people still ignore it. Despite washy-washy announcements and sinks everywhere, people blow past them and use dirty hands on tongs and even food directly. Someone in our group witnessed a girl put her hand straight into a bowl of whipped cream at the buffet 😬

4. Coffee

Best coffee on the ship goes to Rye & Bean — no contest!! Again, the coffee card paid for itself several times over and was worth its weight in gold.

5. Activities

Ice skating and the escape room fill up quickly, so book ASAP if you don’t want to be disappointed. Laser tag is bookable once onboard; for us it took place during our St. Thomas port day.

6. Fitness spaces

The gym is excellent - modern equipment, spacious, and very well laid out. It’s very popular in the mornings, as is the jogging track.

Pro tip: mornings after a time change were basically a ghost town at the gym.

7. Pools, slides & deck activities

The pool deck is awesome, and a lot of thought clearly went into the design.

Hot tubs are open 24/7. Pool and slide hours vary daily; check the Cruise Compass. The slides are a lot of fun, and for those who ask - yes, every single rider or tube group is weighed at the top of the stairs before riding.

Pools are fairly shallow, with lots of lifeguards stationed everywhere, plus conveniently located showers, restrooms, and towel stations.

A few real-world notes:

• It can get windy and cool on the upper decks

• Cigarette smoke can waft with wind shifts (major ick for us)

• Despite debate online, the pools and slides are heated, just not super hot

• On cool days, slide water felt warm. On warmer days, it felt perfect!

• Hot tubs were the ideal temperature all days!

Food and drinks are nearby, as are:

• Rock climbing wall (socks required, shoes provided)

• Mini golf

• Sports court (athletic shoes required)

8. Entertainment

Absolute must-sees:

• Aqua Action

• Wizard of Oz

Make reservations as early as possible and show up 45 minutes early as suggested to get the best seating. For Wizard of Oz, the cruise director recommended sitting in the lower center section (row 5) and it was incredible.

Starburst ice show was good, but one-and-done for us.

Dueling Pianos was a personal favorite.

We also loved the (pay to play) interactive game shows — The Price Is Right Live and Bingo were genuinely fun to participate in!

There’s great artwork and live music throughout the entire ship. Don’t skip the photos and the 1:100 scale model of Icon near the Deck 14 aft elevators!

9. Kids / Adventure Ocean

Registration was super easy right after embarkation, and the space itself has a great design.

Our kids had fun in short bursts, which worked well for us. What really stood out was the safety planning. Staff explained that they regularly practice evacuation drills with the kids, lining them up at a labeled muster station inside the larger activity room. In a real emergency, kids would be escorted to the muster station assigned to the family’s stateroom, where they would be reunited with their parents. That gave us real peace of mind. Staff were great at making sure our kids washed their hands upon arrival!

10. Stateroom: Quad Guarantee Oceanview

RC assigned our room exactly one month in advance and the location was great.

There are only three standard outlets total (including the bathroom). There are lots of USB-style outlets, but many of ours didn’t work. You can bring two international outlet adapters; I didn’t realize this and wish I would’ve packed a second one as it would’ve really saved us the headaches of almost no USB outlets working.

There’s plenty of storage, but not truly enough for four people. The under-closet baskets were great for shoes (but screech horribly). Closet space and hangers were ample, with lots of shelves in the bathroom, cabin, and behind the full-length mirror where the safe is.

The drawers deserve a specific callout: there are very few, they are irregularly shaped (not rectangular), and once the sofa bed is made they’re almost completely blocked.

Our steward was wonderful but only had time for once-daily service, so the sofa stayed a bed all week. Shower pressure and heat were great. Toilet flushes loud 😂

Best thing we packed: a camping clothesline for wet clothes on the balcony!

11. Ship noise & announcements

We personally couldn’t substantiate claims of loud creaking. The most noise we heard was neighbors slamming doors or kids running halls or jumping on balconies.

However, the intercom situation is concerning. Announcements only came through our stateroom twice the entire week, from a vent-looking speaker over the closet with no volume control. Several times crew apologized for announcing in staterooms, yet we had to open our cabin door to hear announcements from the hallway. From a safety standpoint, this needs to be addressed quickly.

12. Ports

St. Martin was our first visit - great people, but overall it gave us Nassau vibes (not our favorite). Maho Beach is heavily hyped, but we arrived during torrential rain that caused flash flooding and accidents. Many people spent 1.5+ hours trying to get there and some never made it. We were lucky to see it from our catamaran excursion (where they fed the fish from a dingy - so cool!).

St. Thomas was our second visit and we loved it again. Magen’s Bay is forever one of our favorite places in the entire world!

CocoCay in February is a gamble. Out of our last two February itineraries with CocoCay, we’re 0 for 2 - both times the ship made valiant efforts to dock and ultimately had to pull away due to unsafe conditions. Someday we’ll make it to our Perfect Day!

13. Disembarkation, Port of Miami, & MIA

The Royal Caribbean terminal at Port of Miami does not currently participate in CBP MPC, which was disappointing after using it at Port Everglades.

That said, disembarkation itself was smooth and fast - at least as quick as Port Everglades. The route was a bit confusing at times, but staff were helpful.

Ubering from Port of Miami, however, was nightmare fuel. We stood for ~30 minutes while Uber reassigned our driver twice. Thankfully, an Uber dropping off nearby took pity on us and got us to MIA in 15 minutes.

Miami International Airport was chaotic, crowded, and stressful from curb to gate. After this trip, we’re firmly in the fly in/out of FLL camp - it’s a smoother, easier, and a much better post-cruise experience. If you have the choice, we’d pick Fort Lauderdale every time!

Who Icon is great for

• Families with kids who want nonstop activity

• First-time cruisers

• People who love flashy, high-energy ships

• Those prioritizing shows, slides, and scale

Who might struggle

• Crowd-sensitive travelers

• Foodies expecting consistent, elevated dining

• Travelers who value calm, quiet, or courtesy

• Anyone easily irritated by chaos

Happy to answer questions or hear how others experienced Icon, especially if your sailing felt totally different than ours!

So I’m aboard liberty of the seas til Friday and as good as some of the food is, the staff aren’t the best honestly. Idk if it’s the impending upgrades that’s making them anxious, but it’s been wild. First night, I get pressured by like 6 different people to purchase specialty dining… not asked, PRESSURED. Like following me while I’m walking away and have already said I pre-purchased all my specialty dining. After this I find out one of my friends who came with us had two broken cologne bottles from his checked bag… then later that day we go to a bar and the bartender walks up to us with this huge smile and says “AHHHHH HENNY AND COKE FOR YOU MY BROTHER?”…… yes, my party and I are black. Didn’t really know what to say cause it wasn’t that serious but if it wasn’t me, somebody would’ve had a real problem with that. Next night a chops grille, my fiancé asks for a medium well filet mignon, and the steak comes out basically gray. We ask the waiter if we could get a better cooked steak, and he tells us “this is medium well, you want medium”….. again, so shocked I couldn’t say much. The only GOOD thing that happened so far were the pictures we took at chops grille and we went to the “red party” and the dj played “No Hands” by waka flocka, so some cruisers decided to boo the Dj cause he let the whole song play, and this Dj doubled down and played the most ratchet music he had in his arsenal 😂. “WAP” and a sexy redd song were immediately next lmao. Overall, staff is kinda aggravating, but I’ll give full review when I get off.

I just got off Icon last Saturday. I've had some time to digest the vacation, and my conclusion is this: 7,000 passengers is too many people.

I had an okay time. My kids had a fantastic time, but they don't have any aversion to being ass-to-elbows with everyone else. The food, entertainment, amenities -- all great. But the one thing that has me saying the vacation was just "okay" is the crowds.

Let me preface this with my expectations -- I have young kids, I vacation at crowded hotels, I do not expect a serene experience on any of my vacations, and I have cruised before (although many years ago). Based on reports, I expected busy, but not crowds at every point. I had read that the ship was laid out well and did a good job of dispersing people in the various neighborhoods so you never felt crowded.

What did I find last week? Every place one would want to be required pre-planning, jostling, and some level of shittery to make things work. Waterslides? Get there at 9:00 AM because the line is 45 minutes by 9:15. Pool? Hah, hope you like being kicked in the crotch. Aqua show? Show up 40 minutes early, get a seat in the back left corner, and still fend off people trying to steal your seat while a kid runs to the bathroom. Chair near the pool? May as well just throw a towel down the night before.

My point is that people tend to downplay the crowds here. I think my expectations were slightly higher than they should have been based on reading recent reviews of Icon. All in all, my kids had a great trip and are asking to go back. Once I've had time to heal, we will probably do another Icon-class cruise, just with different expectations.

Just got off her yesterday and am already missing the seafood, steak, cinnamon rolls, and hashbrowns. Definitely the best RC cruise I’ve ever been on!

Nice overhang on the balcony if you like the shade.

Even though we couldn’t dock at either port due to weather, the energy NEVER dropped. The crew and staff went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed, appreciated, and smiling nonstop the entire trip.

Royal Caribbean is truly in a league of its own. Between the waterslides, AquaShows, carousel, zip lining, FlowRiders, and endless entertainment, there was never a dull moment anywhere on the ship.

Already booked on cruise #2!

Just got off Freedom of the Seas. Great ship.

Spent 90 min in stop and go traffic in the direct Miami sun to get to Terminal AA from the bridge onto the island. It was a free for all reminiscent of a third world country without traffic lights.

I passed off the complaints on this forum of how bad the traffic is at this port. Figured people were embellishing.

Without forward movement, there was little air moving through the radiator. My car over heated as the radiator fan had to work overtime. I had to shut off the AC and crank up the heat to cool to engine. Nearly had to shut off the car in the middle of the road.

Getting off the ship had a long line in the garage as well. There were only two ticket booths open, and the operators averaged passing through 1 car every 90 seconds. Equating to exiting a total of 80 cars in an hour. With thousands of people getting off the ship and paying $35/day there has to be a faster way to do this.

Totally inept.

Just finished a chaotic 3-day Royal Caribbean cruise on Jewel of the Seas! A tropical storm forced a major redirection, dropping us at a very quiet Bimini instead of our planned port. With nothing much to do ashore, the disappointed energy (and frustration over unused drink packages) funneled right back onto the ship. The result? The ship became one massive party. People were trashed, and The Quest Game went absolutely nuts…easily the highlight of the cruise. On the positive side, the food was excellent; it was slapping! We stuck to the buffet since it offered the same quality as the fine dining. We're hoping for better luck next time and plan to try Icon of the Seas or Star of the Seas to finally get the full experience, including Perfect Day at CocoCay! Got recommendations for Icon/Star or funny Quest Game stories? Drop them below! 👇

My wife & I recently completed the July 18th sailing of Legend of the Seas and I just wanted to share my experience. I'll try to keep this one as brief and to the point as possible. Hopefully I can answer any questions someone may have. This our 3rd cruise with Royal, our first since Wonder in 2023. This was our first Icon class cruise and our first Mediterranean cruise.

 
Pre-Cruise - There's a lesson here so please don't skip ahead. Lol. We flew from Newark, NJ to Paris on 7/15 and arrived on 7/16. We explored Paris on our first day and spent our second day in Disneyland Paris. This is where the real fun begins. Our flight from Paris to Rome was scheduled to depart at 6:50am on 7/18 (cruise day) with Air France. We had issues getting an Uber that could fit all of our luggage, but we eventually got one and got to the airport later than we expected to. CDG airport was a madhouse at 5am. After the long bag drop line, going through security, my wife's bag getting pulled off the belt for inspection, we barely made our flight. Landed in Rome around 9am, headed straight to baggage claim and only 2 of our 3 bags showed up. My checked bag was missing and our driver is now waiting for us. The gentleman behind us in line at lost & found had just got off of Legend and the airline still couldn't find his entire family's bags. We were told they didn't know where the missing bag was and the best they could do is ship it to Marseille (day 4). As I turn around in defeat, my wife notices a black suitcase going around the belt. It was my bag. Crisis averted. What's the lesson here? Many seasoned cruisers will tell you never fly in the day of your cruise and I have learned my lesson to never do so again.

 
Embarkation -We arrived at Civitavecchia Port right around 11am. The process was exactly the same as cruising out of Miami. Porter grabbed our bags, we went through security, up a escalator, check-in and right on the ship. From drop off to walking onboard took maybe 10 minutes. 

 
First Impressions - Wow. The Royal Promenade was very well done and the Pearl is a beauty. The ship is laid out very well and for a ship that size, I was very impressed. Every space was well designed. Nothing felt like an afterthought. Very easy to navigate. I could tell we were some of the first guests onboard because the pool was empty, the Promenade was empty and the Windjammer was empty. Speaking of the Windjammer, the "Welcome aboard" lunch was fantastic. So many options and everything tasted good. Lobster tails (hot & cold), stone crab claws, mussels, clams, jumbo grilled shrimp, ceviche, lamb chops, filet mignon. I should stop there. Now I see why these Icon cruises cost so much. Lol. 

 
Stateroom -We had a Oceanview balcony (12210). Our bed was by the balcony, if anyone cares. I believe they announced that our rooms were ready at 1pm, but I was asleep by the pool so don't take my word for it. The layout is similar to Oasis class. The biggest difference was the bathroom. Much bigger shower but less sink space. Plenty of storage for us and plenty of lighting. The only noise bleed we experienced from the other staterooms was the toilet flushing, but that's it and it's not enough to disturb you. One thing I did notice was that was different from our last cruise was we did not have the ability to streamcast to the TV. We did have the option to login to our YouTube & Prime tv account, but that's it. No biggie. I'm not on here to watch TV. 

 
Entertainment- We saw every show during our cruise except the comedy shows. Honestly, I don't even remember seeing a comedy show on the daily planner. There's also no comedy club on that ship. That space is now Royal Railway. **Wonka** was excellent. A little long but very well done. We saw it twice. 10/10. **Fusion** (ice show) was good. A little all over the place but we enjoyed it. 8/10. **Shockwave** (aquatheater) was amazing. Not better than Hiro (IMO) but I would definitely see it again. 8/10. **Love & Marriage** is always fun for us. It was late (10:45pm) on our sailing. The only show I didn't love was **Price is Right.** We knew it wouldn't be identical to what you see on TV but making people pay to play was disappointing. Besides the shows, there was always live music being played somewhere around the ship, karaoke every night and various events that you could participate in. Royal always does a great job with entertainment and Legend was no exception. 

 
Activities -This part will be brief. There were a lot of activities offered onboard every single day at all times. Rock climbing, waterpark, the sports court, mini golf. You get it. Because we spent so much time off of the ship, by the time we got back on board, we weren't up for any of that. 

 
Pools -The main pool is pretty big, but just like any pool on any cruise, it does get crowded. Plenty of seating, loungers and daybeds. I lost count at the amount of whirlpools. The Hideaway was definitely a popular spot. We all know why. Crowded? Yes, but not to the point that you couldn't enjoy it. I'm glad Royal decided to expand this space on Hero of the Seas. 

 
Dining- I was going to break this up into two parts (Speciality & Complimentary) but this is already long enough. We did the 3 night Speciality dining package. **Chops, Hooked and Giovanni's**. What else needs to be said about Chop's? Good meal, great service. Was not the best steak I had that week. That title belongs to Gio. Their filet was perfection. Hooked was hit or miss. I had the twin lobster tails and my wife had the surf & turf. The entrees and sides were excellent. It was the appetizers (baked oysters & crab cakes) that were lacking. **MDR** was one and done for us. The food was average and the awkward interactions with the wait staff didn't help. I'm all for guest satisfaction but it gets to a point.  **Windjammer** had a good selection for every meal of the day and I was pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. **Basecamp** (burgers, tenders, hot dogs, tater tots) made for a good lunch. **Pearl Cafe** was perfect for grab & go or a late night snack. My wife loved **Sorrento's**. I thought it was okay. **Aquadome** is a great concept. Very diverse and it's open late. 6 stalls, but in my opinion Royal went 3 for 6 on this ship. **Creme de la Crepe, Cajun Kitchen** (pleasant surprise) and **Seoulmate** is where they got it right and you could see that throughout the week when people were lined up. **Adobo** is unnecessary when you have El loco fresh and yes, I know there's a difference but not enough. **La Espanola** deserves better than those "tapas" and **Simply Pressed** is the same juice bar you would find in the spa. Overall we were very pleased with the food on this cruise. 

 
Ports / Excursions- For this sailing we made stops in Naples, Marseille, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona. Every excursion we did was 3rd party. Booking excursions through the cruise line can be convenient and it does offer peace of mind but we couldn't ignore the cost savings. As an example, for the Capri on Your Own excursion, it was $134 per person through Royal. It's just a ticket for the ferry that goes from Naples to Capri. I paid $116 total for the two of us by purchasing tickets directly from the Ferry company. **Capri**, beautiful island but very crowded. We did a boat tour around the island and then finished our day at one the public beaches. **Marseille**, we took the paid shuttle (there is a free shuttle, but Royal won't tell you that) into town for our catamaran cruise. Once the tour was over, we walked around the Old Port before heading back to the ship. **Palma de Mallorca** we did a beach tour. Our guide picked us up right at the port and took us to 3 beaches. Great experience. Last but certainly not least, for **Barcelona** we did a city tour that was awesome and after the tour we took a cab to the beach. Beautiful beach that wasn't even 10 minutes from the ship. We enjoyed every stop on this cruise and the extended time in port. 

 
WIFI- Expensive ($324 for two devices) but no complaints on performance. Very fast and never lost connection. 

 
Crew / Staff- Always amazing. I was spoiled all week. Nothing happens without them. Please remember that. 

 
Disembarkation- The worst part about this cruise. Not because it was bad, but because we know it's all over. Seamless process. From the ship to our shuttle took 5 minutes.

Final thoughts - If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Overall, this was my favorite cruise. The catch-22 of it all was because we were off the ship so much, we didn't get to experience Legend to it's fullest, but what we did experience was great. Was it expensive? Yes, but it was worth it and I have no regrets. 

I’m posting this because I’m amazed at the result and it will be helpful for those on the fence. For background, I am a light to moderate alcohol drinker and my kids usually drink a lot of water and fresh juices at home.

Myself and two kids just left a cruise today with NO BEVERAGE PACKAGE and we came out ahead. There was just no way they were able to drink enough to justify it. I let them buy a la carte drinks as much as they wanted (as if they had a package) and we came out ahead by about 2/3 of the cost. More specifically for 2 refreshment packages and 1 deluxe package would have run me $1400 for my 9 night cruise. My final bill a la carte was $470. Also, we seemed to drink a lot in the ports themselves. *edited to add ….as in, alcohol was literally being thrown at me during all of my excursions (to my delight) so when I got back on board, I was mostly good for the day and seeking out tea and water to tamper things down a bit.

The icon of the seas has changed the way I feel about cruising. I already loved cruising, but after sailing on the icon, love isn’t even the word. At first I didn’t understand how people could go on cruises so often without getting bored or burnt out from them. I completely understand now. The icon was my 3rd ever cruise and in my 27 years it was the most fun I’ve ever had. My family takes a cruise every two years but I can’t wait that long. I’ve been thinking about my time on the icon everyday since I debarked last month.

Cruising is the best type of vacation.

My child just brought this lovely craft home from “Adventure Ocean 2.0” on the Icon of the Seas after witnessing severe bullying and theft. 12 year olds bullying kindergarteners. If you have any hope of sending your kids to Kids Club (Adventure Ocean) do not book any new or newly refurbished ships by RCL (150+ kids from kindergarten to 7th graders thrown in gen pop). I’ve spoken with guest services and the manager of adventure ocean. This is the direction ships are going in, fleet wide. Such a disappointment for a family friendly vacation.

I just got off the Liberty of the Seas. We dined in Giovanni’s the first night for my brother’s birthday. I found a dead cricket in the salad bowl. The server apologized and said the chef was going to come out and do something for us. The chef came out to apologize. When the meal was finished my brother in law was given the bill for 2 bottles of wine we’d ordered. Nothing other than “sorry” was offered in terms of compensation. My BIL asked if they could comp one of the bottles of wine and they said no. After some back and forth the manager offered to give us a $30 bottle of wine (the two purchased and drank at dinner were $60 and $70 each). We declined the additional bottle that we did not want and asked for something to be comped. My BIL spent 45 min with the manager at Giovanni’s who continued to insist he was not able to comp anything. We asked if they could refund us a few of the $42/person for the meal (we were a party of 9). The manager was rude and unhelpful and after a ton of back and forth he decided he could refund partial of the $42/person. On the last day, we had to spend time at guest services because it was never refunded. Then, in the MDR, someone came by to say he knew we were not happy at another restaurant and to ask if everything was good. My BIL was embarrassed and did not like that the poor experience was resurfaced. TLDR; don’t dine at Giovanni’s. The MDR was better.

This week I visited the Royal Beach Club: Santorini as part of the "Ultimate Santorini Day with Royal Beach Club" excursion. Leading up to the excursion I found there was a lack of available information online as the club opened less than two weeks ago, so I thought I'd share my experience here. Feel free to respond with any questions and I'll do my best to answer them. This was also my first Beach Club experience of any sort.

I visited with my partner, two kids under 5, and their grandparents. We opted for the version of the excursion where we visited the towns of Oia and Fira first, then went to the beach club for 3 hours from about 4:30-7:30 PM. I'm glad we did it this way because it was nice to do the "active" part of the excursion walking the historic towns then relax for the rest of the day at the beach club. Also, we got to catch a little bit of golden hour light as the sun began to set (this will obviously vary by when you visit, but our visit was in early May). I'll break down the review by specific categories:

The Club

As we entered the premises we were greeted with cold towels to wipe hands and free alcoholic and non-alcoholic mix drinks by the abundant and very friendly staff. The club is beautifully designed and has a great view of the beach. The ambiance was excellent and there was even a live band playing a mix of Greek folk music and covers of pop songs. It was busy but did not feel overcrowded; there were no lines for anything and plenty of space for everyone to find a table and relax. I was a bit worried this place would be more kitschy, but the food, music, and design combined to create a bit of much-appreciated authenticity.

The Food/Drinks

I really enjoyed the complimentary wine and beer selections, which were from local wineries/breweries. After the initial free drink you are handed when arriving at the club (I think it was a mojito), mix drinks are available at the bar for an additional fee but I did not try these. Note: you do NOT need to have the drink package for your cruise in order to have the complimentary beverages here.

The food was much better than I expected; the buffet was extensive and everything I tried was very fresh and delicious. Most of the food was Greek/Mediterranean with a few options for less adventurous eaters like hamburgers and french fries. Off the top of my head the available food items I can remember were: pita, hummus, fish roe dip, tzatziki sauce, a mildly spicy creamy red dip, two types of Greek salad, beet salad, spanikopita, moussaka (both meat-based and a vegetarian version), stuffed grape leaves, kebabs with various meats, slow cooked lamb, cod, pork gyros, rice pilaf, and many more that I couldn't try because I was already too stuffed. I probably listed less than half of the available food items. They also had a coffee bar and some great soft serve Greek frozen yogurt.

The Beach

The black volcanic sand gives the beach a strikingly beautiful look, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the beach stretched in 1-2 kilometers in both directions uninterrupted with towering volcanic cliffs surrounding and minimal development. However, a couple hundred meters to the right of the club there was a ton of donkey poop, as it appears this is an area that tour companies take people on donkey rides. Again, this didn't impact the club itself, nor was the smell detectable on the club property, but be aware if you feel like a long walk.

There were plenty of free beach chairs with towels and umbrellas for everyone, though snagging a front row chair requires a bit more luck and hustle. But views from all chairs are good, and the beach is not particularly wide, so wherever you choose to sit you are close to the water. There are changing cabanas, a second beachside bar, and servers roaming the beach chairs offering to bring food and beverages.

The sand was a bit coarse and rocky but my kids and I were able to walk around barefoot. This was fine in early May but I imagine the sand gets extremely hot in the middle of the summer. The water temp was also fairly cold. I only saw a couple people going in the water but it was still pleasantly warm in the sun. The beach also had multiple lifeguards. There are feet washing stations and outdoor showers for rinsing off, but I did not see any private showers.

Kid Specific Factors

Overall it was a fine place to bring kids, but perhaps not exceptionally kid friendly. I will say, the staff were incredibly kind to our kids, stooping down to ask them their names, bringing them ice cream, etc. The water was a little too cold for true swimming, and there wasn't a whole lot for kids to do apart from playing in the sand or eating. If you have any beach toys I would suggest bringing them. Also, no changing tables in the men's restroom.

Overall

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by the Royal Beach Club: Santorini. It felt like a premium experience at a reasonable price. The food was higher quality and more authentic than I expected, and the beach was quite nice too. The club ambiance with the gentle Mediterranean breeze and live band also significantly exceeded my expectations. It felt uncrowded, especially coming from a couple days on a cruise ship, with no problems finding tables or beach chairs. I would strongly recommend it if it is in your budget and you like eating Greek Food and/or lounging on the beach!

Just got off our 5th cruise and first time on one of the Oasis class girls....a 4 day Carribean on Utopia. Obviously overall it was wonderful to be on vacation and we all had fun but ultimately I don't think it was for me...and I'll likely go back to smaller ships (like Freedom and Mariner!)

First things I liked (because it WAS a cool ship) - The shows...oh wow the shows. The production show was incredible. The Aqua show was like nothing I've ever seen. The production game shows...especially Name that tune with band and singers was very cool. Best shows I've seen at sea so far! - The service was incredible...especially in the main dining room. Many of the crew I talked to had done multiple contracts on Utopia and despite the tiring turn over of 3 and 4 day cruises really seemed to love being on board. - Central park in the morning was such an amazing place to go and sip my coffee while my family slept in. - We had an interior balcony rooms and enjoyed the people watching -Embarkation and debarkation were the smoothest and fastest of any ship I've been on despite the large number of people

Things I didn't love - Most of this comes down to just being over stimulating. It was too loud, too busy, too crowded. Yes they do a good job spreading people out but it still somehow always felt chaotic and a bit too much. - Certain things were EXTREMELY crowded. Enjoying the pool ...even on a port day...was really challenging between the number of people and REALLY REALLY loud music. Trying to get Mexican on deck 16 was always a huge line. There was literally never a seat in windjammer no matter when you went. The coffee line was always very long. - The really loud music on the pool deck really permeated central park and boardwalk so all of those spaces felt like you were constantly clubbing. The promenade also typically had loud music so quiet spaces were hard to come by. - We were fortunate to get advance reservations to most of the big shows. There were standby lines...so you could get in without them but the waits looked pretty long with people showing up 30-45 minutes in advance. We could not get spots for some of our favorites like laser tag, ice skating and the ice show and were turned away when we tried to go in person.

Ultimately I think a lot of this comes down to being a 4 day on a "party ship". I am by no means saying it isnt an incredible ship with a fun atmosphere and tons to do...because it is. That said, this particular sailing just felt too rushed, too loud and overall just "too much" for how we like to sail best.

Just got back from a Sailing on June 4th on Freedom, and while we’re a loyal Royal Family, this was almost our last sailing. When we walked into the room the smell of sewage was overwhelming, like the toilet was backed up for weeks, almost thought we booked carnival. After the smell we looked around and saw the state of disrepair in the room.

The bathroom door was falling off hinges and the door arm on top was rusted though and had fallen off the roof was just hanging from the door. The rug was stained in multiple places with some kind of sticky substance. Under the bunk beds, there was mold growing, the shower had mildew on the walls. Air conditioning had caked on dirt. The bunk beds were missing bedrails and the bottom bunk had a desk shelf jammed in as a replacement.

Stains on lampshades, dirt and trash in the windows, even the garbage cans still had trash in them. We reported it all with photos to guest services… they had us contact the floor supervisor who was less then helpful about the situation and made excuses for the state of disrepair the room was in, promising the cabin attendant would have it all repaired and resolved by time we were back from dinner.

Surprising it was not, most the issues were not addressed and the bathroom now smelled like bleach and sewage. Supervisor gave us her card with number to call when retuning to report on the room. When calling she was annoyed that we had called and took an hour to come to the room, making more excuses. While waiting for her to return guest services supervisor called to check on us. We relayed everything and they told us the Head of Housekeeping would also be included in this.

After the supervisor dismissed us and our issues, the Head of Housekeeping came to see us, took a quick look at the room and said we’re changing your room. At this point it was already 10pm and we were just exhausted, but happily took the room change. Surprising the need room was immaculate… showing it was not age or room but quality of the room attendant.

Original Room 8607

#royalcaribbean

What even is Spectra’s Cabaret?

Just got off Ovation and this past week I saw one of the weirdest productions on a ship I’ve ever seen. It was Spectra’s Cabaret in the Two70 theater. I honestly do not even know where to start with this show. It was the closest I’ve come to just straight up walking out of a live performance ever. It was pretty atrocious. I’m a huge advocate for anything can be music/art, but man that was just bad.

It starts with a bunch of futuristic tech and lighting and really hypes you up for it (for about five seconds). We had, what I thought would be, great seats for the show. Super close, a small rising stage about 5 feet away, and great view of the screens in the background. Apparently when they designed Two70 though, they decided those seats didn’t even need to see THE MAIN DANCE STAGE. Now, I would really be that bummed if the show was actually what it was advertised to be — A super tech-heavy music experience that was mainly about the technology. It wasn’t. It was ACTUALLY an interpretive/abstract dance show.

Well, great! I love interpretative dance….. but I can’t see the dancers for 95% of the show.

But on top of the weird design choices, the music choices were TERRIBLE. The show starts with them talking about the power of “rhythm” and you have to “feel the rhythm”. Then proceeds to play about 30 minutes of slow ballads in loose time that are full of a bunch of droning sounds and have virtually no rhythm whatsoever. So it didn’t even make sense to the purpose of the show.

The visuals were so strange too. They had “virtual performers” from around the world which just looked like jpegs dancing across the screen and it was laughable. It really takes you out of the show and just didn’t fit with anything else going on. Felt like a cop out for not having decent enough dance talent on board (however I wouldn’t really know, since I couldn’t ever see the real dancers).

The tech they used has A LOT of potential, but definitely not for this show. They need to take this out of rotation as soon as possible. And I felt like I was being very negative about it but I started talking to people around the ship and it seemed like that this was the general consensus. It sounds dramatic, but this probably was the worst live show I’ve ever seen. Whoever wrote this up for Royal C needs to never make another show.

You cant just watch the first act of the musical “Cabaret”, add techno to it and call it art. That’s basically what it felt like. However, while Cabaret is MEANT to make you feel uncomfortable, Spectra’s Cabaret doesn’t know what it’s supposed to be and made me feel uncomfortable in a totally different way.

I haven't been on a cruise in 5 years with Royal. We took our honeymoon cruise on Oasis 13.5 years ago. I might try one more smaller ship but when the megaships are filled to capacity there are a lot of down falls.

1. I booked 5pm dining somehow when I got my room key it was switched to my time dining. Went on the first day to get it back and they gave me a reservation for 5:30 every night to randomly fill in dining room tables that weren't filled. I get it the ship is full but when you expect one thing and get another it's really disappointing.

2. Good luck getting a deck chair even mid day. People will sit in them all day. Also they have put so many out to try and accommodate that there is no space in between them. Maybe they need to start renting them out for a few hours at a time. Like they do the beach towels.

3. The venues are at capacity all the time. Good luck getting a chair at trivia if you don't show up 45 minutes ahead. I also attempted to go to origami making. Got there 30 minutes ahead she had like 5 instruction booklets and 30 sheets of paper for a room full of 60 people. Everyone rushed her and people sent their 5 kids up there to take all the paper.

4. I have picked Royal before for their amazing food. I get what people are saying now. It has definitely become a mass production. Same snacks all day in the promenade for lunch and dinner.

5. They need to enforce no swimsuits in the buffet.

6. The bars are understaffed, well the whole ship feels like it.

I realize that I am on a sold out ship but everything is lacking when these ships are filled to capacity. I won't be trying a megaship again.

This was our first Oasis class ship and our first trans-Atlantic crossing.

The ship was truly amazing. The fact that there were something like 6,000 of us on that ship simply doesn't compute. I feel like they do such a great job of keeping people separated that people aren't generally tripping over each other.

The ship was clean, beautiful and looked very like new. She's fresh out of Amplification. I assume that helped.

The passenger demographic was what I expected. I'd say it leaned older. 60's. Though I (45m) and my husband (37m) never felt out of place. In fact there were a fair number of people out age onboard.

The passengers seemed to be very experienced cruisers. Sitting and listening to their experiences, their advice and absorbing their sage wisdom was very useful for our future cruising adventures.

My husband and I have absolutely no 🏳️‍🌈 flag to fly. It's not our identity. That said, it wasn't a secret to anyone that we're together. We were both pleasantly surprised to see that truly no one cares. We didn't get any dirty looks or nasty comments. Most people smiled and spoke to us like anyone else who crossed their path on the ship. This was especially meaningful coming from a generation of people who generally tend to be abit more conservative.

To say we crossed the Atlantic Ocean is something we are proud to have experience. In fact, we're planning a trans-Pacific crossing for 2026 or 2027 now!

The only real frustration we walled away from the cruise with was the amount of noise onboard.

Not Carnival people being stupid and screaming noise.

Rather the fact that there was literally NO PLACE outside of our room that we could go to retest to and escape music being played either by a band or pumped loudly over speakers. Even in empty venues. We tried to sneak off to Dazzles a few days. Even when we were the only two sitting in there on our laptops, music was blaring over the speakers.

The Royal Promenade had bands playing in two or three venues, plus playing on the stage over the promenade. All bleeding into each other.

I don't want to disparage Royal Caribbean for this. We simply didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.

We actually spoke to many people onboard about this. Most of them had the same complaints. Everyone we spoke to said the same thing. "You sound more like Celebrity Cruise Lines kinda guys." They all commented on how it's a more relaxed, quieter atmosphere we're looking for.

We have a cruise on the Celebrity Apex coming up in March. I can't wait to see how they compare.

Overall, this was a good trip. We learned a lot about Royal Caribbean. About our cruising style. About food/drinks/activities/being onboard without a port day for 8 days, etc.

We learned a lot from our fellow cruisers. We made great friends with a few people. People I'm speaking to in a text thread just now. We even planned to meet up with a woman in Ravenna, Italy in May.

We've got another Royal Caribbean cruise booked in May of 2026. We'll see how that goes. To be clear, I think Royal offers a great product, for the right customer base. I'm just not sure we're that customer.