A review: RCCL scores big on Scandinavian cruise

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about cruising, it’s don’t let online reviews set your expectations.

One of the challenges of reviewing a cruise is that there are so many variables involved, not to mention individual expectations.

Keeping things in proper perspective is a real challenge. In the case of our recent cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas (our ninth on RCCL and third on the Navigator) )exceeded my expectations – by a long shot.

The atrium at the entrance of the Navigator of the Seas' promenade  

Why?  Because in many ways Royal Caribbean continues its Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde approach to cruising.

The Dr. Jekyll (who was the nice guy) was seen by the service and outstanding friendliness of the ship’s staff, service, food, entertainment – in other words, the cruising experience.

Royal Caribbean continues, so it seems, to take on the role of the evil Mr. Hyde in its policies and miserable ability to communicate with its customers. The result of RCCL’s operations can, so it seems, adversely affect expectations before embarking on a cruise. Truth be told, I looked into canceling our cruise because of the run around I was getting from RCCL on simple – really simple – questions.

The best example was my efforts to find out how many formal nights were on our 12-night “Northern Delights” cruise that left from South Hampton, England on June 2. This, in my mind, is a simple question.  But not when it comes to RCCL. Numerous phone calls and emails to its customer service centers resulted in the same absurd answer, which was “on seven night cruises the formal nights are day two and day five. If there’s an additional formal night on a longer cruise, it’s up to the captain.” I was told to call back a week before the cruise and there would be a definitive answer. There wasn’t. Seriously.

Oh, and seriously wrong. We were immediately told there were three formal nights. To add a little gas to the fire, every communication included an upsell.  My favorite one was from a customer service rep who told me that if there were more than two formal nights and I didn’t want to pack for additional ones, all I had to do was have it dry cleaned while on board.  Sorry, pal, that’s not how I plan for a cruise.

The incessant pre-cruise upselling can result in dour expectations for passengers, and can pose a challenge for the ship’s crew.

Enter the crew of the Navigator of the Seas. It was simply top notch and provided perhaps the best service we have had on an RCCL cruise from stateroom attendant to Windjammer staff and the rest of the staff.

The staff and service reflected the nature of the cruise.  It exceeded my expectations, although I’m sure some people probably did not have the same experience.  Welcome to cruising.

If there’s a situation where “you can’t please all the people all of the time,” it’s cruising. Needless to say, it a daunting task to please thousands of people on a cruise ship.

Go to an online cruise site and you’ll see what people raved about and what people hated about a specific cruise. News flash –RCCL, or any other cruise line – can’t control the weather.  Here are some of my reactions to the June 2 Northern Delights cruise out of South Hampton.

·         Embarkation / Debarkation: * * * * * Sailing out of return to South Hampton, England was amazing. Period. It took 20 minutes at most for us to get on the ship from the time we arrived at the dock. I’m not sure if this was due to efficiency by the port authority or RCCL, but whatever was done worked amazingly well. RCCL staff was pleasant in welcoming us and directing us through the process.  Debarkation was even more efficient.  We were scheduled to be in our area at 7 a.m. We arrived around 6:50 and were told that we could go right to the bus. There was no waiting in a lounge, no listening for an announcement. Our bus to Heathrow left a 7:15 a.m. Buses were also assigned by terminal, so there was only one stop. Again, the whole process was well done.

·         Itinerary:  * * * *1/2 This is a personal thing. I found all of the ports (Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Bruges) interesting. Of the stops, Oslo lacks the pizazz and charm of the others. More time in some ports could have been nice, but we did not feel as though we missed anything. People who rip an itinerary should realize that, according to Cruise Director Cuddy Cudworth, itineraries are selected two years ahead of time. The number of spaces in a port combined with the number of ships schedule to be in a port at a specific time dictate the length of time a ship is in port.  Also, passengers know ahead of time where they’re going and how long they’ll be there. Cudworth did note that weather or local port authorities can alter an itinerary. Cudworth noted that “our first priority is guest safety,” which makes sense. Videos about each port, hosted by Cudworth, run on the ship’s internal television system.

·         Communication with passengers.  * *1/2 Perhaps the biggest ding on his cruise. The biggest problem occurred the first day in St. Petersburg.  As it is an early debarkation, some excursions due off the ship between 7 and 7:30. The issue, which may seem minor to some passengers, was what venues were available for breakfast. The dining room staff said the Windjammer would open at 7 a.m. as always, but breakfast would be available at the Cafe Promenade, the 24-hour facility in the ship’s promenade, which is hardly sufficient to handle thousands of passengers at one time.  It turns out that the Windjammer allegedly opened at 6:30 during the first day. There was similar confusion for the second day in St. Petersburg regarding Windjammer hours as some staff said 6 a.m., some said 6:30 while some maintained the usual 7 a.m. opening time would remain. It turned out the Windjammer did open early on the second day in St, Petersburg, but seating was limited and staff had to scramble to keep up with the crowds.  It’s important to note that delays in St. Petersburg may be due by the meticulous checking by Russian immigration authorities.

·         Food. * * * *.  All-in-all, the dining on the was very good. However, different folks have different tastes.  The selection and quality in the Windjammer was excellent.  Some people might question the large selection of Asian and Indian cuisine, but it appears RCCL tries to offer passengers more than the usual bill of fare.  I tend to be a bit more tolerant of the Windjammer because of the Herculean task of feeding thousands of passengers.  Despite the ongoing onslaught, the service in the Windjammer is very good. We ate dinner in the dining room, so my points of reference are for breakfast and lunch.  For what it’s worth, I found the breakfast fries outstanding.  Other breakfast selections are also excellent.

o   Dining Room.  Surprisingly good.  I say that because my expectations may have been dampened by online posters who ripped the food.  The menus were adequate, although I’m not a fan of themed dinner menus. It’s not perfect.  I had one meal that lacked and voiced my concerns, which were follow-up by both our head waiter and the area supervisor.  My biggest mistake was not returning the entrée as opposed to picking through and then mentioning it the next day.  The soups were quite good. Lunches in the dining room are also good.  The salad bar where staff makes customized salads is exceptional (remind them not to put on too much dressing) with an impressive array of items.  I did not have breakfast in the dining room.

·         Entertainment:  * * * *. The RCCL production shows remain generally solid. As usual, cruise ship comedians are not outstanding entertainment. What anchored the entertainment were performances by Toni Warne, second-place finisher on “The Voice UK” and Graffiti Classics, also UK based.  Both were exceptional with Graffiti Classics doing a performance the next day in the promenade. 

o   Ice Show.  Yes, this deserves a separate section.  It’s really good.  What the skaters do on a small rink is more than impressive.  There were some wags who thought RCCL was going cheap by not having European skaters.  Get a life. A skater’s nationality does not equate to ability.  Bottom line, don’t miss the show.

Part of the Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia

·         Excursions:  * * * *.  It’s hard to rate excursions as will reflect your specific interest.  Some, like our two-day package in St. Petersburg (highly recommended) was excellent.  The quality of an excursion is often dictated by the quality of guides.  Our guides in St. Petersburg were excellent. Canal-based excursions in Copenhagen and Bruges are recommended.  Our tours in Oslo and Helsinki, while enjoyable, were not drop-dead amazing.  While Oslo’s Viking and Kon-Tiki museums are interesting, a tour of The Vigeland Park is worth visiting.  It is the world's largest sculpture park made by a single artist (Gustav Vigeland) and is an amazing collection.

·         Ship maintenance:  * * * *.  Generally solid, which means I did not see any major issues. The large hot tub in the spot could use some sprucing up as could the Spa locker rooms (I can only speak for the men’s), but overall the ship seemed to be in great shape.  Yes, there will be some subtle wear and tear on furniture and doors, but considering the number of passengers and abuse some may offer, it’s minimal.

·         Intangibles.  * *.  Yes, two stars.  This does not, however, have anything to do with the ship’s crew, itinerary, etc., but more with the Mr. Hyde side of RCCL.

o   Incessant up-selling. Note to RCCL, I don’t need to be accosted every time I enter the Windjammer.  Pitches for spa treatments, foot treatments, drink packages and specialty restaurants rival only those provided by home siding or car sales people.  It. Is. Annoying.  I also found the in-your-face pitches for drink packages as soon as you got on the ship most annoying.  I prefer to be welcomed by professionally uniformed crew as opposed to folks wearing T-shirts touting drink packages every step of the way.  Save them for the bar areas.

o   Cluttered promenade.  A kiosk or two is fine, but the large display case at the start of the promenade not only impedes walking, it’s too much in-your-face selling.

o   Photos.  A positive here.  The new system of selecting photos is excellent.  No more rummaging through hundreds of photos to find yours.  A quick swipe of your SeapassTM make the process easy and painless and gives you the option to print or download your photos. Photos are pricey, but that’s to be expected in a vacation venue.

o   Crown and Anchor.  Still a nice benefit, although the online benefits are seemingly useless.  On the flip side, the Diamond Lounge for Diamond and Diamond-plus members, is excellent.  Members get three complimentary drinks between 5 and 8:30 p.m. at the ship’s bars.  If you don’t want to hang out at a bar, there are complimentary beverages and hors d'oeuvres in the Diamond Lounge. There is also a nice continental breakfast.  Coffee is available all day long. The Diamond Lounge also has an outdoor seating area.  The only “down side”, and it’s a minor one, is that the Diamond Lounge on the Navigator adjoins the Viking Crown Lounge, which generally is not a big deal – until they offer dance classes, at which time the noise is more than annoying.  Easy fix – have the dance classes elsewhere as they have done on other RCCL ships.

To sum it up, this particular sailing was exceptionally good.  As noted, any annoyances appeared to be generated by Royal Caribbean’s policies and initiatives to enhance revenues through on-ship sales.  The bottom line, however, is the sailing experience, which (once again) on this cruise was excellent.