Royal Caribbean

My husband and I have been loyal to Royal Caribbean for over a decade because they are far superior to other cruise lines that I have cruised (Princess, Carnival, Celebrity; although Celebrity was a close second). No matter which ship we have sailed on, the service, entertainment, and food have always been exceptional, especially in their specialty restaurants.

However, I do not recommend sailing on their smaller, older ships, which are a bit tired, hence the loss of one star in my review (but they still have great service and food). Cabins and amenities in the newer and/or larger ships are amazing. We often cruise out of Florida and most recently Europe and have not been disappointed.

Whenever there is a problem, it is always handled swiftly. If you like casinos, they are always fun, too.

Im honestly furious about how we're being treated on our cruise with Royal Caribbean out of Galveston right now. What was supposed to be a fun trip turned into one of the most stressful, uncomfortable and demeaning experiences weve ever had.

Our group includes a few full-time livestreamers this is literally our job, and we made sure to clear everything with Royal Caribbean ahead of time.

We followed every rule and were extremely respectful toward other guests. But from the moment we boarded, it felt like even our presence in a room wasn't welcome in the eyes of Royal Caribbean staff.

First, where it became clear that we were no longer appreciated customers on the cruise... Malicious viewer sends staff an out-of-context clip and the security team immediately took the bait without hesitation. Very unprofessional / amateur mistake that really should have been a red flag to stop and dig deeper into what was going on.

On the very first night, security stopped several of us and dragged us into their office like wed done something criminal.

They claimed theyd received complaints from passengers, but when we pressed for details, their story changed suddenly the narrative was they were sent video clip links by anonymous people who werent even on the ship.

(Immediately we knew the reason security was detaining us. Any IRL streamer can confirm with certainty that every detail of this interaction is definitely a textbook "caller" created issue.)

Those clips security received came from trolls watching the livestream online who had taken a short, harmless moment out of context a conversation outside a cabin door that had an upside-down pineapple (yes, the universal swinger symbol) and a sticker that literally said knock if youre h*rny. Obviously, the people inside that cabin werent offended; it was part of the joke. But instead of taking two minutes to verify that, security instead jumped straight to verbally berating us, and condemning us for knocking on the door.

We were verbally scolded, threatened, given ultimatums and just all around intimidated and bullied by the Royal Caribbean security team. Basically we were treated like a bad dog who went to the bathroom on the carpet...

They took our information, intimidated us, and warned wed be kicked off the ship and reported to Mexican police if they received another complaint. ... I cannot find the words to describe how absurd and humiliating this was.

They never once spoke to the couple from that cabin, never checked the door, never confirmed who even sent those emails. Never considered our side of the story. Absolutely zero due diligence; and this is ultimately what set the tone for such a horrendous nightmare of an experience we're still in middle of with Royal Caribbean right now.

The training programs at Royal Caribbean need serious review and overhaul; it has failed to represent the Royal Caribbean brand, and its shareholders on a massive scale - and I can't stress how genuine that statement is. It was not hyperbole.

Second..Hostility and isolation.

After that, everything changed.

Staff started treating us like we were radioactive. Every time we enter a room with our phones in-hand, as we always do (That is how we do our job lol.) we always go out of our way to ensure we're being respectful and mindful of other passengers. However, now every time upon entering a room, someone from Royal Caribbean staff almost always immediately approach us with attitude directing us to move along, and scolding us loudly in front of other passengers.

This keeps happening so openly, with no discretion, to the point that other guests have been picking up on the tone and joining in.

As if it wasn't already enough getting the hostility from staff. Now everything is just compounding on itself over and over again.

From being whispered about, stared at, and excluded from activities. It has felt like we're being herded away from everyone else, like animals

Third. Refusing service ... record breaking levels of accommodations - or lacktherof...

As if that wasnt bad enough, the hostility spread to the various vendors within the ship interior.

Myself and another streamer went to schedule a reservation for a simple haircut in one of the onboard salons; and we were flat-out told they couldnt help us.

No explanation, nothing.

Moments later, the same stylists happily took in other passengers who walked in right after us. There's nothing to call this other than pure and simple blatant discrimination, and it was humiliating.

We werent causing trouble. We werent breaking rules. We're paying customers trying to enjoy our cruise.

In fact, if counting all purchases we've made so far, beyond ticket value and drink packages, the amount the streamers have spent collectively from the vendors on the ship, likely puts our average spend at multiples above the typical Royal Caribbean passenger. Anyhow.. by this point, the staffs misplaced bias has just spread so far, like an infection that it feels too far gone to resolve; nor is that ball in our court. I hope our awful experience helps save others from being subjected to such a dysfunctional and ineffective team that Royal Caribbean has stringed together for that ship.

Hopefully this review reaches a decision makers desk and it triggers a review of all these issues; so that the team on this ship can get the overhaul it so critically needs.

and finally, how Royal Caribbean failed...

Royal Caribbean completely failed to handle this situation responsibly. Instead of investigating or verifying facts, they chose to believe anonymous trolls sitting behind computer screens somewhere in the world. They allowed those trolls to control how we were treated onboard.

Their staff and security ignored basic fairness, humiliated us publicly, and denied us the same respect and service every other paying guest received.

It was unprofessional, unethical, and deeply disappointing.

Royal Caribbeans own Guest Conduct Policy says guests will be treated respectfully and fairly. That promise was completely broken on this trip.

While on a recent cruise, RC charged my credit card $200. When I called customer service to inquire what it was, I was told it was for a future cruise deposit.

I did not authorize the charge but told them, 'ok, just send me confirmation of the credit so I can use it on a future cruise.' Then they said they had no record that they made the charge, so I sent a copy of my credit card statement. They said they still had no record and I had to contact my bank. The accounting department has no record of a $200 charge and $200 receipt from my bank—really? It's absurd.

I had 7 more points to reach their Platinum status, but not after this experience.

What a nightmare company with bizarre business policies! I have written them off and would advise others to proceed with caution if booking with this cruise line.

In August, my wife and I booked a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise for April 2026 aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas. It is an older ship, but we wanted to avoid crowds on larger, newer ships on our first cruise.

I went onto the RC website in October and found that RC had changed our Western cruise to an Eastern Caribbean cruise. I called customer service, and they did not have any notice of a change, but did show the cruise as an Eastern cruise. At first they argued that I had booked an Eastern cruise, not a Western cruise----until I pointed out my booking receipt. At that time they had no idea what was happening.

I called back the next day, and they said that the Rhapsody was being redeployed.

The only choices the resolution team would give us were to: 1. Go where we didn't want to go, 2. Pay more to go on a different ship on another date, 3. Get a refund.

They only gave me 48 hours to make a decision.

I decided to take the refund. We have since escalated the complaint, to no avail. I have now seen reviews from others who were only notified of redeployment the day before their cruise, and were not even offered a refund. I wonder if that was their plan for our cruise???

I have no desire to do business with a company that has so little regard for their customers.

I have since booked with Princess Cruises. I hope they don't treat their customers like cattle the way RC does.

We booked a 7-night Western Caribbean Cruise for April 2026 on the Rhapsody of the Seas. This was to be a first-time cruise for us.

We wanted to go on a smaller ship to avoid the crowds, and wanted to visit the ports listed.
I went onto the RC website in October, and found that my cruise was now to the Eastern Caribbean Islands, which we have no desire to visit. When I first called customer service, they had received no notice of the change. I called back a day later and was told that the Rhapsody was being redeployed and that I could go on the Eastern cruise, pay more for a Western cruise on another ship, or get a refund. I was also given 48 hours to make a decision, or I would be locked into the Eastern cruise.
We have spoken to them a couple of times since, and they are anything but helpful.

I elected to get a refund, as I am not interested in doing business with a company that has so little regard for their customers.

I have re-booked a cruise with Princess Cruises. Maybe they will treat us like people instead of like cattle.