We just returned from a cruise on RC's Radiance of the Seas. The trip paled in comparison to my cruise with RC to the Caribbean in 1999 on the Monarch of the Seas. The food was NOT up to the standards that it should have been, by any means. My husband is a chef and we were highly disappointed with the food in the dining room. The buffet food was good. The dining room food should have been top notch and it was only average. We went to Alaska, which was beautiful, but the trip was only okay. RC "lost" our luggage on the way to the airport. No one from RC bothered, at any time, to give us an explanation for what happened. We were at the airport around 9am to catch our 12:20pm flight. RC told us that our luggage would be there and because of them, we missed our flight and were told that we had to pay for our travel accomodations upfront and they would later reimburse us when we sent a letter with receipts to corporate. We arrived home a day later than expected and had to stay overnight in an unfarmiliar town. We had to arrange a hotel ourselves. Did I mention that there were people on the ship who had blocked up toilets for the entire first 4 days. RC just told them that they were working on it. They could not use the toilet in their room. And this type of treatment is what we have come to accept? I think not. I will never travel with Royal Caribbean again. Ever.

Don't be too hard on Royal Caribbean all mass market lines are cutting corners. Keep in mind that the price of a cruise vacation is a lot less than it used to be when you consider inflation adjusted dollars. Especially
considering all of the additional amenities like balconies, multiple entertainment venues, spas, health facilities, multiple dining options, etc.

If you are looking for the food and ambiance of a decade ago you will have to go on a luxury cruise and pay the piper.

By the way, lost luggage and backed up toilets can happen on any vacation, cruise or land.

Glad you enjoyed Alaska.

What a nightmare. So sorry to hear about this. We had something similar a few years ago on RC (not as bad as yours) but things went wrong constantly even our shipboard account was overcharged by almost $1,000, food was mediocre, lines to get on ship, lines to get off ship, shower drain backed up daily. It was a BAD experience all together and we're easy to please travelers. I wrote a letter to RC and got a form letter reply which never addressed one of our issues and no apology.

At that point we decided to either give up cruising all together or try a different cruise line. We opted for the latter and booked a cruise to Alaska on Radisson (now it's renamed REGENT) and it turned out to be the most perfect cruise we could have ever asked for. Now we'll never go back. In our case we might not have tried another cruise line so our "cruise from hell" turned out to be a blessing in disguise,maybe your fiasco will too!! I think rather than give up cruising you too just need to find a line that suits your needs.

Sorry about your bad experience, danachad.

Didn't you accompany your luggage back to the airport?

We have cruised on HAL twice, we're new to cruising, and with the exception of disembarkation, loved both trips. We're cruising with them again in December to Mexico.

I have been on only one cruise. We went on the Mariners of the sea(which is a vouger class ship)we did not have any problem. I do remember we had a person eating with us, and she said she went on the same cruise ship as you, and had the same experance, but she did one of those back to back cruises, and she went on our cruise ship, and said she loved the food, and everything else on this ship better.

We experienced a 'cruise from hell' on a River trip in the Spring. A lot of unfortunate things happened but the tour company was less than interested. Now we are trying another one, one that has not had the bad PR and bad press that Grand Circle has had. Lesson learned, research the forums, and the history of the cruise line, to see how they deal with customers when things go wrong.

We just returned from the RCCL mediterranean cruise - NEVER AGAIN !! The amount of people of that cruise was way too many for me - never was able to get a lounge chair near the pool ! Food service was rushed and the food was terrible !! Campbell's soup is better - and the "Golden Delious Apple Soup" was mashed apple sauce - we were so disappointed ! Never Again !! Small ships for me !