Observations and Perspectives, Harmony Dec 12-19 2021

[Bubba Hotep]

First time cruising family.

Part 1-Background

A little background to give you some perspective.  The first 3 years of my Naval career were spent on a destroyer out of Japan before moving to the dry side of the Navy.  I've been wanting to take my family on a cruise to let them have the shipboard experience as well as myself experiencing time on a ship relaxing and not sleeping in a rack (ie coffin locker) or standing watch.  I also wanted to give my parents the opportunity to see Mayan ruins before they're too old to travel.  I researched cruises on the MWR travel site.  From all the reviews we read and info as far as we could tell, it came down to the choice between Norweigen with everything included or Royal Caribbean which was a little cheaper but everyone raved at the food and experience being MUCH better so we opted for Royal Carib Harmony of the Seas leaving Port Canaveral Dec 12.  Thru American Forces Travel there were multiple offer benefits including a bonus stateroom credit which for our 2 balcony staterooms was somewhere around 200ish along with multiple discounts.  I called the phone number because we had a lot of questions we needed answers to.  While talking to the representative she stated they could match the military offer so I went ahead and booked straight through Royal Caribbean. A week later we logged in and noticed there wasn't any mention of credit so we called.  Long story short after multiple calls, promises of return calls from supervisors that never happened, we were told that they don't match offers from other "travel agents" and nothing would be done.  Now I know it's not a large sum of money and really doesn't matter much in the long run but to me it's a matter of respect and sticking to your word.  If you're not going to stick to what you first said, then your already starting off on the wrong foot with me.  To be cont.....

[Bubba Hotep]

Part 2-Onboarding

We flew into Orlando 3 days early.  Definitely worth it in my opinion especially flying from the west coast.  It allowed us to shed the jet lag and relax in a Florida resort for a few days before sailing.  I can't recommend it enough.  Do it, you'll thank me.  We arrived in Port Canaveral an hour ahead of time, had a quick light lunch and then headed to our check-in. We arrived in line 15 mins before our scheduled check in time (attendant said close enough to time and go ahead) and went through with just a few hiccups.   It seems that even though they've known this has been coming for well over a month, having an under 12 year old that IS fully vaccinated seems to throw them in disarray.  His proof had to be scanned in 3 separate times at different points and he was stopped by over a dozen different employees asking where his "non vaccinated" sticker was.  Suffice it to say we kept his vaccination card out the whole process.   Overall, checkin process pretty smooth if not slightly annoying.  We were on-board by 1pm, in our stateroom by 2pm, luggage arrived by 3pm.  Not bad at all.   To be cont......

[Bubba Hotep]

Part 3- Onboard experience so far..

Well, Sunday started good.  We had  lunch after coming on board, checked out the balcony rooms which are surprisingly roomy, did our safety brief, unpacked, explored the ship a little and got ready for the afternoon.  It was at that point that we noticed that our cards showed an assigned dinner time and table even though we had selected "my time dining".  We make our way to guest services to stand in line and wait.  We discovered that because we had an under 12 child with us that they automatically assumed he wasn't vaccinated (despite notifying them by phone prior to travelling that he would be vaccinated AND showing proof upon arrival) and therefore canceled our my time dining.   This would become a recurring problem and not just to us but others traveling with vaccinated kids.  Let the fun begin.......tbc.

[IzzyB]

I was curious how it would go with under 12 vaccinated since this was the first weekend that people could be on ships with vaccinated under 12.  Seems they are not prepared at all.  That sucks as I was hoping for some rules changes in AO and stuff like that in prep for this.

[Bubba Hotep]

Part 3 - continued

Forgive me for breaking these posts apart.  Paid for wifi today and it's been spotty in cabin.  So we got our dining changed back to my time dining, hit the pool and while there used the app to start booking shows.  And hit another snag, according to the app, our youngest doesn't meet the requirements for any of the shows marked with the "V" (vaccinated).  Another trip to guest services, another rep scratching his head trying to figure out why and an answer of "it just doesn't work but you can call us and we'll schedule them for you from here".  It was also at that point that we learned from the rep that the in-app "app to app messaging" that our 12 yo wanted to use so they could have a small amount of freedom going to the teen club but still stay in touch with us, wasn't actually free (didn't mention any fee in any of the web pages or videos or reviews we saw) but actually costs $2 per person, per day.   Not a big amount but between that and other undisclosed fees we weren't expecting,  we're starting to feel nickle and dimed and it feels petty.

Still though, while not what I would have considered causing a "bad" experience, add in the other little things like large carpet stains in the room and crew members attitudes being hit and miss (about 80/20) with some being great like our cabin steward and others almost bordering on  disrespectful and it's something to sort of leave a bad taste in your mouth. 

We went to dinner which was explained to us as being a block of time from 6 to 9 that gave us the flexibility of planning our dinner around activities.   At the host station we were immediately told we needed to pick a time that they would lock in for us each night.  Only after arguing with the host that we were told we could pick my time dining so we DIDN'T have to pick a set time for all of our dinners did he then state that "You will have to reserve your dinner time each morning. IF we lock you into a time you'll get your 'favorite' table and the staff will know what you like. ". Flexible-ish I guess.  He put us down for 8:15 each night.  So much for the  "my time" in my time dining.

Dinner staff were amazing that first night.  They took the time to learn the kids names and likes/dislikes etc.  It became pointless though as I'll explain later.  They got us through and on our way to see "Grease" on time (should have bribed the staff to make just me late so I could sneak out of that one ).  Wife and daughter loved it.  If only the highs stayed high after that......tbc

[Neesa]

So sad to hear this, but not surprising at all. We have been on two sailings since the Royal Come Back & have had similar experiences and felt exactly what you are expressing here. Something is "off" on board. I felt like "yes, we will be happy to take your hard earned money, but after that it's kind of hit or miss. I really felt a vibe of "why are you here?"

I make sure to have a smile on my face and feel empathy towards the hard working staff always, yet I was left continually thinking "Really, you are okay with this? You think this is right? "  Royal Come Back or Royal Get Back Off Our Ship?

Following along, sadly. 

I am willing it to turn around for you guys, and I'm with you Grease was not my favorite. We had a huge sticky stain on our cabin rug also, just ignored it though as it was out of the way but I did think did the cabin steward see this? 

*Also, not canceling any reserved sailings moving forward just yet, so there is that. My inner dialogue is always glass half full but Royal had it spilling over more then a few times since we've been "back"

[Bubba Hotep]

Part 4 - Day 2 We have how much time?

When we looked at our schedule it only allowed 4.5 hours in Nassau so pulling in at 10:30 we decided we were going to just do one of the dolphin tours which was listed at 4 hours long. We woke up and on the way to breakfast what would become the "dreaded 3 dings" echoed through the ship followed by the Captain announcing that because of a medical emergency during the night that required an evacuation, we would be arriving an hour late in Nassau but we would leave later then scheduled to allow the same time scheduled.  This was followed by several more announcements that we were running even more late which then caused some tours to be cancelled (bye bye dolphins).  So we just left the ship and walked around for a couple hours shopping before heading back to the ship.  Total in port time, roughly 3 hours.  A couple we had met had their initial pre booked tour cancelled so they had booked a beach day that morning for over $100 per person.  After all the delay they arrived at the beach club after 1 and had to leave at 2:15 to be back on the ship in time.  An expensive hour for sure.  When they got back they went to guest services and not only were the original tour charges not refunded yet, they were told they would have to call a number to try to get any type of refund or compensation for the hour "beach day".  At this point I started to wonder what the point of guest services is besides booking shows or fixing sea pass cards.....

DAY 3 - Formal night.....

We woke up to the morning of day 3 ready to have a fun day and put on our finest for dinner. So far the food has been average to excellent so very good overall.....tbc (switching from wifi)

[Bubba Hotep]

Part 4 - Day 3 Formal night continued....

Sorentos, good pizza, Windjammers, mostly good to excellent with a few dry overcooked misses, main dining mostly excellent with just a couple misses.  

We spent the day at the pool, watched one of the movies playing and later dressed up for dinner.  We arrived at the main dining deck 3 host area at 8:10 and were informed a short while later that someone was at our table and we could either wait until they finished or they could put us at a different table.  It was late enough that we just told them to put us at another table instead while wondering what was the entire point of doing a "reserved time" as he pushed us hard into the first night.  They walked us around the dining room on a tour apparently while I guess trying to find a table O guess, before sticking us at a table right by the wait staff entrance.  The noisy part didn't bother me, but being bumped by the staff repeatedly as they brought food and drinks out to diners was irritating at best.  Why they didn't put as at any of the empty tables out in the open?  No clue, faux social distancing maybe?  The food was good at least.  The staff?  Night and day difference from the first night in main dining (second night we did buffet).  They were rude to the point that my 70 yo mother that always tries to look on the bright side of everything to a fault even started to complain about it.  We felt like we were just a bother that the had to put up with and should be grateful we were getting anything at all.  Wife was fuming at this point compounded by having had an upset stomach  and cramping for hours.  Was it just the boat rocking?  Surely not since she grew up in Galicia Spain fishing in a small boat off the coast with her uncle and never got sea sick before.   Or was it the egg salad sandwich she had for lunch? Or a combination of the 2? The motion was the same the next day and she felt fine after sleeping.   Who knows......tbc

[Bubba Hotep]

Part 5 day 4 - This is what I get for saying "it could be worse".....

We headed towards Costa Maya overnight.  Got up early and went to breakfast early as we had pre-booked the Kohunlich ruins tour before sailing after watching some tour videos.  By most accounts it's the best of the Cozumel/Costa Maya options with it's ruins you can still climb and the painted Mask frescoes that are beautiful.  And since we missed dolphins in Nassau went ahead and booked the dolphin experience at Chankanaab park with beach day and lunch drinks etc. in Cozumel the next day.....

Ding ding ding.....

Uh oh.....

Captain came over the 1MC (or whatever civilians call the address system) to inform us that Costa Maya Port authority had informed them that due to high wind and weather that it was too dangerous for gangway operations (strangely it didn't apply to Sky Princess and Norwegian Joy which made it just fine according to cruise mapper) and the port was cancelled in lieu of another sea day and our tours were automatically cancelled so don't worry folks no need to head to guest services. "Yaaaaaayyyyy"?

Of course, back to guest services, AGAIN.

I get to the desk and tell them that I of course need to cancel our Cozumel tours since the plans are messed up now, only to be given a confused look and a "Why do you want to cancel?".  I tell her that our entire purpose of going on this cruise was to see Mayan ruins and of course now that they've cancelled the port with our ruins tour of course we're going to have to schedule one out of Cozumel.  "I'm sorry sir but there is a 48 hour cancelation policy.".  After a little back and forth I just looked at her and said hold that thought and went back to the room to unleash the furious Spanish woman at them.  Long story short they finally relented with a "please don't tell anyone else I'm doing this for you blah blah blah" (i.e. you should be grateful that I'm doing this for you).

Disappointed but used to that feeling by now, we spent more time at the pool that day, and then......

Ding ding ding.......

REALLY starting to hate that noise now.

Captain comes on that because of a medical emergency (there was an alpha alpha alpha earlier) we would be docking in Cozumel by 7pm to evacuate the patient but since the "officials" won't be there until the morning we would be unable to leave the ship until then.  Guess they don't know that a sike dollars here and there is how you make things happen in Mexico, at least according to my friend Hector from Guadalajara.  Oh and by the way the Casino and shops will be closed because we'll be docked.  Yipeeeee......tbc

[Bubba Hotep]

Part 5 - day 4 continued...

We went to dinner to find out that the assigned kitchen door table to us permanently.  After my wife and I being bumped and jostled repeatedly the night before by the wait staff my wife said nope, not doing it.  Our original table of course was full again so after being walked around the dining room on a race loop they put us at yet another  table, hope they keep it that way.  Kind of odd being paraded around the other tables each night.  The staff at the new table back to awesome level,  food was excellent again.  We decided to do the aqua show afterwards.  Show started, not long into it the ship started rocking enough that the water was sloshing back and forth and they cancelled the show.  Unknown to us the Captain pulled the ship out of port for some reason.   Personally based on what I've experienced so far, I'm guessing Corporate said "what are you doing? It costs extra to dock overnight....get moving."  but that's ust my opinion because I can't think of another reason to move a ship that big out of port only to return the next morning.  

Had to return to, you guessed it, guest services because they only refunded one of the original ruin tour tickets and STILL hadn't cancelled the next days beach day tickets so we could do the ruins in Cozumel.

So far my overall impression has been of just a company being cheap.  That the customer experience isn't as important as squeezing every last penny from everyone. Which coming from being on a huge ship that has an almost luxury feel is an odd juxtaposition. 

To be cont.......

[Bubba Hotep]

Part 6 - The rest of the cruise...

So....formal night was.....interesting..  as a whole.  I would say maybe half were actually wearing "formal attire" with the rest a mix of jeans, shorts, khakis, t-shirts and polos.  I'm wondering what the point of it is if the ship is just going to allow people to wear whatever.  Maybe I'm missing something.   Food again was really good. Server's at that second table were inattentive (took over 30 mins to bring the dessert and we were one of the last to leave the dining room and unpleasant bordering on rude.  Made us wish for or first table again.  I think the salt in the wound was being dressed up for formal night and being walked past our table which was filled with a group wearing t-shirts and shorts.

Buuuuut anyways, on to day 5....

We were crossing our fingers at this point that the ship would actually dock back in Cozumel.  We woke up, and hooray, we were actually pulling in to port although a little late.  We proceeded to the theater to meet for the tour.  We got our numbered stickers and waited.  Ended up leaving the ship 30 mins later than scheduled, which at this point was minor comparatively. We walked straight across the pier to the ferry which was very nice and headed for the mainland.  Now this part has nothing to do with R.C but I just have to say.  BOTH my wife and daughter were looking very green .  Boy did I get murderous looks as I sat there merrily drinking my Coke.  What can I say...didn't even get sick in the Sea of Japan in January with really bad seas . We got off of the ferry and followed the guide with the sign to the bus. About 50 mins later we pulled into the Tulum archeological area.  The ruins were great.  The guides knowledgeable and friendly.  Just stll wish we were able to see Kohunlich with it's painted masks/faces.  We loaded back up on the bus after the tour for the ride to the beach.  To be cont.

[DunwoodyDad]

On 12/16/2021 at 7:58 AM, Bubba Hotep said:

Part 4 - Day 2 We have how much time?

When we looked at our schedule it only allowed 4.5 hours in Nassau so pulling in at 10:30 we decided we were going to just do one of the dolphin tours which was listed at 4 hours long. We woke up and on the way to breakfast what would become the "dreaded 3 dings" echoed through the ship followed by the Captain announcing that because of a medical emergency during the night that required an evacuation, we would be arriving an hour late in Nassau but we would leave later then scheduled to allow the same time scheduled.  This was followed by several more announcements that we were running even more late which then caused some tours to be cancelled (bye bye dolphins).  So we just left the ship and walked around for a couple hours shopping before heading back to the ship.  Total in port time, roughly 3 hours.  A couple we had met had their initial pre booked tour cancelled so they had booked a beach day that morning for over $100 per person.  After all the delay they arrived at the beach club after 1 and had to leave at 2:15 to be back on the ship in time.  An expensive hour for sure.  When they got back they went to guest services and not only were the original tour charges not refunded yet, they were told they would have to call a number to try to get any type of refund or compensation for the hour "beach day".  At this point I started to wonder what the point of guest services is besides booking shows or fixing sea pass cards.....

DAY 3 - Formal night.....

We woke up to the morning of day 3 ready to have a fun day and put on our finest for dinner. So far the food has been average to excellent so very good overall.....tbc (switching from wifi)

How was Nassau as you walked around?  Are shops and restaurants generally open?

[Bubba Hotep]

3 hours ago, DunwoodyDad said:

How was Nassau as you walked around?  Are shops and restaurants generally open?

For the most part.  They require masks even outside though.

[Bubba Hotep]

Part 6 cont...

After a 20 min or so bus ride we arrived at the turn off to the beach and hilariously the driver took the bus down this sand road to the beach, bus rocking and branches scraping the sides and top going 5 mph until we arrived at what the guide described as a "rustic" beach club.    First warning sign was the huge pig waddling in front of the bus at the end of the ride (no joke..a pig).  I joked with my wife that we must have booked the "swim with the pigs" excursion by mistake.  That got me the dad joke eyeroll.  We went inside and apparently they weren't expecting us so the manager and chef were shaking their heads and basically saying "we have nothing for you".  I whispered to my wife, "I knew everything was going too well".  After some intense arguing between the chef/manager and our tour guides, they told us no worries and had us all sit down at tables in the sand.   After a while they brought some paper bowls with lettuce and a few tomato slices (our salad), a small basket of chips and salsa for 6 (literally lasted 1 min)  and then topped it off with 1 can 0f soda each and some strips of beef and some chopped up peppers with a few tortillas as our "fajitas".  My wife snapped a pic and sent it to a friend of ours fro Guadalajara and he laughed his butt off and called it "dumb gringo" food.    The kidsl swam for 30 mins and right before we left this local guy wearing, I kid you not, swim trunks and ski goggles and NOTHING else started playing the drums backed by a synth track and singing such  classics as Men at Work - Down Under, Toto - Africa, and MJ - Beat It.  I had no words...  Really the excursion should have just left that part out.  Definitely not worth the price difference over the just Tulum excursion.   Although the drummer ALMOST made up for it in pure comedy gold.   He and his oiled belly (not the small 6 pack kind) will be a tale told for years to come .  After waiting YET again for that one family...you know the one I'm talking about, the one always late at every checkpoint, we headed back to the port.  We were hustled to the ferry for the ride back.  We got to the pier, were hurried to the security check line, and made it through that line with 15 mins to spare to make the walk back to the ship to the cheers, jeers, and "Yeah, you made it" of the "we have nothing better to do but stand on our balconies and act like idiots" crowd.  Really people???  FYI to those clueless you know what's, the ship has to wait if your on a ship run excursion. 

To be cont....

[Bubba Hotep]

Part 7...Coco Cay...and the end..

I started to worry the evening before when I looked out the balcony and saw Miami.  My wife looked at the app and then saw that Coco Cay excursions were no longer listed.  ANOTHER medical emergency this time with a helo pickup.  The staff had no idea why Coco Cay dissappeared from the app.  Next morning we actually did dock in Coc Cay.  We decided to skip the rush and went to breakfast.  About 10 we headed to the gangway and onto the pier.  We followed the green brick road to "Chill Island Beach and found some lounge chairs.  My daughter and I went over to the snorkel shack and picked up our snorkel rental and headed out to the water (about 11).  We did some snorkeling for a bit, saw quite a few fish, and then started helping my son build his sand castle........and then.......

The clouds came swooping in (12) and the lightning went off a few times and everyone was kicked out of the water and away from the shoreline.....and then.......

The downpour started. Haven't seen one that heavy since the rainy season on Diego Garcia.  After sheltering for a while in the food area, we made a break for it back to the ship in one of the small lulls between downpours.  And thus ended the "Perfect Day" on Coco Cay. (That song will be stuck in my head for a while now thank you very much....not).  So we went back to the ship and played cards until 4.  We packed and tagged our luggage and then went to our final main dining dinner.  Went to sleep and got up before 7 to get ready for our disembark time.  That went fairly quickly and we were on the bus and headed to Orlando Airport before 9.

 

 Final thoughts next post....

I think I'll post that tomorrow after I've had time to organize my thoughts on everything. 

[karl_nj]

On 12/19/2021 at 9:13 AM, Bubba Hotep said:

About 50 mins later we pulled into the Tulum archeological area.  The ruins were great.  The guides knowledgeable and friendly.

I'm glad you were able to pivot and manage to figure out a solution to being able to see some Mayan ruins, which was a major reason for the trip!

I've also noticed some customer service issues on another ship sailing after the restart (Oasis of the Seas back in October.)  I'm hoping things improve sooner rather than later.  I have some extended family members that may never want to set foot on an RCL ship again because of some of the issues we ran into on that trip.  Which is complicating my plans for a big family cruise in a couple of years for my wife's 50th birthday/our 20th wedding anniversary/son graduating high school/daughter graduating middle school trip I want to do.

Some of the other points you brought up have been issues even pre-pandemic.  RCL doesn't really do "anytime dining" very well, if that is what you would prefer, best to go with NCL.  Or just stick with early or late dining times (which is my preference).  Then your table/wait staff is guaranteed.  

Formal night has been a mess for years... we still usually dress up because we like to and because I want to get a family photo done.  But you can certainly think about dialing it back a bit if you are going to get annoyed about the loose enforcement (and I can certainly see why that is annoying!)

Celebrity "forced" us to do a ship-based excursion to leave the ship back in August, which reminded me of why I stopped doing them.

Sounds like you had one of those vacations where a bunch of "little" issues kept on piling on and on... making it quite difficult to try to overlook them.

 

 

 

[Bubba Hotep]

Final thoughts....

The good - Cabin steward, he was outstanding.

Main dining wait staff on deck 3 at table 353, excellent, at table 391/392, outstanding and really attentive.  They really made those evening dining experiences special.

The balcony cabin minus the stains on the floor was roomy with a good amount of storage.

The ruins in Tulum were beautiful.

The band in the Jazz club surprisingly good.

The food from good in the buffet to excellent in main dining.

The bad- guest services being almost useless. 

Forcing everyone on a cruise where everyone 12 and up were vaccinated and a good amount if not most under 12 vaccinated as well to wear masks all the time was pointless, very uncomfortable and useless. 

Wait staff at table 250 along with the table location itself.

Cancelled and shortened port visit without a hint as to how it would be made right.  We didn't spend almost 5k for a port visit to Cozumel and a bleary half day on Coco Cay (I don't even consider the Bahamas a port visit. 3 hours is a joke).

The penny pinching.  Charging for texting across their wifi network to each other when it literally costs them nothing just reeks of being cheap.  Charges that appear almost as if they're trying to see how many slip by inattentive cruisers, for example a "replaced" drink after another passenger knocked over my wife's drink showing up as another charge, reeks of being cheap.

Park West salespeople repeatedly hawking overpriced "Peter Max" trash (FYI he hasn't painted in years, they have him signing his name to art created by "assistants" while he doesn't even know where he is due to dementia).

Casino with broken card shufflers (literally none were used) and slot machines.   Makes you wonder how seriously they take maintenance when they've had a year off to fix issues and they haven't even fixed their money makers.

WOW bands that are unavailable to guests because of covid yet miraculously available to "star" members.  I guess if you spend enough the viral threat ignores you.

Just too many little things to completely mention.

And if I never hear that song again...."it's a perfect day...at Coco Cay"........

 

Overall, we were extremely disappointed and left wondering why we even chose Royal Caribbean in the first place.  I can't with any honesty recommend RC for anyone at this point and I for one don't see any reason we'll ever choose them again.  I was left feeling that it would have been better to just book flights and a stay at any of the numerous resorts in the Yucatan and visited the ruins from there.

But anyways, that's just opinion for what it's worth.

 

 

 

 

20211215_134957.heic

[Bubba Hotep]

3 hours ago, karl_nj said:

I'm glad you were able to pivot and manage to figure out a solution to being able to see some Mayan ruins, which was a major reason for the trip!

I've also noticed some customer service issues on another ship sailing after the restart (Oasis of the Seas back in October.)  I'm hoping things improve sooner rather than later.  I have some extended family members that may never want to set foot on an RCL ship again because of some of the issues we ran into on that trip.  Which is complicating my plans for a big family cruise in a couple of years for my wife's 50th birthday/our 20th wedding anniversary/son graduating high school/daughter graduating middle school trip I want to do.

Some of the other points you brought up have been issues even pre-pandemic.  RCL doesn't really do "anytime dining" very well, if that is what you would prefer, best to go with NCL.  Or just stick with early or late dining times (which is my preference).  Then your table/wait staff is guaranteed.  

Formal night has been a mess for years... we still usually dress up because we like to and because I want to get a family photo done.  But you can certainly think about dialing it back a bit if you are going to get annoyed about the loose enforcement (and I can certainly see why that is annoying!)

Celebrity "forced" us to do a ship-based excursion to leave the ship back in August, which reminded me of why I stopped doing them.

Sounds like you had one of those vacations where a bunch of "little" issues kept on piling on and on... making it quite difficult to try to overlook them.

 

 

 

I was thankful to salvage that part at least.  Being Chickasaw, experiencing the pre Columbian historical sites has special meaning to us.

It really was a large amount of little things and some pretty big ones that make it hard to overlook it all.

[CravingaCruise]

Oh my goodness!  I don't even know what to say.  I've been reading your story to my family over the last few days and we are all in agreement that your story is so sad!  I'm glad you were able to get to one of the ruins for a visit so the trip wasn't a total loss, however, it fell far short of what it should have been.  I do hope that future vacations are better for your family, and that Royal pays some attention to the series of bad experiences in hopes they make it right somehow.  

[fa-li]

This has been a helpful blog for me to manage my expectations ahead of our Harmony cruise in April.  We've only done the smaller ships, and have almost always had an outstanding experience.  I have wondered if moving up to a ship with Star Class will make us feel like steerage passengers by booking anything less.  It does beg the question if they downgrade others' experiences to make star seem more "worth it."  What's truly frustrating about your experience is that guest services was not helpful.  The few times we have had issues, they were quickly resolved by a visit to guest services.  Sad that this was not the case for you.  

Thank you for sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly.  And I'm glad there was some good!  I wish you and your family many happy future vacations, and thank you for your service!