Royal Caribbean CruisesReviews 33

I'm 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 we've 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 we'd done something criminal. They claimed they'd 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 weren't 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 you're h*rny." Obviously, the people inside that cabin weren't 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 we'd 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 wasn't 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 "couldn't 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 weren't causing trouble. We weren't 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 staff's 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 Caribbean's own Guest Conduct Policy says guests will be treated respectfully and fairly. That promise was completely broken on this trip.