Avoid Royal Caribbean International if you can. I had taken two or three prior cruises on Royal Caribbean and have been a member of their Crown and Anchor Society for many years, and would never have expected their recent discourteous behavior.I had a planned cruise for me and my two young kids and their nanny in April, 2024. I had recently gotten out of the hospital for a serious medical problem and had an indwelling IV for antibiotic use during the cruise on which I promised to take my kids during their school break. Because of that and other chronic medical issues, I had a power strip in my luggage which I needed for medical equipment. When my bag was delivered to my room, there was no power strip and no notification that they had rummaged through my bag and taken it. Since there was no obvious notification or even a simple call to let me know they took it, I simply presumed I had accidentally left it at home.Several months later when I next used my luggage, I found a small crumpled paper in my bag (like crumpled garbage) that they had taken my power strip. I contacted Royal Caribbean several times to explain to me how they can take something medically necessary from me without having the decency to let me know, and how they will compensate me for what they did. After about two to three emails back not answering me properly, I finally got an email from them admitting I “was not adequately informed about removal of my (medically-necessary) item from my luggage” but that they are not willing to compensate me for their mistake.I have informed Royal Caribbean that because of this unsatisfactory response I will no longer be using their cruise line for mine and my family’s future vacations and instead will be using competing cruise lines which are more consumer-friendly (and more reasonable when they make mistakes).How Royal Caribbean can take something that I needed for my health and for my major medical issues without notifying me, admit they erred by not notifying me properly, and then don’t make good on their gross error is unacceptable.Royal Caribbean’s shortsighted decision not to reimburse me for a relatively inexpensive device they pilfered (taking and not notifying) will cost them thousands going forward. I think all travelers considering a Royal Caribbean cruise should know about this before making arrangements for their travel.
