Renaissance Reviews

Joined ship at Tilbury as a solo passenger Oct 30th. Cabin great, steward, Xavier, great. All lounges freezing cold. All food in buffet, including soup and cooked meals, cold. Food varied and plentiful but 'hot' meals remained cold for at least following 12 days. Service is one continual counter so if one started with a hot plate, at salads, it was not hot for long. Buffet staff, with one exception, were friendly and helpful. As buffet was closing at 10am one day l asked counter staff to please have milk jugs refilled at tea/coffee station. Was told buffet was closed and l could buy any hot drinks at Lido bar, until buffet reopened for lunch. It was my understanding that free tea/coffee and water were available 24hours from buffet. Obviously not. Big fuss was made over Halloween, decorations, special menu in Vatel. Then Christmas decorating began shipwide which was lovely. Huge library, books, games, puzzles and computer stations. Unfortunately no books in English made it onto shelves apart from cruisers own swaps. I heard comments of locked cupboards and no one holding keys. Also that boxes of books may not have made it onboard and be waiting at Tilbury. Show team were exceptionally good and l thoroughly enjoyed their energy, ingenuity and originality. Because the ship had been sailing for French market for the summer, transition to what l believed was an inaugural, transitional cruise for British passengers was not very successful. My welcome to the ship as a solo arrived in my cabin on the Wednesday after boarding. A meet up was arranged for the following day. It is lucky that l count myself as socially adept because by then l had made numerous friends of different nationalities and did not need the help offered. Once the weather started to improve and the interior became warmer l began to see how beautiful the ship's spaces were. Ample lounges, choices of restaurants, even a laundry (free to use after buying the soap tablet). For me the unhosted knitting group was a joy. There were no large screens anywhere for films. The one guest speaker was allotted the same time as knitting group so l was unable to attend both. Entertainment team, Connor, Ceirios, Molly and Anna were hardworking, friendly and knowledgeable. Reception staff were friendly, but it took 3 visits and 5 days to sort out an addition to my account which l had not made. Marine at Destinations, was happy, jolly and does her job well. Ports of call were all interesting and as l chose this cruise for the Caribbean stops l was not disappointed. It was a shame there were no sailaways to enjoy. Outside spaces were, generally, not recommended for the majority of the journey because of the weather. However once it was safe to do so l had no trouble finding a sunbed or chair. One of the main complaints l had was the lack of communication and information given to passengers. I will not book again on this ship as l see the issues experienced with it's identity to be an ongoing problem.

Nice cosy French ship, but it is not the usual Ambasador offering. Instead of fixed sitting for dinner Renaissance employs free dining, but they can't cope with it. Queues everynight for dinner, they encourage you to share a table because it's easier for them but this means you might end up on a table for 4 with French or Dutch guests, which can be fun! Each night a maitre D would take you to a table but it then seemed to be a negotiation with the section head waiter as to whether he accepted you. One night we were redirected to a different area, another night we were begrudgingly accepted by the waiter and it showed in his attitude to us. Although the entertainment overall was very good, the need to have bi-lingual entertainers did result in some acts that were there because of their ability to speak French and English rather than their performing abilities. Getting a drink in the bars was often more difficult than securing peace in the middle east. Their seemed to be a lack of managemnt with waiters appearing to argue with each other as to which area to serve. Many times if you waved at them they smiled at you and carried on regardless. On Ambience daytime entertainment is excellent but here there were no informative or interesting lectures on Renaissance. The English woman who provided some information about Ports again seemed to have been chosen due to her ability to speak French. All daytime activity seemed to happen at 11am so it wasn't possible to do everything, by contrast the afternoon were bereft of activities. Hopefully in a year it will be sorted out.

We loved the food, the style, the service and the activities. The span facilities were mostly out of order but apart from that we have no complaints and would sail with Ambassador again.

Buffet hot food served up by staff, which builds queues and means it is invariably cool by the time you sit down. Plates passing to and fro over food counter is not a good idea.

Clean and comfortable stay with lovely welcoming staff and good entertainment. Especially enjoyed the cooking demo from head chef and choir practice which I've never done before Thiago is starting of this cruise with outstanding talent.

I have no doubt things will improve but for us, this first sailing was disappointing! Extremely limited veggie choices (same one option in buffet as evening dining, sometimes no choice at all in buffet at lunch). Food was often served like warm at best and at worst cold. Cabin flooded on way to Azores, air con very poor and asked 6 times for it to be made cooler in cabin to no avail. Also extremely hot around the ship (apart from first few days where people had to wear coats to dine!). Service was patchy though we did have some amazing service in marsallia lounge. Entertainment team were superb, the best we’ve had on any cruise and shows were generally good. I’m sure a lot of these issues were down to teething problems and things will improve but we shouldn’t be expected to pay good money to be the guinea pigs