Royal Caribbean cruises should be a time to have fun and relax. However, for this one woman, the experience didn’t quite live up to her expectations.
With its controversial “panoramic” balconies and infamous “cruise ship jail,” it’s common for Royal Caribbean cruise customers to go viral when they share their experiences on TikTok. But Kamryn Cowan (@kamryncowan) made it clear in her video that she was not happy with the company.
In a 9-minute TikTok video, she aired her grievances about her recent Allure of the Seas voyage. Her first complaint involved the towels. On her last night, she and her boyfriend found her dark makeup on one of the towels, which made her realize that the same dirty towels were being reused the whole time. This is despite her leaving towels on the floor. She claimed that a placard said that if you leave towels on the floor, they will be replaced with fresh ones.
The second problem was that the room service phone/button did not work. On the sixth day, a repairman came to fix it. The issue was that her boyfriend had just come out of the shower. Neither of them had heard the repairman knock. According to Cowan, the repairman was very persistent about fixing the phone, and he had to be told to come back later.
‘Nothing But Problems’
Cowan added that the trip had “nothing but problems.” She claims that they were late for every excursion, didn’t have the full time promised and that they didn’t do what was on the descriptions. Their excursions included Saint Martin, Saint Kitts, Saint Thomas, and the Bahamas.
Cowan said that they got refunded some money for their St. Martin excursion because they lost an hour of beach time. This was because they kept being taken to different places and dropping people off at places that weren’t in the description. She claims there were also issues with her Saint Kitts excursion. When she and her boyfriend got off at Saint Kitts, she says that everyone had their tickets apart from them. Despite booking a month in advance, she says nobody delivered their tickets.
The night before they were meant to go off the ship to go into Saint Thomas, Cowan says that they found out it was a half day rather than the promised full day. Purportedly, the Bahamas was meant to be a half day, but they switched without telling anyone. The TikToker adds that it was $250 per person for the Saint Thomas excursion. She claims that excursion was only two hours in total. It apparently included 30 minutes of snorkeling and a visit to a taco bar called Lime Mountain. This, per Cowan, wasn’t included in the price.
As for the Bahamas excursion, Cowan recounts how they swam with pigs and branded it an expensive “tourist grab.” She claims it was also an hour late.
What Happened Next?
Cowan claims she has already spoken about her experience to Royal Caribbean.
“I don’t want a cruise credit because I am beyond disgusted with my entire experience, and I will never cruise with Royal Caribbean again,” she vows.
For the last three nights of the cruise, Cowan says she and her boyfriend had to eat at a specialty dining restaurant because the food kept making them sick. She also remarks that the drinks were inconsistent. She claims they felt watered down in some bars.
On the last night, Cowan says that she and her boyfriend were in the hot tub. A mother and son were also there. When she and her husband got up to leave, she says the mother asked whether she had heard anything about the girl that went missing at Saint Martin. According to the TikToker, this was the first she heard of it. She claims that Royal Caribbean never made an announcement about it.
BroBible couldn’t find any official reports about this allegation.
The woman’s claims led Cowan to think back to the day of the excursion. She claims that they were brought back from the excursion early and that it was several hours before they actually left.
She recounts a captain calling “Alpha” over the intercom. When she asked another Royal Caribbean employee what it meant, she recalls him saying that it meant someone couldn’t find their room. According to Cowan, they didn’t leave Saint Martin until later in the evening/night.
Cowan also says she can’t find anything about this alleged missing person online and claims she talked to Royal Caribbean about this because she was “disgusted.” “I cannot fathom the fact that nothing was said to any guests on board about a 20-year-old girl going missing while we were out on a port in Saint Martin,” she says.
Cowan adds that she wanted to raise awareness by posting to TikTok. Her video has has done just that; it’s amassed 12,000 views.
BroBible reached out to Cowan and Royal Caribbean by TikTok direct message and email, respectively.
@kamryncowan ATTENTION CRUISE PEOPLE📢 watch till the end or fast forward for my main point of the video @Royal Caribbean #allureoftheseas #royalcarribean #easterncaribbean #cruise #cruisetok
What Happens If Someone Goes Missing On A Royal Caribbean Cruise?
According to the Royal Caribbean website, if a US national goes missing, the incident “must be reported to the FBI by telephone as soon as possible, to the United States Department of Homeland Security electronically and to the [United States Coast Guard] in writing.”
This is in accordance with the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (2010), according to Villa Vie Residences.
In the past, Royal Caribbean have been criticized for its response to people going missing from its cruises. The most well-known incident is Amy Bradley’s disappearance in 1998. In a documentary about the disappearance, it was revealed that the ship didn’t turn around and continued its voyage to its next destination, and left it until 9am to do an announcement so as to not disturb sleeping guests.
Another disappearance occurred in 2012. Ariel Marion is believed to have fallen from the ship at around 8:30pm. However, an announcement wasn’t made until 11:30pm, and coast guards were not made aware until 1am—at which point the search began.