EMBARKATION
Embarkation was smooth and very quick as I have found previously in Tampa.
At check in, the agent questioned my citizenship.
I am a Canadian citizen carrying a Canadian passport. But, he insisted that I had some standing in the U.S. and needed that documentation. I assured him i did not. I found this very odd.
SHIP LAYOUT/DÉCOR
Ship was compact and very quick to navigate with many elevators which were always a short wait.
The décor was quite elaborate and eye-catching with the towering main atrium and plentiful seating areas. A great ship for socializing.
STATEROOM
The stateroom was large with an oversized window. This room could have well been a balcony if the window was a sliding door.
The room was more than adequate for storage and layout.
The smell of disinfectant in the bathroom was apparent and all the towels smelled very clean.
The air conditioning didnt seem like it was functioning properly as no matter how high I turned it, the room was the same temperature. At times, it was slightly too warm.
The door handle of the entry door stuck and was difficult to turn.
There were areas in the room where more attention could have been paid to dusting.
STATEROOM ATTENDANT
Our attendant was friendly, but, didn't have many encounters with him. He did apologize for breaking the handle of my roller bag and suggested I see guest services if there was anything they would do for me. I was in no mood for the hassle and decided to bear with for the struggle to get it home.
Despite not servicing our stateroom (at our request because we like to be in and out of the room throughout the day), he asked we give him a good review and handed us tip envelopes. Keep in mind this was after breaking the handle of my suitcase.
ROOM SERVICE
The first night we filled out the room service door hanger and left it on the door handle. I have special dietary needs and require eating at specific times. We felt room service was the best route to take as the buffet was not open when I would need to eat. We waited for 15 minutes past the time we asked for delivery (6 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.) and it was never delivered. I used some of my back up stores to get me through until the buffet did open. We didnt bother using room service again.
DINING
We opted to do most of our dining in the buffet as we thought it would be more convenient. Aware of its fragmented hours, we planned around those times.
The initial wide selection of menu items dwindled as the cruise went on. Everyday, it seemed like there were fewer items to pick from.
Each morning, before the buffet opened, it was a struggle to find a coffee that was hot. We are early risers and found the lack of decent coffee pre-buffet opening unbelievable.
A few times I noticed some incidents which I would consider health violations. Three instances:
1) A crew member at the beverage station handling ice cubes and putting them in glasses with no gloves.
2) Serving cooked meats which were not kept at high enough temperature and not removing them promptly.
3) Improperly labelled drinks and food items as sugar-free.
STAFF
The entire crew were friendly and tried to be helpful.
CHEFS TABLE
The Chef's table is one of the few things I would recommend everyone try. The food was excellently prepared and presented.
OVERALL SHIP CLEANLINESS
There were many times more attention could have been paid to removing dirty glasses and cleaning. It speaks more of the guests than it does of the crew.
CASINO
The casino was overly smokey and very dirty at times. It was way too crowded and congested.
There were enough machines I was interested in playing... some very new ones, in fact.
No casino host approached us, nor was there any message from the casino in our stateroom. We found this strange as we booked through a casino host.
The biggest disappointment was the casino was not open at times when we like to play. As I said, we are early risers and prefer to play between. 4:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. then have breakfast and play some more until more activities begin on board. The casino did not open until 8 a.m., so we spent very little time in it.
SUMMARY
Overall, we are disappointed with what RCL had to offer us. I do know people for whom RCL is a good fit. Unfortunately, it isn't us. It misses the mark on too many things from dining times, to food quality, and what the casino is like.