This was our first RC cruise. The ship was SPOTLESS and the crew was fabulous, all very polite and service was 5* and we had a good time but due to food, entertainment and dress code we will not choose RC as first choice for future cruises. We have sailed with Princess and Holland America in the past and friends had told us to try RC but we were not aware that dress code in the MDR was so lacking!

The service was excellent. We had anytime dining and our waiters were excellent although you really don't have a choice of "anytime". Basically you need to eat at 5:30 or 5:45 or between 7:30 and 8PM. I guess if you just arrive in-between they would seat you but reservations were really strongly encouraged between the above times. By having a reservation we did enjoy sitting at the same table with the same wait staff nightly at 5:45 and service was really good. The meals were good but they did not "wow" us. There seemed to be a strong tendency to offer seafood or beef and alternates - chicken, pork, lamb turkey etc were very limited and were not really anything very special. They did have a roast turkey special one night but it was no where as tasty as the turkey they served at lunch in the Windjammer - that was moist and delicious! The one in the DR was really blah and the dressing and gravy were tasteless. They did have one "Italian night" but the food was not cooked in any recognizable Italian style. Cold soups were very tasty but not served cold - but they were cool. Hot cheese rolls were always excellent. I was told the special Salmon on the first night was excellent and I did have prime rib that night and it was tender, juicy and cooked to perfection! Our main issue with the MDR was the dress code - there did not appear to be one! We saw shorts, sandals, t-shirts and many other forms of very, very casual dress in the Main Dining Room and on one formal night the man sitting next to us was wearing an olive drab tee shirt and suspenders!!. My husband wore a tux on formal night and counted only 3 other tuxedos in the dining room and at the show afterwards. We truly missed seeing people make any effort to dress for dinner - even moderately. It has always been our experience on other cruise lines that very casual dress for dinner was available only at the buffet and Dining Rooms had dress codes which required a shirt with a collar for men and long pants and pants or skirt for women even on "casual" nights.

The entertainment could have been better. The two comedians - one briefly on the first night and one the last night were great but the magician was not. The acrobatic act was fabulous but the one music night had large numbers of people walking out! The one show the ship's singers and dancers put on based on Broadway shows called Marquee was excellent! Read more