This was our fifth cruise (2 princess and 3 Royal Caribbean) and our others have been in Alaska and Caribbean. We selected this ship only for the itinerary and the excursions were certainly worth every penny. Perfect Europe experience. The tour guides were excellent and allowed us to maneuver through crowds in Rome and Barcelona that we never could have managed as quickly on our own. You might save money on your own but you won’t save time! The excursion descriptions were accurate. We believe we made the most of every precious minute in port this way. The ship was basic and although the staff were honestly excellent the cruise line is clearly trying to squeeze every penny out of every aspect. It was just too expensive for what you actually get. The ship became a necessary evil for the excursions. We had difficulty enjoying it when you could see the people serving you were working so hard! The day at sea was unnecessary and simply terrible. There seemed to be some kids in a small crowd on their own but our kids were really bored when on ship and were not feeling like they could step in to the court games. The pool was so crowded at all times that we could not even imagine how to get in and it didn’t seem hygienic given the ratio of people to water! Even the adults only pool - which our kids were not happy about - was jammed all the time. We have never felt this way on a cruise before and I think it is because there were no other viable activities on board to disperse the crowds! The crowds are not managed well at all. The windjammer was downright hostile! They shouldn’t direct everyone to the same place at once. Overall this cruise made us decide to give up on cruising for a while but if you want to see a lot of Europe in a fast week this is the cruise for you. The food was just ok - same food in the dining room as windjammer and the cruise line is just trying to get people to upgrade to expensive restaurants. It never used to be like this! The premium seems to be just to escape the crowds and that is NOT a good way to treat customers who have already paid so much to be there.