We loved this itinerary - 13 relaxing days along the eastern shores of Canada/New England to take in the fall foliage; however, Mother Nature had other plans! Needless to say, we were disappointed to learn that the ship would not be docking in Sydney, NS as planned and therefore, our Taste of the Cabot Trail excursion was cancelled. We had a few other disappointments - Royal rescheduled our booked and paid-for Bottomless champagne brunch and galley tour to a date that conflicted with another shore excursion so we had to cancel. Luckily we were reimbursed. I'd love to write about our experience at Chops Grill, but Royal again moved our reservation without informing us - so we missed it. Luckily I had printed our cruise planner itinerary because Royal staff insisted at first that the mistake was ours and therefore non-refundable. They apologized once they realized the mistake was indeed theirs!

Despite these mishaps, we had a wonderful vacation! Our cabin was spacious and well laid out - never had an issue with space. The furnishings are showing some age, but that's to be expected. Our cabin steward, Mary, was terrific and so friendly! Our room was conveniently one floor below the Windjammer - and you'd never know it - we never heard any kitchen noise. I can't comment too much on the Windjammer - we hardly ate there. Our cruise was made up largely of older folks - no problem with that - but we learned they wake early which meant breakfast there was always busy and finding a table difficult. Do yourself a favour and head to the Dining Room on the 3rd floor - much more civilized! And speaking of the Dining Room, we chose to eat there every night and we were never disappointed. That's probably because our Wait-staff (Jose, Helga and Josue) were amazing - we looked forward to our dining experience. And we thoroughly enjoyed the meals - a lot of variety which meant we were never disappointed with our selections. Our belts are a little tighter then when we first arrived on board!

Loved the Promenade - from the bar to the cafe and most especially Izumi! We signed up for a sushi-making class with Renni, Virgilio and chef Jefery and loved every minute of it - we had so much fun! That might have been, in part, due to the unlimited supply of sake! Read more