First cruise on RCL after cruising NCL, Carnival, and Princess. Young 40's couple. This was a family get together cruise, so this itinerary was selected for us, but we did note that it was the most expensive I have ever paid for a cruise at $608 per night (for 2 people in the cabin including all taxes and fees and less our OBC) for a Junior Suite (which was priced only about $20 per night over a regular balcony). The itinerary was 4 nights at sea and one night at Bermuda.

The ship is very small and was built in the mid-90s, so well past her prime. However, there is something quaint and nice about such a small ship that you get to know quickly and can get to places without a real effort. Nice large open walking promenade on the lower deck. But, overall, it is old and while still maintained and pretty clean, it feels old too (thin and discolored bed sheets, rust on edges of areas, ragged carpet/ window corners, etc). There were literally 2 total outlets in our Junior Suite, and they were nowhere near the bed. I suppose getting a bathtub is an "upgrade" in the JS but having to step over the shower and dodge the curtain was more of a pain than a perk. Inconsistent towel animals, ice had to be requested, and the kleenex/ tissue slot in our bathroom was never filled at all in the whole cruise (same for our other cabins, who also said their soap was often not replaced). The JS size was nice and wide with a big balcony (on which they stuck the world's tiniest 2 little chairs on.....so small you couldn't stretch out or lean back). Our Junior Suite (but not our other rooms) also had a weird and large Pillar in the middle of the room, right by the end of the bed - what I would call an obstruction. Also, we were on the 8th floor, so every night from about 10PM-midnight people and staff would rearrange the chairs and tables on the pool floor (9) and raise such a racket (ever heard of chair pads for the legs? - get a hundred for $10 at Amazon!) that all of our cabins had to wear earplugs ever night to get to sleep.

The food was below average. The buffet had decent options but the area is small and there is very little outdoor dining on the whole ship. The main dining room (GREAT servers, very friendly and helpful) had a small menu every evening, half of which never changed - probably half the size of menu of every other ship we have sailed. Probably because they have advertisements and table fliers all over the ship trying to get you to buy "premium entrees" with your meal or upgrade to specialty dining. All of the appetizers and desserts arrived cold to lukewarm (seriously, how can you have a LAVA cake if it is cold?). The drink package was a pretty good value at the discounted rate of $49 per person/ day (plus gratuity) rate we got since it was good for all alcohol but also coffee (at Cafe Latte-tudes which serves Starbucks) and sodas and bottled / sparkling water. The Schooner bar and staff was great but all the others were slow and often made drinks that weren't even close to what was ordered. Read more