I was traveling with family members who had never cruised before. We wanted to experience Europe and this itinerary seemed like a good start. A cabin was available that had two bathrooms and would comfortably fit all 4 of us, two adults and two teenage girls. The cabin number was 8000. This cabin is unique to just a few ships for Royal Caribbean. There wasn't much information on this. It's called an Ocean View no Balcony and is now considered a full suite, with access to the concierge lounge, breakfast in Chops and some other suite perks. The cabin is located next to the bridge and below the Windjammer buffet. I was worried about noise being an issue, but that was never the case. The room was spacious and comfortable, but the décor was definitely dated.

The concierge lounge offered a continental breakfast, afternoon snacks, and evening happy hour. The lounge was a nice quiet area to gather before heading to dinner. The concierge Alan was wonderful. He arranged tours for the bridge, galley and theater. He quickly seemed to learn all the guests names and was ready to help solve any issues we might have. I can not say enough good things about him. He is the best concierge I've ever encountered on a cruise.

The cruise started in Venice so we arrived a couple of days early and got a lovely apartment through Airbnb in Cannareggio. We used the water bus and the people mover to get to the terminal. The people mover station was absolutely chaos on embarkation day as several ships were departing that day. Read more