This was our fourth transatlantic,so we thought we knew what to expect weatherwise. Therefore we were surprised when our stop in the Azores was called off due to a huge storm. We stopped in Tenerife instead; however, no tours were available, since the stop was unscheduled. Later in the trip we detoured around the Bahamas due to tropical storm Sean, adding several hundred more cruising miles. As a result of these two detours, the ship had to travel faster than planned. Because of the higher speed and the fact we were sailing into the wind, the apparent wind on deck was 45+ mph for much of the trip. Very uncomfortable... at times several decks were closed off with locked doors.

Now the good news. The trip was excellent with regard to most traditional measures. Embarkation took less than 20 minutes from being dropped off by a cab to sitting in our cabin. Our cabin was spotless; the attendant performed all expected functions in a timely fashion and was always friendly and polite. The food in the dining room was as good as we ever had on Royal Caribbean and the Windjammer food was better that our previous 8 Royal Caribbean cruises. Our dining room servers were the best ever; the Windjammer attendants were almost too efficient, sometimes clearing dishes at our table that we were still eating from. The lecturers were interesting and usually made their presentations to an audience of 300+. Possibly the large audiences were due to poor conditions on deck. Entertainment was a mixed bag; several shows were either postponed or canceled, both in the theatre and the ice rink, due the rough seas. On the other hand there was a wild Halloween Party [over 500 guests brought costumes] The LSU vs Alabama football game was televised on two movie sized screens. There was a touching Veterans Day Memorial program on 11/11/11.Disembarkation was a mess, but it was mainly New Orleans fault, not Royal Caribbeans. The details aren't important, inasmuch as just about everything went wrong. This was the first Royal Caribbean arrival in New Orleans since before Katrina. Hopefully, they will solve their many problems soon.