Air Travel and Embarkation We used RCL Choice Air. The airline (U.S. Airways) was fine, getting us to Rome an hour ahead of schedule. Our luggage arrived as scheduled. RCL personnel were at the airport to meet us. We left our bags with them, and were taken to the ship by bus by way of a three-hour tour of Rome. For some this might have been a fun sightseeing tour. Since we have been to Rome, it was a waste of time for us. We were tired and just wanted to get to the ship.

Check-in was not particularly efficient. Due to a major room cleaning, our rooms were not available until 3 PM (later changed to 2:30 PM). The Windjammer buffet was overcrowded since no one could get into their staterooms. The most frustrating part of embarkation was the late arrival of our luggage....not until after 8 PM, twelve hours after we left our bags with RCL personnel at the airport. During check-in passports were taken to be returned later during the cruise with no explanation given.

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