We are first time cruisers and let me say I'm ready to book my next cruise ASAP. You MUST go on this ship!! We did encounter a couple of bumps but they were always resolved. We had a balcony and an inside stateroom. I recommend u get a balcony. The best times were on my balcony looking over the water or ports. The feeling of wind, water, waves, and scenery were soooo beautiful-- all of my daily stresses were temporarily GONE!

We flew in a day ahead-- our flights were delayed by 4 hours by Southwest. So I recommend u come in a day ahead. U never know what's gonna happen. We stayed at Embassy Suites for one night-- the hotel is okay...it's a bit dated and really needs a good cleaning but we were on vacation so it didn't deter us too much. Since we came in late, we walked to a local Asian restaurant behind the hotel (Coco Thai). Food was a hit and miss but was very expensive.

I have read each review on cruise critic and no one described about Club Royale. I got this cruise from my local casino- pinnacle corp who RCL has a partnership with. I called Club Royale and they booked me and a guest in a nice balcony for less than 600 (the room was 2300 at time of booking bc of spring break) What a deal!!! I took my sister and in the end her husband and son came along but they were booked with an inside. Our room only can have 2 persons. Anyhoo, we took a shuttle from hotel to port ($8 per person). They dropped us off in front of bag valet and gave tags then headed into terminal. Checking in took about 2 hours from start to on board ship (this was spring break week) It was still smooth to us cause we were on vacation. This ship was sooo clean, big, and beautiful! The first thing we did was go the buffet (windjammer-11th floor). They had a lot of variety. I don't know why people complain about the food on this wonderful boat. If u don't like something then get something else. Food was 24/7 all around the ship. I tried everything!! But I'm gonna say in the cafe promenade--the banana bread was the BEST I've ever tasted and coffee was free 24/7!!! I'm a foodie and I own a restaurant ...so I give a big thumbs up to food quality, quantity, and service every where. Read more