This was our fourth cruise, each time with a different line, in order to better evaluate each. So far we've tried Disney, Holland America, Princess, and now Royal Caribbean. The embarkation process went smoothly. All workers in the facility were polite and efficient. Within 45 minutes we were on board, very much on par with other cruise lines. The Windjammer was as expected, crowded with people waiting for their luggage, and trying out the food. We decided to spend some time looking the ship over instead of struggling to find a seat. The ship itself is beautiful, and immense. Even after studying the layout on paper prior to the cruise, we still found ourselves discovering new aspects of it. Some points worth noting: The peek-a-boo bridge - Clever, and fun, although little activity is generally seen here due to the level of automation with ships these days. Sadly, engine room tours where you can see a little more of the awesome engineering on board voyager class ships are a thing of the past so this is it for the geeks. The fitness facility - Probably the best view on the ship. But I still find it hard to want to spend numerous hours working out in this way when on vacation.

The ice rink - small, but its location means it is one of the most stable spots on the ship. Don't count on serious skating here though as the crowds are all at different skating levels and just go in a slow and tight circle for the 45-minute sessions. I suspect it is here as more of a gimmick to one-up other cruise lines than a truly useful facility. The multi-story promenade - The idea of a pedestrian mall like venue down the middle of the ship is pretty amazing and speaks volumes about the skill of the marine architects that designed this ship. Even the lighting is quite clever, as until I looked closely, I though daylight was coming in from above (its only color-balanced artificial lighting). Interestingly, RCL mentions the cabins which open inward with a view of this space, yet I noted that very few occupants ever actually opened their blinds and did "people-watch". The casino - Yet another glitzy casino. Oh boy! Nuff said. The lounges/bars - Generally quite nicely sprinkled around the ship, although some definitely had more draw than others. A few hardly ever had any patrons, which is good for those seeking a place to get away from 3400 other passengers, but bad in terms of spreading out the crowd. The Viking crown lounge certainly has the best view, although on days the seas are rough, the ship roll is very perceptible here. The three story dining room - One of the nicest dining rooms we've seen. Very beautiful in decoration and well laid out in terms of traffic flow and seating. Almost every table has some sort of view, and the decent height ceilings (unlike the Island Princess for example), didn't make the claustrophobic uneasy.

The Savoy theater - A nice theater, but it felt a bit glitzy in its decoration. The acoustics were good as well, and a live mini-orchestra/band instead of canned music was a welcome relief. The rock wall - Not bad, although on a ship, it is hard to do the serious height you need to really hone climbing skills. Again, it is more of a one-up thing than a real facility The basketball/volleyball court - Neat. I found this to be a simple yet enjoyable feature, but don't launch a ball, or you'll have to swim to retrieve it. Higher outside nets are needed. The mini-golf course. - One of the better ones due to the subtle variable lay of the greens. They are not flat, but not obvious in their pitch either. A better challenge than I have encountered on other ships. OK, now to our cabins. The four in our party had two types of cabins. One an inside cabin towards the front of the ship, and the other an outside cabin with a verandah near the aft. The cabins were laid out similarly to other ships we have been on, and were of similar cleanliness, etc. However, there are some differences worth noting. First, the torpedo-tube showers were pretty cool, but I am on the skinny side. Anyone with a size issue should be wary here, they are not appropriate to someone wider than about two feet or so. You will have trouble showering. And with a whimpier water pressure than on any other ship we've been on, it takes a while to shower as well. Second, there doesn't seem to be a way of getting announcements in your stateroom. Both Holland America and Princess have figured this out (just devote one TV channel to announcements only). Having to open the cabin door every time you want to hear the PA is a silly approach for a ship this modern. Now to probably the biggest gripe of our group of reasonably seasoned cruisers. We've all travelled extensively around the globe and know our way around a menu. So we can say with some authority that the food on board is downright poor. We tried all on board venues repeatedly and found that although the presentation is fine, the service and wait staff are without exception courteous and professional, the food quality and variety itself is NOT gourmet in any way. The buffet in the windjammer was not even up to Country Buffet standards. The bread type products were day-old at best, there was little daily variation (melon and pineapple were the only cut fruits offered each day) and traffic flow around some of the food islands was so arbitrary food was cold by the time one got back to one's seat. The food served in the dining room was better in terms of presentation and proper serving temperature, yet the quality of the actual food was shameful for a cruise of this sort. Breads again tasted day-old or older, not even close to fresh. And we tried multiple cuts of beef, lamb, and various fillets of fish, and found them lesser than the local Sizzler/LoneStar/Red Lobster/etc serves up. And the sherbets and ice creams were limited to a few bland flavors. Sad, since getting a purchasing agent to purchase GOOD cuts of meat/fish, and a decent variety of fruits and ice-creams/sorbets/gelatos is not the hard part of feeding 3400 people. Disney and Princess both do a bang-up job of this, with mango/guava/papaya showing up in their buffets, and venison, squid etc. entrees, along with on-board made sorbet/gelatos showing up at night in their dining rooms. RCL could fix this in a heartbeat by just insisting on better quality ingredients from their suppliers, and more variety from their menu planners. While this might be intentional, in order to convince more customers to use the multiple extra fee based venues on board, those who appreciate fine dining will catch on to this eventually. Bottom line, if you are expecting great cuisine to be a part of your cruise fare, don't. The food on board is just NOT gourmet quality. Entertainment was more of a mixed bag. Some entertainment was quite good. The comedy of Mack & Jamie, the Platters, the ice show. Some wasn't, most notably the RCL dancers and singers, and cruise director, who is no doubt skilled at keeping all the activities on board humming along, but doesn't have the singing voice he believes he does. I have to give the nod to Holland America and Princess here. The dance/song type shows on their ships were significantly better. Anyone who has seen some actual broadway / Vegas shows knows what the real thing is. This wasn't, and given the technical capability of the Savoy theater, one can't blame the venue either. The shore excursions were alright with Cococay, St. Thomas and St. Maarten as expected, packed with tourists, but still beautiful to visit. Unfortunately, with the trend towards less time visiting islands, and more at sea (more revenue for the cruise line that way), we found ourselves getting ship overload. After climbing the wall five times, ice skating three times, and taking part in almost every activity offered, one finds oneself wanting to get away from the ship, an impossibility with multiple sea days in a row. Overall, all of us in our group came to the same conclusion. The ship, from public areas, to cabins, is beautiful. The staff, from cabin attendant, to waiter, to guest relations, were without exception, professional, friendly, and hard working. But if you understand what five star cuisine is, and are expecting to eat it (or even three or four star cuisine for that matter), you WILL be disappointed. And if you are truly interested in seeing the Caribbean islands and culture, you won't have a great deal of opportunity to do so.