This was my fourth cruise (wife's first) and my first with Royal Caribbean. Given the totality of our experience, I would rate the cruise 2.5 on a scale of 5. The main reason for the average score was the quality of the food. It was really disappointing. With one exception, the servings were small, the presentation was uninspired, and the taste was bland. For example: their soups could have come out of a can for all I know. The cream of mushroom was advertised as having chunks of mushroom, but there were none. The lobster bisque had no chunks of lobster. The french onion soup was basically a spare consomme. Same kind of results for main courses and appetizers. We could have gone to Chops or Izumi, but chose not to. After all we paid for this cruise, I really didn't feel compelled to spend any more. The only really good meal was on the last night, when they served lamb shank. Huge portion, great food quality.

Breakfast in the Windjammer Lounge on deck 9 was intolerable. Crowded, people literally fighting for table space. It tended to bring out the worst in people. We did that the second day and then I said, "Never again!" My preference was to go to the King and I dining room on deck 4, at least they seat you there and you don't have to sink to guerilla tactics! Plus there was a buffet there that you could get what you wanted, for the most part. A much more pleasurable experience, IMHO.

Our cabin steward and the two gentlemen who took care of us in the dining room were excellent. This was typical of all staff on the ship. I kind of felt sorry for our two waiters, they did their best to "put lipstick on a pig" but in the end, the food spoke for itself. Read more