I published a 46 minute video slide show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTbnhP2E41c of this cruise on youtube which tells my whole story. It was a back to back that started in San Diego, CA, went through the Panama Canal (16 days), ended in Ft Lauderdale, FL. Then from Ft Lauderdale to the Southern Caribbean and back (11 days). All in all, we enjoyed the cruise. However, we had a few bumps that were easily overcome. about 5 days into the cruise we had the Naro Virus outbreak that required the ship staff to go into sterilization mode, and a noise above our cabin (boom boom) that went on through the day. The sterilization required the crew to put a film on EVERYTHING which made the ship look kind of grungy. They also eliminated all hand contact with common area/items. Crew served up our food in the windjammer which caused delays. Doors propped open, constant reminders to wash hands and use the sterile goo stands setup all over the place. This went on through the next cruise on the same ship. When we got to the end (FT Lauderdale) we all had to debark so that the CDC could come aboard and inspect. The continuing cruise we were on included this sterilization mode for 48 more hours, then things went back to normal.

The noise above our cabin turned out to be people in the gym above us dropping the dumb bells during their workouts. I'll just say that we were VERY happy with way that RCL resolved this problem. One last thing... The internet computers are sloooooo - 15 minutes to get one message off. If you can, bring your own device and use the wifi svs. Both cost 75 cents per minute. Better yet, go off board and do your internet stuff for about $2 hour or sometimes free.

I know that there were a lot of gripes from all the cruisers about this cruise. A lot regarding the lack of service, and we have to agree. Seemed like the ship was understaffed and overworked which led to lots of passenger neglect. the pamper effect just wasn't as high as it usually is on RCL. I chalk it up to it being a very old ship; I believe the smallest; and hey, you get what you pay for. The cruises were very inexpensive. Here is the link to my Video, please feel free to check it out and share: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTbnhP2E41c