My wife and I have cruised with Royal Caribbean 12 times in the last 10.5 years, and our last cruise may be our last with Royal. The last few years, we've cruised with Royal twice a year, and have sailed on both the Allure of the Seas and the Oasis of the Seas. We've sailed on Freedom of the Seas, Monarch of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, and our favorite Mariner of the Seas (honeymoon). We love cruising.
One thing that Royal Caribbean use to say but you will never hear anymore, "it is my pleasure". We use to hear "it is my pleasure" whenever we asked for something. I won't say that service was bad, but it wasn't at the level it has been in the past. I think the crews are burned out. I know I am from my job.
I met more people trying Royal Caribbean the first time either as first time cruisers or cruisers from other lines. In all my previous 11 times on Royal Caribbean, I have never heard anyone say Carnival has better food and service. I heard this time and time again. I would say at least 20 people told me they were disappointed in the quality of the food and service, stating Carnival had far better food and service. I love Royal Caribbean, it is where my wife and I honeymooned, but the food was the worst I've ever experienced. It reminded me of college dorm food. I'm talking about the main dinning room food. Windjammer is a buffet, and it can only be so good, and I don't like eating at the Windjammer because it is always chaos, loud, and easy for germs to spread.
The room was clean except for the toilets had some black debris at the bottom. When I asked our stateroom attendant, he said they are aware of this and that the rubber seals are disintegrating. As long as it is clean and flushes, I'm good. The balcony was and is our favorite part of the room. We've only not purchased a balcony once and we will never not get one.