This was my ninth cruise, my fourth on Royal Caribbean lines. Can't say that the embarkation process went smoothly but my companion acted like he owned the place and proceeded to a short line (we also did not stand in the long luggage line outside the terminal but carried our luggage through the entire steps of admittance and security). In essence, the embarkation was totally surprising, given the number of embarking and disembarking ships abroad.

The first couple of days, food in the Windjammer Buffet was fresh, but later not only the too small space and the competition for food, utensils, & seating made the unattractive place tasteless but the same food the following day seemed reheated. The ethnic foods and the vegetables could be appetizing as well as different.

Most mornings we spent sunbathing, lounging, and reading with an occasional u-serve ice cream from the Taylor machine by the pool. This multi-leveled place forward entered through Deck 14, the sunny Solarium, was the best place to hang out for us oldsters. There is no dedicated library on the ship, as what's called a Library shares an ell with some computers and card players as well as with the control booth for the 270 venue. Not least of all, it's dark because unmovable drapes covered the multistoried windows. Read more