First, let me say that my purpose for booking this cruise was to reach diamond level. I completed a 14 day repositioning cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas in November 2014 which was so awful that had I not already paid for the IOTS cruise, I would have cancelled it and never sailed Royal again. Now I am glad I could not cancel!

Embarkation: prior to sailing I kept getting emails, phone calls, and text messages from Royal telling me that 2:00 pm was my time to arrive at port and check in (I learned that everyone got these communications). I confirmed with Royal that this was “only a suggestion” so I arrived at 11:00 am and was onboard by 11:30. I was in my cabin at 1:00 pm. Disembarking went just as smoothly except that once off the ship Port Everglades has a weird way of getting people through the terminal (zig zag lines that never end).

This is a large ship and as a solo cruiser I was a little concerned that it would be confusing to navigate and hard to meet people. Wrong on both counts. It’s a beautifully designed ship that lends itself to ease of movement and congeniality. There is a wealth of things to do or watch. The flow rider on deck 13 was quite a draw and I enjoyed watching people try their luck. There are the usual participatory games, but not the pool deck activities you see on some ships. Shopping left a lot to be desired and for the first time I did not buy one thing on the ship. Read more