Just back from 5 night sailing on NOS out of FLL. This was our second cruise and was afraid it wouldn't live up to our expectations from our first which was fabulous (also RC - Jewel of the Seas). I was worried it would seem very short but since we only had 2 port days we had plenty of time to just relax and enjoy the ship - which is the best part for us anyway. This ship is larger and we felt it didn't have the flow or the beauty of Jewel and other than the ice skating rink and inline skating area - it doesn't have anything else that Jewel doesn't have. I don't particularly get the whole Promenade concept since I want to see the ocean when I'm at sea - not feel like I'm in a mall - but it was nice. We enjoyed the cafe - open 24 hours with good Seattle's Best coffee - we never paid for the fancy coffee - just got the regular free stuff. They also always had very good pizza, cookies, and small sandwiches there. Embarkation was a breeze - we flew out of BWI at 6:30 and we were on the ship at 11. Since we booked Junior Suite this time (We will never go back to a smaller room!) we were given priority boarding. We were enjoying the pool by 11:30 then the Windjammer for lunch at noon!

Last cruise we had a balcony cabin which IMO is just way too small for 4 people (2 adults w/ two kids). We loved the spaciousness of the Junior Suite - walk-in closet, extra big balcony, bath tub, etc. etc. The room was clean - not perfect or brand new - but very nice and more than enough storage for 4. The bed was very comfortable. Overall the food in the dining room was about the same as Jewel of Seas - good but not fantastic - everything could use more seasoning. We dined in both Chops and Portofino's and loved them both - particularly Portofino's this time. The food, service, ambiance was excellent and well worth the dining fee for us to be able to eat later (we had main dining seating due to the kids and that is simply too early for us).

Food in the Windjammer was just ok - limited selection, the tables in there were always sticky too. I found some good dishes at Jade. Service was always with a smile - you just can't beat it. Enjoyed the pools - you had to search for a chair but we did always find them. The kids LOVED LOVED LOVED Adventure Ocean (they were in 2 groups this cruise - age 6-8 and 9-11). They never wanted to leave! I went to the gym each morning - it was busy but plenty of machines - great view out the bow of the ship too. Enjoyed the ice show - the other entertainment was ok - liked the comedian. Drinks were always good - loved the Royal Crown bar (?) and 19th Hole on deck 14 - great views here! Overall this ship had WAY more kids (middle to high school age range) than Jewel did during the exact same week the prior year. That was a bit of a turn off - not that they were bad - but lots of them roaming around still annoyed me (mine were in the camp all day!) - pushing all the buttons in the elevators, etc. Disembarkation went smooth although we tend to go w/the flow - knew we had plenty of time for our 1:00 flight so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the dining room before finding a spot to wait about an hour before we were off the ship. All in all we really enjoyed this vacation and are very happy with our experiences with Royal Caribbean - but we'd pick Jewel over Navigator next time.