Quips, quirks, and biases

One of the great things about cruise vacations is that, in many cases, they are what you make of them. Because of that, I always like to include this little introductory section where I describe where I'm coming from, as context definitely colors any review. This was my 10th cruise on Royal Caribbean, and 20th cruise overall. I've been "loyal to Royal" lately because I like their ships, have received competitive pricing, enjoy the C&A perks, and enjoy the OBC I receive for NextCruise bookings. I made my booking directly through Royal Caribbean the Tuesday before the Saturday departure.

I'm currently a graduate student, and I booked this cruise on a lark just under a week before its departure because a) the cruise rate was phenomenal ($281 base fare for a single person in an inside guarantee) b) the airfare was tolerable, and c) I needed a break from school (again after my October cruise, sheesh!). This was to be my first official Diamond cruise, though upon talking to C&A before leaving, it was clear that I would have a little leg-work to do once I got onboard because my most recent Majesty cruise was too recent for the computer system to count it as a credit. Read more