It was nice to be a part of history, and the food was quite better. The grandness one sees is fake, however. For example, the handrails in the too-long passenger corridors are plastic-laminate covered plastic poles that are peeling. There is black mold in the tile grout of the bathrooms. Attendants do a poor job of cleaning beyond cursory wipes. To be truly grand, it needs to be real and pristine, or at least real and real clean. It was disappointing enough to ensure never being selected again for even basic transportation. Cunard makes RC look better.
Got quickly tired of the baking-soda carpet vacuum sprinkle smell, and made me ashamed I used to use that 20 years ago. Lavender Surprise smells like 'Surprised to Be Alive' after the first 817 applications and vacuum-ups.
It would be a fun time, they said. It would be, IF I HAD ONE.