First, some background. We are a family of three. This is my 4th cruise with my wife, and our second cruise with our son who was 4 at the time of our sailing (May 9, 2015). We love RCCL, but our only experience prior to this one was on Explorer of the Seas, on which we sailed 3 times (we also got married on the Explorer). So many of my observations will be relative to the Explorer, pre-refit... as well as from the POV of cruising with a young child.

For starters, we decided to fly in from NJ the morning of our sailing. Our flight was delayed somewhat, but getting to the ship and getting on board was a breeze. The shuttle service from the Airport (we booked our fight using RCCL's Choice Air service) was friendly and efficient. Unfortunately, because we were running late, when we got on the ship around 3:00, all of the food venues were closed... so no lunch for us.

I'm not going to go through each day in detail. I can save that for a different kind of review. But I will talk about some highlights: Read more