We were travelling with our extended family ages 27 - 82 with a total of 11 in all on an Eastern Carib Itinerary. Three were first time cruises and the rest of us have been on several cruises. My husband and I have been on 14 cruises in all including Carnival, Princess and NCL and were excited to finally try Royal.

Embarkation was easy and we were on the ship within 1 hour of arriving at port. I will say the ships definitely have a "wow" factor and are lovely. We purchased the soda program which was definitely worth the money and they have Coke products. We explored the ship and were in our rooms at approximately 2:00 p.m. with all luggage being delivered by 5:00 p.m. They Royal Promenade is the heart of the ship and we spent quite a bit of time there wondering in and out of shops, people watching etc.

We decided to get an inside cabin (deck 6) and were quite suprised regarding the layout. We have had insides on all other lines (as well as balconies) and this was by far the layout we liked the least. We actually had to crawl in and out of the bed from the bottom. The rooms are longer then they are wider and have a small couch which does not allow for the ability to easily get in and out of the bed from the sides. The bathroom was adequate with storage in a medicine cabinet, which was nice. The shower was small (but they all are) and does have a door if that is your preference. The desk area which I use as a vanity was nice and had great storage space. The room stewards were great and very friendly, had ice in our room as requested and we were very pleased with them. Comparison between all the lines I would say Princess inside cabin has been the nicest and then Carnival, Royal and NCL for room and functionality. Read more