This was our sixth cruise, our third on Royal Caribbean, and I've never written a review on any of our trips. However, the issues getting on this ship in Galveston were so frustrating, I felt a need to let others know. We drove to Galveston that morning and arrived at the port at noon. We saw a long line outside and got in it on this hot early afternoon. We were standing in line a total of three hours before getting to the actual check in counter! The first hour and a half getting through security and the second hour and a half to check in and get seas passes etc. before boarding. This was the most chaotic boarding process we have ever seen. By the time we finally got on the ship, they were sending people to the lifeboat drill and we were not able to even get a drink! By the time we were able to sit down out of the heat, it had been 4 and 1/2 hours! The security line was somewhat understandable and we are glad bags are carefully checked in todays world, but the line to get checked in on the boat was just a long mess with not nearly enough personal to check in passengers. We have never seen anything like this. Im not sure we would try this ship again, but if you do, go very very early, no matter what the phone call you get from Royal Caribbean tells you as far as time to arrive!

Once aboard, our cruise was enjoyable. Our room and dining attendants were awesome, the ice show was exceptional as well. The Magic show and guest singer were also very good. Other shows we saw with the ship dancers were not nearly as good and I probably would not go to those again. I would have to say that food was just so so, I believe the quality has gone downhill over the years we have cruised. We really did not have one good desert the entire trip. Drinks such as lemonade and tea were very very watered down. The coffee was just bad.

We opted for My Time dining for the first time, and that did not go smoothly at all. Our time was 6:30, and we were given a pager every night and told there were no tables. We were told 6:30 was a bad time to reserve as tables fill earlier and others are not finished yet. We are not sure why they even let you book that time. The dining room hostess acted irritated with us for selecting that time. She seemed very stressed and irritable. Read more