SHIP: the ship is stunning and VERY clean. In fact, our rooms alone were cleaned at least twice a day. The pools are constantly being sanitized as well. One is saltwater. The other is regular with chlorine. There is lots to look at. The royal promenade is full of places to shop and eat. It is basically like a mobile mall. Though the shops are very pricey, they're still nice to look at :p. The coolest thing about the ship is the water fountain that is also an elevator. The elevator takes you up to this glass enclosure where you can sit and drink. Its called the rising tide. I don't know if the water has anything to do with it but it gets really strong and shoots up to the ceiling and then the elevator comes down!! Rob Hempstead was our captain and he was amazing. We had no contact with him but the overhead announcements were something to look forward to. The ship sailed very smoothly. I barely felt it! There were times that it was a little rocky but the captain gave us a warning ahead of time. The ship is very family oriented like for older kids I would say like 10 and older roughly. There are classes for toddlers I think but their main focus is older ones. They do have a little water park for the little ones to splash around in and a 2ft pool for the older ones. They also have a whirlpool the kids can get it. Its cute! The top deck or the sports deck is full of things to do: table tennis, shuffleboard, basketball, flow rider, zip-line, rock climbing, mini golf, volleyball etc.. all free of charge. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that the whole thing closed so early. Basically as soon as it started getting dark.. I feel like thatd be the perfect place to be at night. There are select hot tubs open 24hours but warm at best. NOt very hot.
THE CABIN: your home away from home! I had an oceanview cabin which is TOTALLY worth it. It is worth the extra money or you will go stir crazy. There is a lot to do but its nice to be in your own space and get away from all of the chaos. HERE IS WHATS IMPORTANT FOR THE LADIES: There are plugs that have 3 and 4 spaces..no need to bring one that has three spaces to plug. And extension cords are not allowed. There is a small hair dryer in the cabin. I didn't try to use it. I brought my own. There is a mirror with lights to do makeup, hair etc. THERE ARE NO PLUGS INSIDE THE BATHROOM!...that sucked. However, there is a mirror in the bathroom as well. The shower is very small but it seemed to grow on me throughout the week. The water temperature is ideal. It can get very hot which I like. The other thing is you cannot have the bathroom door open when coming into your room. It blocks the entrance. There is a small refrigerator and they do stock it but for a charge and its very expensive LOL so don't drink it!! Please read before drinking. There is a safe in the room as well. We used it a lot. There is barely any instructions on it but you enter a 4 digit code and press pound. It will open. You enter the code again and it will close. Sometimes when it opens, it may not open enough to appear that it is. Pull on the door a little bit..i made that mistake :P. There is a small closet and shelves for storage. The bed is very comfortable as well. I thought it was memory foam but we looked and its a regular mattress and an egg crate. It was very inviting lol especially after a long night. There is a couch in the room as well. A tv which will you will be able to make purchases from and view your account. You also have channels to watch..some are cruiseline channels that will be port shopping guides and recorded game shows from the ship. They are great to watch! Do not touch the master switch or your AC will be turned off too.
DINING: FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT: You need to schedule your dining experience. We scheduled at 530pm but if you cant make it don't sweat it find somewhere else to eat. The places have different times they are open. There is a buffet in windjammer which is nice. My time dining is a sit down fancy dinner. They say casual dress ok but you really will feel out of place if not at least in a nice dress shirt for the ladies. A lot of guys wore suits but a nice button down shirt or shirt with a collar like a polo would be fine. There are two formal nights where there are photographers everywhere to take pictures with different backgrounds. They will then put your photos in a photobook at Focus where you can go and look, maybe even purchase. BRING ENOUGH DRESS CLOTHES!! I regret not bringing more. People pay big money to go to these "specialty dining" Honestly, its the same food, just a different look and more fancy looking. The only thing is that they may have some special dishes that are reserved for that restaurant. For example chops grille has a special dried steak that is 31 dollars. Theres izumi for sushi etc. But they have seafood in regular dining. They have escargot and crab cakes etc. The waiters are phenomenal and will ask you to try new things but they will not force you. It is a lot of the same thing every night but if you have a special request they may be able to alter some things. I didn't like the orange juice because it was way too fake tasting way too sweet. They mixed it with mango or something and it was wonderful. The only thing I didn't like was that they sat us in the same seat every night. We could have complained but I think it had something to do with the waiters. They really get to know you and your preferences. By the second or third day you wont even have to ask for what you like. Youll just get it.
I did not do any excursions here.