Cruise background: This was my 7th cruise with Royal Caribbean, and my first cruise was with Carnival. For my friend this was her 3rd Royal Caribbean and she did 2 before with Carnival. We both prefer Royal Caribbean.
My husband was kind enough to let me book this little getaway with my friend for the weekend. We had a blast!! a cruise is largely what you make of it, we have to go with a great attitude and not let the little things bother you so much.
Embarkation was a breeze, we arrived around 1pm. It helped that we carried our own small luggage and that we get priority boarding for being C&A members but the regular line did not look too bad either.
The cabin was ready when we boarded so we immediately went to check out our interior cabin and drop off the bags. It was small but not too terrible, adequate for what we paid and our needs for the short weekend. It was great for sleeping in, that is for sure!!
Then we proceeded to the grab some lunch at the Wyndjammer. The buffet choices look great and we were happy with our lunch and the service we got there, everyone was in a good mood. Then we headed to the spa for a quick tour and make appts for the next day. After that we attended the muster drill which was a necessary evil I suppose and then off to the pool deck for the sail away party. We immediately kicked it off with some music and dancing.
After some fun on the pool deck we went back to our cabin to unpack and wait for dinner. I was eagered to find out who our table mates were. We had dinner at 6pm (main dining time) and a table for 8. Our table mates were quite interesting - two young college girls and a couple from Alabama, the most boring table I have ever had, they mostly talked among themselves and never chatted much with anyone else about the day. The food was adequate, nothing to write home about.
After dinner we headed to watch a comedy show which was hillarious, just hillarious, I think one of the best I have had on a cruise ship. At 11:30am they had a 70s party at the Centrum which was really great, lots of fun with streamers, balloons, and dancers dressed in disco clothes going up and down the elevator. The CD even brought 4 other guys with him and they all dressed like the Village People, it was really fun to watch and be part of. Later on that night we headed to the dance club on deck 8 and hang around there until the club closed at 3am. We danced until our feet feel off, although the DJ was not so good he did take requests which helped.
The next day we had spa appointments since we did not get to Nassau until noon. It was heavenly, we both got massages. We also went to the C&A brunch at 10:45am which was good, it was at the Viking Lounge and they were serving champagne and mimosas along with some appetizers and petit desserts.
The second night was formal night and I would say a good 90% of the ship dressed up, which was nice. People were taken formal pictures and really enjoying the evening. Dinner was ok, I think the best thing on the menu was lobster bisque and a Grand Marnier Flan dessert. We skipped the show on this evening and just strolled around the ship. They did have a midnight buffet by the pool deck with some music which was fun.
Since we went to sleep late that night we woke up late and had lunch at the ship before going to Coco Cay. They had a mustard salmon that was too die for. Dinner was really good too, they had some shrimp and rice which was very, very good and for dessert tiramisu. The show after dinner was not so good.
Overall the cruise was good, I would certainly do it again. The food was good, not overly great, but good, you can always find something to eat. The ship is well maintain and it looked very nice. The staff was very helpful and friendly.
I do have to make a note that the CD Jimmy Rhodes was no were to be found other than the first night to introduce the comedian, during the 70s party at the Centrum and at the last night's show. I thought this was odd since I usually see the cruise director all over the ship.
