I would have rated higher, but the condition of ships that I have been on lately (this one, the Navigator, and the Rhapsody in early December) were both in need of some TLC. The crew was great as usual. The food was above average but the menu selection was not as good as usual.

I enjoyed the cruise a lot. The ports were great. The entertainment was not as good as I have experienced on other Royal and Celebrity ships. The cruise director was average. One of the headliners shows had to be cancelled. The service was above average as usual with a great, friendly crew. In particular our waiter, Atarulla, and assistant waiter, Bingbing, were superior. They were very friendly and interesting while providing excellent service. I hope to see them in the future and would love to have them wait on me on a future sailing. They made me want to come back. Also, our room steward, Caffique, was outstanding. He did an excellent job and was always pleasant to deal with. He was very helpful when we had any requests.

The smoking on the ship is awful. People smoke in areas other than the designated areas. In one case when I pointed this out to a member of the crew, they just said there was nothing they could do about it. Smoke would come into the cabin at night, not sure where it was coming from, but it made me ill. I know that smokers need to be accommodated, but something should be done to ensure that they stick to the designated areas and the air in the casino needs to be better filtered.