This was our first cruise. My wife and I selected Royal Caribbean based on friends' recommendations and Internet research. We selected a 5 day/4 night cruise on the Radiance of the Seas from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. MEALS Since this was our first cruise, we didn't know what to expect on board the ship. The meals in the Breakers Dining room were equivalent to those in a 4 or 5 star restaurant. We enjoyed meeting 3 other couples at our dining table. We also found the food served (buffet style) in the Windjammer Cafe to be top notch. The only disappointment was in the Seaview Cafe. The Reuben sandwich I ordered for lunch was below par. STATEROOM My wife really enjoyed finding a different bath towel decoration created by the stateroom attendant in our room every night. One night it was a chicken and another night it was a swan. The accommodations in our room were better than we hoped for. We had a balcony stateroom, which we didn't use as much as I expected. In the future, we'll probably a stateroom with a view to save money. If you don't like noise, choose a stateroom away from the center of the ship. The music from the lower levels was very loud in that area of the deck.

STAFF Our stateroom attendant was very thorough and unobtrusive. We also found the dining staff to be friendly and attentive. We only saw the head waiter the last night of the cruise when tips were handed out. I prepaid our gratuities based on the RCI's recommendation. I'd be interested in hearing from other members on how much they deviate from the recommended tipping amounts.

ENTERTAINMENT The entertainment was good. The cruise director displayed a great sense of humor. The comedian was also very funny. The singing in the musical performed the last night of the cruise was excellent. The performance of some of the dancers, however, was not exceptional. Read more