We just got back from our b2b Med cruises on Navigator of the Seas which was booked through a Certified Vacation Planner at RCL. Check in went fine. Getting on board was easy and we avoided the long lines by using the diamond entrance line. We got settled in the room and went about seeing the ship. She is beautiful...and bigger than we remember. We ate in the windjammer and could not help but notice the difference in food offered and how it was prepared. We were assured that it was because of the Italian presence on board. For instance, they do not like crispy bacon. And they like more spice than I am used to. There was also a noticeable lack of choices compared to other cruises. This is our 15 cruise with RCL and the third time on this ship. We went to the nightly "Special Diamond Event"...the free wine and 25% discount. There was a great deal of confusion about that until at least day two of the cruise. I was originally charged for my drinks at full price, then they took those off the bill and charged me full price minus 25%, then I went to the customer service desk and they took them off altogether. The way were treated the first few days, set aside in a small area off of one of the lounges, someone dubbed us "the leper colony" and it stuck for the entire cruise. That whole event needs work. There could have been some snacks served at these gatherings. They threw away enormous amounts of food during the cruise that could have been directed up to the "special event" from the morning breakfast gathering (they did that in a small room off the main dining area for Diamond Members). They had one barman assigned. He did a great job, running most of the time, considering the second cruise there were about 40 people there drinking each afternoon/evening. The "special event breakfast" was a bust. No one came. We went 7 or 8 of the 13 times and never saw anyone but the wait staff. There was no representative of RCL to take requests for tender tickets or ice show tickets. At the end of the time (10AM) the waiters threw all the food in the trash. It was enough to make you cry, considering that it was still good food. To be specific, they set out two large cheese and meat trays (nice cold cuts) along with fruit and breads, rolls, cereal, juice and it was hardy touched. We ate a bowl of cereal and a couple pieces of fruit and at 10AM the extra that was not in boxes or prepackaged was all thrown away. The breakfast perk is a big waste of time and money, and as a shareholder I want to get it stopped if I can. The main dining area was a much better experience. At least you could order off the menu there, otherwise you just ate what was set out. We are not big breakfast people so food selection was not a problem for us. The main dining each evening has also changed. Besides the fact that there is no more lobster tail dinner, the food was not as good as in previous years. Some of the items were even rather bland and lacked taste. Any sort of beef seemed more tough and chewy than in previous years. At first I thought it was just me so I asked a table mate and they agreed. The quality has slipped. I was told I could order a Portofino steak and pay extra if I wanted. I declined. The rest of my experience was as in years before except for the coupon books, which are a joke. Many of the nicer coupons have disappeared.( i.e. 2 for one Johnny Rockets, the free photo, and the free wine tasting.) No pillow chocolates. Not for me, but my wife is addicted. As other people have already written, I noticed on the first cruise of the b2b, which started and ended in Rome, the cruise, the announcements, some activities, and the food were geared toward the Italian population on board. They take a bit to get used to. Everyone smokes. And the ship smells bad b/c of it. Rudeness seems to be cultural in nature. I looked for a movie in English on the TV and was hard pressed to find one. On the second part of the b2b it changed. The cruise started in Rome, but ended in Malaga, Spain. Many things changed back to what was more recognizable. Believe it or not, according to the cruise director, the largest group of people on board the second leg of the b2b were from Israel. There were also large groups of people from Canada and the UK. It was a much more pleasant experience. If I ever do Europe again, I will make sure it is not in the months the Italians are on vacation. (August and September)

I hope someone from RCL reads this review and takes it to heart.