I had read several reviews of this ship prior to my own sailing on the 8th Feb, and I must admit I thus went on this cruise thinking the worst. Everyone has their own opinion and expectations and this is clearly obvious by the different reviews I have read. I would describe myself as demanding, I have never stayed in a hotel under 4 stars and I expect excellent customer service and love to have the best I can afford, if I don't get it I will be the first to complain. My synopsis of this cruise is that I found the ship spotlessly clean, food was generally excellent in all eating establishments, cabin was well maintained, there was no evidence of flaky paint, stained bedclothes or rudeness from staff at any stage - and yes, looks like RCL are getting it right from Dubai after 3 sailings so far.
We went cruise only, so upon arrival (at 8.30am) we took a taxi to the port - this was metered and cost approx 47AED, the traffic was busy and the journey to the port took approx 30 min.
At the port there is a big white fully enclosed 'marquee type structure' about the size of a football pitch, but before you enter this your luggage goes through security and you leave your case outside. Checkin for the cruise is colour coded so you take a seat until your colour is called. All pretty normal and civilised. RCL keep your passport for the duration of the cruise, the reason for this is that it is stamped for Visas in all ports. I have never had my passport taken away from me for more than a day, so this was a rather new thing to me, but perfectly normal to them. You collect your passport after 6pm on the last day of your cruise.
Cabin 9582 is a hump cabin which means that you can see both ways when you are on your balcony - it was near to the lifts and yet you hear no lift noise Balcony was not as big on that on Voyager of the Seas but immaculately clean, with enough space for 2 chairs and a table. Also we had tea and coffee making facilities in our cabin which was a real bonus - a kettle, tea, coffee, sugar, sweeteners and cups