Perhaps this is true of all cruises nowadays that house over 4000 people, but the reality is that cruising has become a trip in a floating vegas hotel with too many lines and not enough to do. Particularly if the weather isn't stellar. Lines for beach towels, dining, excursions. They are really not capable of accomodating so many people in a a leisurely way. The food was not much better than my dining hall days in college. They charge for soft drinks which is just bad form and just one example of endless nickel and diming.
When we boarded there was a 2 hour delay due to some debarkation issues with the previous cruise from Belize. Not a soul from Royal Caribbean showed their face to explain the delay or apologize even though technically it wasn't their fault. They then made a lame "not our fault" announcement during the security procedures which made it worse...perhaps a free cocktail for all would have been a nice touch.
In order to get towels to go to their private island, people had to go to the pool deck and line up...maybe having it set up on each floor would have made more sense. On the bright side, rooms were very clean and the staff in the dining rooms were wonderful. A few very nice bars and a nice New Year's Eve band in the Olive or Twist bar. Great time to spend with family but all in all, we won't be cruising with RC any time soon.