My husband and I had previously sailed on Holland America and wanted to try a "younger" cruise line with fellow travellers closer to our age (we're in our 20's). So after reviewing many itineraries, we opted for Royal Caribbean, regardless of the "bad food" stories that we continually heard.

Let me tell you -- the food in the Minstrel dining room of the Brilliance of the Seas was FANTASTIC! After reading many reviews that HAL had wonderful food (which we did not experience) and that RCI had horrible food, we were quite prepared to experience horrible dining inside the dining rooms (the optional dining at $20 a head were reportedly wonderful), and boy were we surprised! Our waiter went out of his way to meet any requests we had, deliver as many portions as we wanted (my husband proudly had 7 lobster tails), and make us believe that we were VIPs! The Windjammer, which is the buffet dining poolside that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner was so-so. Although it is a buffet open throughout the day, so I will give them credit for food being warm at all! The Seaview cafe, located directly above the Windjammer and not known to everyone is incredible. The food is made-to-order bar food, although I would avoid the fish and chips again -- their chips are excellent, but the fish were Mrs. Paul's fish sticks at best. The optional dining, Portofino's (the Italian Bistro) and Chops (the steakhouse) were well worth the $20 extra per person. Although Chops was our favorite, Portofino also had delicious fare.

Every staff member that we met on the boat was friendly and courteous, with the exception of the Ship-Shape work-out center. The staff was aloof at best, and unless you were paying for services (most classes cost $$ -- which considering what you pay to get on the ship is kind of ridiculous), the trainers and workers didn't even give you a passing glance, let alone smile. The spa was highly outrageous, I didn't know a single person that used the services due to the over-pricing. Read more