Our first cruise was in 1996 on Princess Cruise's Sun Princess. My how cruises have changed in the last 20 something years!! We've always wanted to go on a Royal Caribbean cruise, and we were not disappointed! Embarkation and disembarkation were both speedy. We had a Panoramic Ocean View stateroom. The bathroom/shower area was a little smaller than we remembered, but didn't spend much time in our rooms to begin with. We only ate in the main dining room and the Windjammer buffet, both of which were fantastic. The bars around the ship were quick and the drinks were good!! Entertainment overall was amazing, as was our main dining room waiters, Michael and Reynaldo. We did buy the unlimited drink package which was good for alcohol and soft drinks anywhere on the ship. We are already booking our second Royal Caribbean cruise to Bermuda in October of this year. I'm sure it will be just as memorable!!! Read Less

Overall, the ship was clean and the staff was friendly. We stayed in a junior suite room and it was very spacious. We traveled with 2 little ones, ages 1 and 3. We were under the impression that there would be things for them to do. This is not a family friendly ship. My son who is 3, was not able to attend the aquanauts because he is potty trained but not able to get on the potty by himself and needs assistance. He has to go into the infant room with our daughter. We also weren’t allowed to take our 1 year old in the pool because she isn’t potty trained. They had no other kid friendly pools or waterslides for them. Perfect for adults but not for kids. The childcare was awesome and the staff were super friendly! My only complaint is the hours of operation. They are only open a few hours in the morning and 6-12pm. They had no afternoon hours which I wish we knew prior to booking this ship. We did a shore excursion to the Atlantis which we paid a lot of money for. Getting off the ship to head to the Atlantis was a disaster. We had to wait in a long line with 2 little kids to get on buses over to the resort. They close the kid water playground at 12 and 3 for 15-minute cleaning. Some kid pooped in the pool and my son had only 10 minutes of play the whole time we were there because they closed it down for the day. The aquarium was awesome! Getting on and off the ship was pretty easy. My husband and I took advantage of getting massage at the spa. It was not what I expected. It looked worn down and they did not have any pools, saunas, ect. The services were very pricey for what we received. My actual massage was great. The therapist took me back 11 minutes late and ended 8 minutes early leaving me with a 40-45 minute service that was suppose to be 50 minutes. I complained to the manager who argued with me that her therapist said the service was 50 minutes. She told me that my phone time was wrong. I told her I checked the time as my husband went back on time and finished about 10 minutes after me. She chalked it up to his therapist being a “snail” and “sooooo slow”. She offered my 10% off my service but I never received a refund. Overall, the ship is nice, staff is great and food was awesome. I would NOT take a family on this cruise. For couples, young people or single people only. Read Less

My husband and I just got back from our first ever cruise. We were blown away by the attention to detail from everyone. From the wait staff ( who remembered our names) to Francis, our cabin stewart who was nothing short of amazing in his care of us and our room. He made the cutest little towel "animals" each night when he went in for our turn-down service. The food was excellent. The deluxe drink package is a bargain at any price. I treated myself to a hot stone massage in the spa... amazing! There are several different night clubs with a variety of different music styles- from Samba and Merengue to jazz, or piano bar. A very lively casino, plenty of dining options, a well- equipped state-of-the-art gym, even a library and art gallery. The port visits were nice. I'm looking forward to going back to Coco Cay. It's a lovely beach. We had the absolute best time!! Read Less

We live in Florida and were looking for a quick weekend getaway. We're pretty loyal Royal Caribbean cruisers (Platinum) and we had been on the Liberty (same layout as Mariner) so we knew we liked the ship style. We got this cruise at a decent price and didn't have huge expectations for a three night cruise, but were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food in the dining room and the friendly crew and excellent service all over the ship. Embarkation was so easy. We left out of Terminal A and we drove there from home. Plenty of parking and it would have been very convenient to drop off luggage (we didn't). Arrived at about 11:45 and basically walked right into the terminal and on to the ship. We had done online check-in so all we had to do was show the Set Sail passes on the phone and get pictures taken. There were no lines and no waiting. Once on the ship we went to Excursions to pick out our Coco Cay bungalow (has reserved online previously). No lines there either. Then we went in search of food. The Windjammer (beautifully renovated by the way) was busy but not packed and we found a table right away. Food was decent and there was lots of variety. Standard Windjammer, but the quality seemed higher than on the Liberty a few years ago. While we were in the Windjammer they announced rooms were open so we went down to our cabin. We originally had booked a balcony guarantee but before we were assigned a cabin there was a price drop. I called my TA and she was able to get us upgraded to a spacious balcony cabin midship on deck 9. Although the cabin hadn't been completely redone it had been "freshened" with new carpet, drapes and some wallpaper behind the lights next to the bed. It was larger than I expected with about 2 feet of space between the end of the bed and the wall and a full size sofa. Bathroom and closet were standard. It was clean (although there was a stain on the couch) but my complaint was our cabin had a metallic smell that I found annoying and I didn't smell anywhere else in the ship. It may have been some kind of disinfectant but it wasn't bad enough to complain about. Our stateroom attendant Kundo was the best I have had in a long time. He knew our names, greeted us warmly each time. and kept our room immaculate. Our last cruise was on Holland America where we had terrible stateroom service, but this time the cabin was done immediately after we left in the morning and when we went to dinner in the evening. My only complaint about the balcony cabin was every single time we were out there trying to relax someone was smoking on a nearby balcony. It wasn't just one cabin - all around us were smokers. Obviously the no smoking on balconies is ignored and no one enforces it. It was very disappointing - since the casino is a huge indoor smoking area and the whole port side of the pool area was one big smoking party. Not like there is no where to go. The ship was full of large parties (families, birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette parties) all doing a lot of drinking and having a good time, but it was not an issue - there was always a quiet place to go so the ship didn't seem that crowded. Because this was a weekend cruise and relatively inexpensive there seemed to be a lot of first-time cruisers and a lot of locals. We probably heard more Spanish than English spoken on the cruise and announcements were done in both English and Spanish. We really liked the decor of the ship and it seemed in pretty good shape, but we did notice the carpets around the elevators were stained and the day of the week inserts in the elevators were literally threadbare. It did not seem like maintenance was a high priority. We had dinner in the dining room the first night and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and the excellent service. Our waiter, Rogelio and assistant Jennifer were top notch. Definitely a step up from our last few cruises. The dining room has been refreshed and looks modern and is very attractive. The food was very good - also a step up from past RC cruises. Second day was Coco Cay. Tendering was a nightmare - worse than any tendering on any cruise we have experienced. The bungalow does not get you priority tendering and there seemed to be a lack of organization and too few crew members. Because there was no one directing where to go people were trying to cut into the line as they came off the elevators. Then we were delayed by the crew debating whether or not to put a pallet of water on one of the tenders. Over an hour later we finally made it to the island. It is REALLY under construction. Right now there is only a small portion of the island that is usable. Construction didn't bother us but was very visible. The bungalow/beach bed/clamshell area is at the far end of the island from the tender area and we were driven by golf cart to the area. The concierge gave us wrist bands and they do patrol the area to make sure everyone belongs there. The bungalow was very nice - comfortable sectional and a coffee table and the canvas curtains were great in blocking the sun. They have you pre-order lunch and it was ok - nothing special. It would have been a long walk to the buffet or I think they will shuttle you there if you prefer. No one ever came to ask us if we wanted drinks but the bar is very close and I did see drinks being delivered to some bungalows. It was a very relaxing experience for us and I would do it again. The water is awful - weedy and shallow a long way out. The sand is very uneven so it's difficult to walk all the way out to the sandbar. Not an area for snorkeling. We had our second dinner at Jamie's Italian. It was awful. The service was decent and I think if you stuck with the things they tell you are good then maybe it would have been ok, but frankly I would say don't waste your money. For appetizers we shared the "famous" plank, I had calamari, my companion had the crab and avocado bruschetta. The plank had a slice each of several cured meats, some olives and pickled peppers, one small ball each of burrata (it wasn't really burrata - it wasn't creamy enough) and one small cracker with a tiny slice of parmesan and a dollop of pepper jelly. And the stupid rainbow slaw, which is nothing except cole slaw (Italian? really?). Anyway the bruschetta was good and the calamari was ok. The entrees - chicken with a mushroom sauce and the crab spaghetti were both not just bad, but awful. I have never returned a dish because I didn't like it but I seriously considered doing it. No excuse for gummy, overcooked pasta at an Italian restaurant and the sauce had only a hint of crab - and no other real flavor. The chicken had been cooked under a brick and was all bones and not meat. They redeemed themselves with the lemon meringue cheesecake - fabulous - but my raspberry pavlova had a few raspberries on top and mysterious blue something on the inside. A true waste of money for the dinner. We ate breakfast in the MDR one time - same food as elsewhere on the ship but service was good. The Promenade cafe was packed all the time. Never had the pizza but the sandwiches were good and you can get fruit and desserts. I was disappointed no salads were available there. The pub and Playmakers never seemed very crowded and the Viking Crown and Star lounge were empty during the day. Ate lunch at Johnny Rockets one day (now an $11.50 upcharge) and the food was decent. The next day was Nassau. Been there, done that so we just walked up and down Bay Street and got back on the ship. Had a relaxing day (good spa treatment and relaxation in the Solarium). We had dinner in the Windjammer - food was good (most tender roast beef I have ever had), lots of variety, and lots of friendly servers. Disembarkation was amazing. We has self disembarkation so were supposed to leave between 6:30 and 7:15. Walked out of our cabin and 7:15, elevator down to 4, no line, walked off the ship and then a long way through the terminal to the Customs face recognition terminals. What a great improvement! No customs forms, no lines, nothing! Activities - we found there wasn't a whole lot going on around the ship compared to longer cruises. We went to trivia a few times but that was about it. We saw the ice show (well done and fun) the first night, went to the production show (awful) the second night and went to bed early the third night so we missed the feature show (a semi-finalist from America's Got Talent). Never saw the comedian. The pianist in the Schooner bar was good, Boleros was packed all the time, and the group that played in the Promenade was really talented. Overall it was a short cruise that met expectations in most ways but was memorable because of the crew and the above average food in the non-payment dining areas. Read Less

Our family of 4 chose this cruise since the MOTS was recently renovated and the itinerary lined up well with school vacation. I thought that the Coco Cay pier would be complete by our cruise date since it is not guaranteed that the tenders can operate if too windy. At the time of cruise booking, the pier was scheduled to be complete at end of 2018. My fears were realized when captain decided that it was too windy to stop at CC, so we stayed in Nassau an extra day. Embarkation was very smooth. On the ship in 20 minutes. Entertainment was decent. Ice show and comedian were very good. They had this other revue show about ‘dreams’ which was subpar. I prepaid for arcade for my kids which was a bad decision. Arcade was decent size, but many games were broken. Food in the MDR was decent. I recommend ordering multiple entrees as portions are not that large. Service in the MDR was excellent. We did the WJ for breakfast/lunch which was ok. We stayed in panoramic ocean view on 12th deck which was one of the newer rooms. Nice view. Decent size beds, even for 4 people. Activities were ok, nothing great. I wished they had more trivia games offered. Promenade area became crowded at night since there is not much action on the pool deck after sundown. If you can get a decent price, I would recommend getting the premium drink package. My wife and I did not drink all that much and our bar tab came in about $30 cheaper than if we purchased the PDP. Debarkation was smooth as well. We had time for breakfast in the WJ before leaving ship. Our only POC was Nassau. You get the aggressive hawkers of taxi drivers and hair braiders. If you know how to bargain, you can get a decent price for those services. We used a 3rd party vendor to spend the day at Atlantis. Read Less

Embarkation was a very simple and quick process. The new terminal for Royal Caribbean is amazing and makes the process of getting on the ship very easy The disembarkation also went very smoothly. The renovations are a nice addition to the ship. The interior was very pretty. It does not appear that the staterooms have been renovated yet. Even without the cabin renovations, our stateroom was very nice. Our dining experiences in the main dining room were excellent. Our head waiter, Bobby, was so attentive and responsive to all of our needs. He went above and beyond to make sure we had what we wanted. We took advantage of eating in the main dining room for breakfast and dinner every day and lunch on one day. I enjoy this much more than having to fight the crowds at the buffet in the Windjammer. Our day at the private island, Cococay was canceled due to safety precautions because of high winds. Due to this we spent the entire 2nd evening and next day docked in Nassau. Not only was it disappointing not getting to go to the beach, it was awful just staying stationary at the Nassau port for that long. I for one love the movement of cruising and we did not get this for the majority of our cruise. I totally understand canceling Cococay due to safety reasons; however I do feel like we could have cruised somewhere even if it was just a second day at Sea rather than sit in Nassau for another day. Most people did not get off the ship the 2nd day in Nassau since they had already done that the previous day. I did not book shore excursions in Nassau as I have been there several times on other Cruise Lines. We did get off the ship and walk around the town area as well as the Straw Market. The ship was inundated with a very large number of teenage girls from Latin America who were aboard celebrating becoming the age of 15. These girls we're loud and rude at times and gathered in large crowds while blocking entrances into certain venues on the ship. They did not appear to have chaperones around them at all or at least any time when I saw them. Lack of clothing that these girls wore was also very unappealing to the majority of adults on the ship. This was only my second time cruising on a Royal Caribbean ship. On my first adventure with Royal Caribbean, there were a thousand college-age students aboard. They students were drunk the majority of the day and we're very noisy and disruptive to every activity. I gave Royal Caribbean another chance by booking this cruise and again met up with a large number of young people. I think they should look at their policy of allowing large groups of people under the age of 21 on their ships. Read Less

My spouse and I try to plan a cruise every February or March to get away from the cold of the Northeast. We are usually NCL people, but liked the price of MOTS and it fell within the timeframe that we had available. Our main goal of this cruise was quality time together, so we didn't really have a huge agenda once we got onboard. Embarkation: We had a junior suite, and the perk with that was priority embarkation/disembarkation. That was the only perk....except for the bigger stateroom...but that was enough for us. I have some health challenges that prevent me from standing for long periods of time so this was absolutely PERFECT. We showed up at 11:30 and were literally on the ship 10 minutes later. No lines at all. Provided your Set Sail Pass is taken care of before you get to the port, you are good to go. It was AMAZING. Disembarkation: Equally amazing. We were at the Deck 4 Aft dining room at the allotted time and again, walked off, collected our luggage, and were in the cab and on our way to Miami Airport by 8:00. The whole thing, including customs, took about 20 minutes. Easy peasy. Ship: it was smaller than what we're used to but given my challenges as of late, that was a blessing. It was clean and there were people always working to make it look better. The refurb was fantastic aesthetically and we were very pleased with the layout. It was easy to navigate and it didn't take very long for us to find our way around...which is a good thing since it was a short cruise! Cabin: We were in junior suite 9258. We loved it. It was more than adequate for 2 people. The bathroom was a fair size (we had friends staying in an inside stateroom and I have no idea how they navigated that shower. TINY!!). There was a walk-in closet that was quite large...large enough to hang all of our clothes and not need the drawer space at all. The balcony was a decent size. Unfortunately, our neighbor enjoyed smoking his cigarettes on his balcony despite multiple announcements overhead about where the ONLY smoking section was located, and that made it difficult to sit out there and enjoy the fresh air. We eventually had to say something about it as we couldn't even keep our door open to listen to the water as smoke would fill the room. He did stop....but then proceeded to argue loudly with his family out there so it was either the smell of smoke or hearing him insult his wife. Neither of which were pleasant, so we kept the door closed for the most part. However, that was not to fault of the cruise line and they handled the smoking issue as soon as it was reported. Dining: We ate in the main dining room one night. It was okay. The service was good, but I don't think we were all that impressed with the selection on the menu. We liked the Windjammer for the variety, but it did get pretty crowded and there was a decent fight for tables depending on the times you decided to go. That was more for breakfast and lunch...not so much for dinner....but it was still crowded. They were very quick to clear your plates though, and tables were cleaned and emptied very quickly as well. We LOVED Izumi...the food was great, the entertainment even better!! The pizza on the promenade left a lot to be desired, but it was good in a pinch for a late night snack. I was very underwhelmed by Playmakers. The TV's were good, but other than that, meh. It was okay...but we prefer O'Sheehan's on the NCL cruises much better. Entertainment and Activities: we skipped most of these. We did not participate in any of the dance parties. We did not see the ice show and we did not go to any of the shows or see the comedian in the theater. As boring as it sounds, we preferred having the Voom and Stream package and retiring back to our room to watch Netflix programs in the evening! As a whole, the service was great. We have no complaints in that category. We loved our room steward. He was always around, attentive, and very friendly. The only thing we'd have liked better, and it's not the fault of the cruise line, is if there hadn't been so many teenagers on this cruise. We had hoped that by sailing in February, that school would be in session. But it looked like there were several school groups on board...and the age ranged from 13-16. There was very little adult supervision provided and they tended to run amuck often....with very little regard to other passengers. Running in the hallways, racing each other down the stairs, pushing every button in the elevators and then getting off...and then laughing while watching each elevator stop off on every floor. Those kinds of things tried your nerves...especially where there were, literally 100 of them running around unsupervised. That is not an exaggeration. But again, not the cruise line's fault. We skipped Coco Cay due to high winds and instead stayed in Nassau an extra day but we can't comment on excisions etc, as we didn't get off the ship. All in all, we enjoyed this trip very much. We believe that for the most part, cruises bring to you what you bring into them. We enjoyed each other and the quality time we had to turn off the outside world and focus on us. We enjoyed the ship and what we got out of it. Would we do a 7 day on MOTS? I doubt it. We still very much prefer NCL, but for what we needed this trip to be, it checked every box for us. Read Less

Did not want a 7 night. Wanted something shorter. Had read that the ship was recently refurbished. You will think that it is brand new. New port set up in Miami was great. Better than even Fort Lauderdale. Park. Drop luggage in the car garage. Walk in. Check in. All quick and painless. We did not encounter one crew member who wasn't both nice and helpful. Did main dinning only one night and it was fine. No more formal nights which was nice. Did hibachi one night which was very entertaining. Never had that opportunity on a Royal ship. Because of weather concerns with tenders the ship did not go to coco cay. So two days in Nassau. In effect we had one day in port with few leaving the ship for excursions and the second day at sea with no one of course leaving the ship. Two changes I would suggest. They really need to start enforcing the no reaserving of pool chairs. I'm an early riser and would see people at 8AM throwing towels on 10 chairs, but not appearing until after noon. Also on the sea day and the second unplanned day in Nassau there was only one bar open until noon which caused long lines. Best entertainment was on deck 5 next to the Irish Pub. Overall this was a great time. Great ship and crew. Read Less

I just don't care much for cruises. I will say getting on and off the ship was way more easy than I have ever experienced. The ship was clean and fresh. The food lacked luster and the wait staff was never seen. Also in the casino, you always had to leave your table or machine and get your own drink only to return and someone else was sitting in your spot. The entertainment started too late making it where you had to stay up till one or two in the morning. It is easier to take the stairs then to wait on an elevator. They close off the pool a little too early. The state rooms were great and the stewards were amazing. Coco Cay was okay and relaxing. I think when they finish the construction it will be a jewel. Swimming with the pigs was not as advertised. They are pined up and the water is knee deep. Not what I was expecting at all. Nassau was just like Jamaica. Very aggressive people trying to sell you drugs and a rent you a scooter. They will also grab you and try to get you to come into the shops. I will not be returning there unless I went to another island. A cruise is a cruise but for some reason this one fell a little below the ones I have been on before. Read Less

This was a charter, On the Blue Cruise, a rock music cruise leaving and returning to Miami. This cruise was all about the music, which was great. The ship itself is large, 4500 guests can be accommodated, I believe. It's a cruise for young people or those with children with laser tag, escape room, surfing, bungee jumping with virtual reality glasses, mini golf (we did this), rock climbing. The buffet was one of the best I've eaten in on a cruise ship. The dining room hours did not appear to be at all coordinated with the concert hours. For example, most evening concerts started at 6 p.m. but that was when the dining room opened. It was closed at 5 p.m. One day the dining room closed for breakfast at 8:30, this when many stayed up late at various venues. Our inside cabin had a small sofa which was very useful, both for the occasional television viewing and also for a seating place besides the bed. The King size bed (which can be made into twins) took up the entire width of the room so it was necessary to crawl into bed from the bottom. The ship was clean and the staff was friendly. Read Less