Sailed Carnival 7 times until our adult daughters convinced us to cruise on RCI FOS. Food was very tasty most nights and the Chops Grill Steak House food was superb. Activities on board were plentiful and the cruise director Richard Spacey was very funny. Drinks seemed to cost less as there specials everyday like 2 for 1 Margaritas and 1/2 price well drinks.

Entertainment was very good as there was a magic and ice show as well as a performance during the Halloween bash. The layout of the ship was nice, but you are forced to walk through the smoky casino on deck 4 to go to dinner after a show unless you go up one deck and across. In the Windjammer Café I felt crowded with people several times while trying to eat breakfast. I even saw about ten people waiting in line just to get a seat at table of strangers. The design of this food venue was not planned very well for the number of passengers. We had an inside cabin and it sure was smaller than the smallest class Carnival ship's similar room type. The bathroom was also too small compared to the competitor. Quality of service though on FOS was a little higher standard though compared to Carnival.

The ports of call of Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel were exceptional. We have been to all but Haiti once or twice before. Falmouth, Jamaica is a much better port than Ocho Rios. The newer Cozumel pier which Carnival had two of the ships docked at was much better than where RCI docked in Cozumel when we were there. Read more