For the most part we had a great time. Past trips to P.R. were never good so I was apprehensive about leaving from there but figured we were only flying in, sleeping over, and leaving, so how bad could it be? Then 2 weeks before we left for the cruise, we found reviews about how the locals get some special 2 for 1 deal and 90% of the ship would be P.R.s. That didn't phase me much except that it's not fair they pay less than everyone else. We rec'd our e-passes and I had taken care of the pre-processing for quick boarding but when arrived at 9:30am, we found we were at the end of a VERY LONG line. It didn't matter whether we were pre-processed or not. Even the Platinum level and other elite members had to wait in a long line, but not as bad. Unfortunately, RC members waited too long to set-up the info booth and ropes for organized lines. Most of those ahead of us were locals who travelled in packs of 20-60 members and it seemed each had 5 or more pieces of large luggage. We were speaking with a group in front of us - they said they take the ship twice a month to do shopping on the islands and always bring several empty suitcases to take the food and things back. They also showed us the nifty spiral-bound books they are given containing coupons for drinks and other things, luggage tags, etc. When we got up towards the front, we were detained because our 2 little bags didn't have the luggage stickers that the locals had - the ones we purchased and filled in per R.C.'s directions were not allowed. So after some pushing and being ignored by baggage handlers until the $10 bill came out, we were delayed. Then the officers inside kept barking orders, shoved forms in our hands to be filled out. When I showed the ones I had already filled in per my R.C. package, I was yelled at, told they were not valid, that I had to get out of line and do new ones; then yelled at which line to stand in, yelled at what line to enter the escalator. Now I understand why they have the rum samples available!

Once on board, things went smoothly. We loved the adult swim area immensely. Our only complaint was the "locals" insisting their children were allowed in there and when asked to remove the children, perhaps go to the family pool area, it always erupted into loud drama and disgusting language, and of course, all members of their entourage had to be involved. If they travel on the ship so much, surely they understand the rules by now! The other thing we noticed was that they camped out within entire wings of the ship, including taking ownership of bathrooms and to enter into "their" area meant listening to their yelling or crude remarks. The prettiest restroom on the ship is the ladies room connected to the Portofino restaurant. There is a connecting door to the deck as well (proclaimed "locals" territory) but it is obvious by its decor that it is meant primarily for the restaurant. Since the locals had taken over the deck entirely, the took the bathroom as well. When I entered it, there were a dozen women in there in various levels of undress, some naked and bathing, feet in the sink basin, naked children sitting on the counter. And like another reviewer mentioned, filth. My husband had read the review and said there was no way it could have been that bad. Then I let him know I hadn't told him about it because I didn't want to disgust him or ruin his trip. But when I was using the restroom, suddenly, from the stall next to me, appeared excrement all over the floor. Yuck! And the woman left it!! Later, we went to Johnny Rocket's for lunch and I went to use the single ladies room after another local had vacated it and lo and behold, she apparently had just bent over and purged - it was all over the walls, toilet, floor... you get the idea. I hightailed it to somewhere without so much biohazard waste. Shortly after, I watched from the restaurant and some poor soul was there in biogear and giant hose to wash the place out. I would never trust that room to ever be bacteria-free. The only other issues we had with the locals was the pushing to be first in lines and greed. The ship announced a special buffet showing the chef's best - we just had dinner and didn't plan to eat but wanted to see the display. We were close to the front, somehow ended up being one of the last to enter. We had watched in amazement the amount of people pouring out of their restaurants to get to the buffet like their life depended on it. Rather than even look at what was before them, they grabbed the actual platters of items and took them! They took entire turkeys, all the chocolates, an entire basin of plasticware. We heard a couple of the officers say they would never offer that buffet event again - the chocolate alone was worth hundreds of dollars.

Excursions - now I know this sounds silly, but we chose this trip solely because we saw the Travel Channel show about the ship and how it offered the Stars & Stripes excursion - actually driving the ship and hubby was so thrilled about the prospect. Unfortunately, there was so little interest from others that it was cancelled the day before he was to go out. I think this is where a major problem lies with the ship being 95% P.R. locals. On the upside, we took a credit and applied it to go to the Butterfly Farm in St. Maarten. We could have spent all day there but we only got a puny 45-minutes. Like most cruises, they rather dump you off in the shopping area in hopes you'll spend your pesos on their junk. For hubby and me, that means checking out the local bars and trying unique beers or local wine. Islands: Aruba is overrated - what a useless stop. Hubby's dad was a pilot and had disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle enroute to Aruba; we had always imagined it would be exotic. If it weren't for the usual Diamonds International and Tanzanite hawkers, I'm not sure there'd be much else to see. Curacao was just ok. St. Maarten was an improvement. St. Thomas seems to be everyone's big stop and I had heard that it was overly commercialized (like Aruba) so I wasn't sure I even wanted to go ashore. Well, I'm sure glad I did. Every area was BEAUTIFUL, especially Megan's Bay. If we can swing it, we definitely want to buy a condo there. Love it, love it, love it. We swam in Megan's Bay nearly all by ourselves, then had lunch on the deck of a shanty restaurant, then drinks in the attached deck bar. This was probably our best day out! Every time we think about that day, we smile. Before I go, I want you know about the great service we received from a bartender in the bar all the way upstairs - I don't recall the name but it is attached to the golf-theme bar. Raymond waited on us every day and he was awesome. Fun to talk with, lots of great ideas, very sweet man. I think he got rich off of our tips! Food - Forgot the most important part - food. I'm a former chef/caterer and son is chef, so our tastebuds are quite educated. The assigned restaurant food was just okay but better than what we had on Princess. We had booked our trip a year in advance and thought that would assure us our private table requested and in a good area. We found, once onboard, we were assigned to a broom closet that they entitled "auxiliary dining room". It was filled with mops, chairs on top of tables and other clutter when we first saw it. Then they seated us at a table for 12 (we asked for private table) and of the 5 couples that showed, none spoke the same language!! How ridiculous. It took much arguing to get assigned out in the main dining area and found we were the 3rd couple to be assigned to the horrid table - the former couples didn't like it either. We decided to pay the extra bucks and go to Portofino. It was such a nice experience and worth every penny. It doesn't come close to being as good as our son's restaurant but still couple levels better than the main dining. We didn't bother with the "fine dining" on Princess because the food is made by the same chefs, same kitchen - no point. But Portofino has their own chefs right there within the restaurant. We could only get in again on the last night. Next time, we will likely book early for a table every night. And despite the wines mostly being from California onboard, you can get some very nice Italian and French ones in Portofino. (Note: the wine tastings on Princess are TONS better and Princess offers afternoon tea - Royal should really think about improving in that area.) Disembarkation was a disaster but I'll let someone else touch on that AWFUL, TERRIBLE process.