I have just sailed on the Eplorer of the Seas for 9 days in the Carribean, I have previously sailed on NCL and Carnival and wated to give RC a try since I heard good things about them and the reviews were good too.

The ship is nice and clean. The rooms and bathrooms show sign of wear and tear but that didn`t bother me. My main issue was with the quality of the food in the main dining room. Very limited choices and average taste. A few times, it felt like I was in an Applebees, The first 5 days of the cruise there was barely anything to choose from the menu, The last 4 nights, they stepped it up a bit and offered rack of lamb, lobster, sea bass and lamb shank. The lamb and lobster were good but the sea bass was bland. I was traveling with a group of 17 people and most of them weren`t impressed with the food.Food in Portofino was excellent. Windjammer wss very good too and offered many options,Overall,Carnival and NCL had much better food. RC had better shows than CArnival but NCL is above them all. I sailed NCL Jewl 2 years ago from NYC and it was the best!! Great food, excellent entertainment, just and excellent overall experience.

RC seemed to have less staff in the public areas, In 9 days, I was only asked about 5-6 times if I need a drink. On NCL and Carnival, there are drink servers everywhere and they ask you all the time if you need anything. You just need to sit down in a public space and somebody would come to you to ask you if they can get you anything. On the Explorer, I was gambling several times in the casino and had to leave the table and go to the bar to get a drink.