It is very important to separate the sweet smiling people taking care of us from the bean counters you feel lurking behind all the new policies on the ship. So I want to start out by saying Thank you to the great people from all over the world who work so hard to make cruising great and always have a smile for us.
Regarding the bean counters; we have been cruising for 20 years and have seen the industry change. Last time we cruised we purchased over 300 dollars worth of spa services and were told we could not have a robe and slippers without an additional $30 outlay.
This time we noticed that the juice was missing. Then we noticed a slick little glossy on the table advertising orange juice for sale, arghh. We also noticed the room service menu had been drastically reduced. That's because they charge you for some foods delivered to your door now.
The cabin was nice. The balcony was a little small but we had everything we needed. They should probably do a better job of seperating smokers balconies from non because our neighbors stunk baby! But with a good wind it was tolerable :-)