Our cruise started off well, check in was extremely speedy especially as we had sailed with RCI before. The staggered check in times seems to be working well even without the benefit of being a returning cruiser. Found our room quite easily - on this cruise we went for a Promenade inside cabin which had a window overlooking the Promenade deck. We did have a little noise on the two nights that featured entertainment but it did not go late and wasn't really an issue for us. Room layout was what you would expect from an inside cabin but with the added benefit of an extra sofa in the form of a window seat, hanging space a little cramped.

Our room stewardess was lovely as was the waiter and servers in the dining room. Dining room food was good, however the Windjammer was very disappointing with a marked decline in the amount of choices available and food was always lukewarm as was with our previous cruise with Princess. It seems to be an issue with all the cruise lines.

Cruise director and staff were good, with the morning show being quite entertaining. There were plenty of trivia quizzes which we enjoy and plenty of variety of other activities. Now for the downside, the quizzes were usually very well attended, however the venue was usually the Schooner Bar which just could not cope with the amount of people who attended. The casino is right in the centre of the ship and although it is down below the Promenade it has access from that deck in a couple of places as well as being next to the Schooner Bar. It was quite heavily used on this cruise and the smell of smoke would waft up to the Promenade deck as well as into the Schooner Bar which made it quite unpleasant. Also unless you wanted to go up a floor to avoid it a lot of times access to some venues was through the Casino. I also find it amusing that one side of the Casino is non-smoking! Read more