We have cruised several times before. Cruised with RCCL last summer to Alaska and had an amazing time. We will be cruising with RCCL next summer 2008 in Italy for 13 days. We decided somewhat last minute to go on this cruise and we are very glad we did. We chose two adjoining Promenade Staterooms for our trip even though we usually only stay in balcony suites. Our two kids (ages 10 and 13) stayed in one and we stayed in the other. We really enjoyed having these rooms and watched the two parades from our windows. Because of the large bay windows, the rooms felt spacious. We did not regret this decision.

Embarkation was a breeze. We arrived at about 12 noon and were on the boat by 1 pm. Our room was ready and we got all but one of our bags right away. The other did not come until after our main seating dinner, so our son had to wear the clothes he had worn onto the ship. Being a teenager, he was not pleased, but got over it.

Dining: Upon arrival, I checked on our seating arrangement in the dining room. Our table was next to a wait station and since we value this time, I requested a change. The a head waiter named Erick Puschnik from Austria had a hard time accommodating us, but went to his supervisor and we ended up getting an amazing table on the window in Galileo's (Deck 5) We ate dinner all but one night in main dining room. Our wait staff was superior. We had Reyly Delos Santos as our waiter and 'Ruil' as our assistant. The food was for the most part excellent. If we did not care for something, Reyly was quick to replace it. Read more