This was our second cruise - the first was 3 years ago on Independence so it was hard not to constantly make comparisons. We traveled with family - 5 adults and one child aged 6.

The public areas of the ship were nice and everything was spotless - staff cleaning constantly. The royal promenade was a bit narrower than on Indy but not so much that it caused any problems. There was a good selection of bars - other reviews had mentioned that the recent increase in passengers has meant that seating in bars was impossible but we didn't find this. The only place we stood to drink was in the pub and that was because the singer there was popular and we chose to stay inside to listen.

Lots of the families on board were upset as the children's pool area has been removed since the bookings were made and with no-one being officially informed. This meant that the children on board had to use the main pools and these are 5 feet deep - so small children could not swim safely without an adult in with them. The water was so salty that it hurt your eyes and we had to go to the medical facility to get eye drops. The whirlpools were fresh water and ended up with so many children in them they were practically standing up. Read more