The best way I can summarize this is by comparing the cruise lines to fast food joints. If Carnival is the McDonald's of the seas, then RC's Grandeur of the Seas is Wendy's. By a hair. Not even a Panera. A Wendy's.

The good: The customer service was much better than I expected. The crew seemed decent and friendly and responsive. At times they were a little too eager to remind you to take the RC survey and rate them highly or call them out by name for great customer service. That's kind of a killjoy, but to be expected. Can't complain about the crew. They did a great job.

Also good? The food. I had read that the food was meh. Cafeteria-style at best. I didn't find it meh. I found it solid. The Windjammer Cafe (casual buffet) doesn't have enough seating. It was really annoying to be searching for a table only to find none. Or, to find a two-seater for our family of four. We often had to sit apart. The food was typical of a buffet, but it wasn't bad. Plenty of healthy options if you so choose. But I chose to invite one food coma after another onto myself for the trip. We did the Great Gatsby (main dining hall) twice. The waiters were excellent. Food there was marginally better than the Windjammer. The nicer restaurants you have to pay for didn't seem to be too popular. Read more