This was our 4th cruise with RCI and, after the last disastrous trip with them in June 2016, we would have cancelled this one had we not already paid the non-refundable deposit. So the trip went ahead.

First the good points: Having read some negative reviews of the ship and its apparent age, we were very pleasantly surprised to find that she was in fact up to the standard of the two other vessels on which we have sailed on (one twice) and, to us, in no way reflected her age. The interior is light and airy, well-kept and very pleasant indeed. The pools and decks were clean with plenty of sunbeds available even in the busy “holiday” period. In fact, the one thing that struck us was how un-crowded the whole ship felt, even with a full load at Xmas and NY. There was always somewhere to sit, take a drink, etc. Most of the staff were friendly and worked very hard to get things right. Xmas decorations were nice with a large Xmas tree in the Centrum, garlands around the railings of the upper levels with large red and white poinsettias on the stairs and various other points on the ship.

Now for the bad points, of which sadly there are many. Read more