This was our second cruise with RCI. We enjoyed the first one so much we booked another one with NextCruise. We sailed out of Miami to Labadee, Curacao, Aruba & Bonaire. The ship is fantastic. Clean, well appointed and plenty of great staff attending to your every need. For the first time we splurged and booked a Junior Suite (9248). It was perfect. We will never go back to a smaller room....just our opinion, but the extra room, walk in closet, full size shower/tub and extra long balcony were ideal.
We had done Chef's Table on the first cruise and loved it so much that we booked it for this cruise as well. It did not disappoint. Alessandro, our head waiter and our personal chef, were outstanding and the 5-course dinner was incredible. Each course had its own specific wine that paired with the food. It is so worth the money. We will be doing it again on our next cruise April 2018.
Unfortunately, the dinner at Chops was not so great. My soup was tasteless and I sent it back and exchanged it for the scallop appetizer, which was also dismal, as the scallops were over cooked and rubbery. The highlight, as is should be, was the filet mignon, which was perfect and delicious. Dessert was red velvet cake and it was dry and kind of stale. It was not worth an additional $35 per person. It was funny, the next night in the dining room, they offered filet mignon for an additional $10! If I had known that was going to happen, I would have not gone to Chops! Anyway, others on the ship loved their meals at Chops, so maybe we were just unlucky that evening. It certainly did not ruin my vacation, that's for sure! The food in the dining room was great, and our dinner mates were the best! Lots of fun getting to know other people! :) Hope we see them again on a future cruise! The Island stops were great and we enjoyed all 4, hoping to go back again someday!
For the first time we splurged and booked a Junior Suite (9248). It was perfect. We will never go back to a smaller room....just our opinion, but the extra room, walk in closet, full size shower/tub and extra long balcony were ideal. Deck #9 is ideal, as it is 2 floors below where the pools, windjammer, etc...are located...so no noise from above or below. We were also close to the elevators/stairs. Very convenient. We booked the same suite for our next cruise!
Mambo Beach! Beautiful white sand!