We went on this cruise with our 4 sons - 21, 18, and 15 year old twins. We had a great time and took advantage of the many opportunities onboard. We visited a couple of specialty restaurants and had wonderful meals - Chops Steakhouse (excellent filets) and Sabor Taqueria (don't miss the guacamole!). We also enjoyed learning how to make sushi at Izumi. The sushi making experience was worth every penny since we got to eat the rolls we made. After we made them, the chef sliced them and laid them out beautifully for each of us on a plate. As for the main place to always get food, Windjammers, the buffet has variety but the quality is just so-so; its also usually crowded. On the positive side, its one of the few places onboard to get walk up soda refills if you get a drink package. (There is always a drink station open on the Boardwalk next to the pizza place as well.) After the first couple of days, we discovered the Solarium restaurant, which is quieter and has a nice atmosphere, and just for older teens and adults; we started having breakfast and lunch there. Our favorite place, though, for breakfast and lunch was going to the main dining room (which is where you already have dinner every night) since you get a menu and table service. They also offer a better buffet, if you'd rather have more to eat. After going to Windjammers a few times for the experience, we didn't go back once we found we had better options. Dinner in the dining room was excellent every night - we had great service and took advantage of My Time dining so we could fit in all of the shows we wanted to see. We found a favorite waiter and almost always could request him to be our server.

My husband, sons, and I also enjoyed going to the gym and spa areas. My husband and I paid the extra fee as a couple to use the steam and sauna room. On our previous sailing on the Freedom of the Seas ship, this was free. I think it was priced a little high but it was a treat for my husband. I also had a wonderful facial at the spa and my husband and I had a couple's massage. My only criticism of the couple's massage was that I would have preferred a dimly lit room rather than a bright one (it had a big porthole). My two oldest sons also had massages from the same wonderful masseuses that my husband and I had but in a private cabana overlooking the ocean at Labadee, which they loved. Two of my sons and I also did yoga on the beach at Labadee with one of the onboard trainers and he did an excellent job instructing us newbies.

The only drawback for us at Labadee was that we stayed at the same beach area where we did yoga which was directly under the zipline. There was constant activity above but I still fell asleep. Also there was a swim out bar but the water going out to it was a little cloudy and there were a lot of hard to see rocks/coral. All of us who went out to the floating bar were stepping gingerly trying (unsuccessfully) to avoid jabbing our feet on the sharp edges. Otherwise, the beaches at Labadee all were clean and looked nice. The cookout/buffet lunch was nice and offered burgers, hot dogs, chicken and ribs. They did a good job accommodating everyone in a timely fashion. I was pleased that there were plenty of lounge chairs for everyone but it would have been nice to offer umbrellas. We sought out some shade under a palm tree. Read more