Traveling with our adult children and two older teenage grandchildren, my husband and I chose this cruise because of the classic itinerary for the grandchildren's first visit to Europe. Whereas, our vacation together was wonderful, sadly, the ship experience was not. The main dining room displayed spotted, cloudy glassware. Too often, silverware was dirty. Soups were served lukewarm whether they were supposed to be cold or hot. I will not elaborate further on the quality of the meat or meals other than to say oftentimes I questioned even the health safety of the food being served. The staff and crew tried their best but seemed to be constrained by circumstances beyond their control. Kids ran wild on the ship making me question the kid's club programs. Also, it is unacceptable for RCI to charge $12 for shuttle service to town when the ship is docked in an industrial area. That cost should have been built in to the price of the cruise. I was also offended in being handed a menu each dinner that contained the evening's offerings plus always a box that showed "additional charges" for lobster, etc.). Shame on RCI for nickel and dime-ing it's passengers like that.

It's been years since I cruised on Royal Caribbean only because of more favorable or appealing itineraries on other lines. My previous memory of RCI was that of one of the more desirable, well run cruise lines. Sadly, I will be avoiding RCI because of the bad taste this past experience left in my mouth.