My husband and I went on this cruise to celebrate his 50th birthday. He had never been to europe and he loves cruises, so we thought it would be a great way to see it. We booked the cruise 6 months in advance. We chose this cruise because of the ports and since we left from Rome and ended in Malaga, Spain, it was less expensive then the 7 day cruise with almost the same itinerary except going back to Rome. This is our 3rd cruise, but first on RCI. We've also done Holland America, which I didn't really care for because of all the old people and wheelchairs. Our favorite though has been the Queen Mary 2 because of the elegance, class, food, and all around white glove service. We had heard good things about RCI, so I was expecting a lot. The boarding was probably the quickest and easiest I've ever seen. We were able to get our Sea Pass on line, so I'm sure that speeds up the check in process. Our room was a jr suite and really large with a great balcony. The decor is a little dated with a small tv, but all around, I'd say it was a great room. The walk in closet was huge. The only complaint about being on the 10th floor is that the swimming pool is above and it seemed like the staff was dragging chairs all night. I think if you want a jr suite, try the 9th floor so not to have that problem. The meals in the dining room were pretty good. We had the late seating, and if i did it again, I'd do the early seating or the My Time seating. I didn't know about that option, but those people often had to wait before being seated. The food in the Windjammer was OK, but got a bit tiresome. There really wasn't much variety and some of it was down right, yuck. My biggest issue is the lack of table manners I saw. I've never seen so many people holding their utensils wrong. I would have gotten in so much trouble from my parents if I would have held a fork some of the ways I saw on this ship. We hate at the Johnny Rockets once, which I guess is a deal for $5 per person you can have has much as you want. Watching some people take advantage and pig out, was kind of gross though. We ate a birthday dinner at Chops and it was nice. Nothing outstanding, but still a nice change of pace. So heres some of the cheap stuff I noticed on this cruise vs cruises in our past. On the QM2 they had a laundry area w/ washer/dryer and irons on certain floors. On the Nav of the Sea, if you wanted to iron your shirt, you had to send it out for full laundry service, and thats gonna cost you. When we got to Barcelona, you have to take a shuttle to get to the area where you can either walk or get a bus. They charge you $5 each to get on the bus, each way. Why not give a courtesy shuttle since we're all getting off your ships? Or why not port closer as other ships did, so that we didn't need a shuttle for the 1 mile walk. On the QM2, the morning breakfast served 3 kinds of smoked salmon, herring, white fish, etc. The Navigator of the Seas had the saltiest salmon, and awful bacon and hideous sausages. I actually lost 8lbs on the cruise from not eating that much I guess. At the drink counters where you had to get your water, lemonade or ice tea, there were attendants handing it to you. I could get my own water thank you. Another issue I had with was with departure. Why do they make you leave your room so early such that you get to the airport 4 hours before your flight. C'mon, the airport was close to the ship and not busy at all. So we ended up standing in a line at the check in counter for hours because as you can imagine, there was nothing to do at the airport that early. I also wasn't crazy about their tipping procedure. We decided to pay the set amt per day, per person, but then they give you coupons to put in envelopes to then hand to your stateroom attendant, waiters, etc. That made us a bit uncomfortable. But all in all, I have to say that I had a great time. The staff was friendly and helpful and what I most liked was the crowd. My husband and I are 45 and 50 and we made friends and enjoyed much of the conversation we had with the people on the ship. For that reason, I enjoyed RCI. I honestly don't know if we'd cruise them again though. We might go back to Cunard ships, but I do think that all ships are probably cutting back right now and nickle and diming you to death in order to save money.