Forgive my long rant, but I have borderline remorse with booking this cruise line. I know that I should be open to new experiences & not compare every sailing to previous sailings, but my experience was more negative than positive, although I realize that it could've been worse. To preface, we booked Royal Caribbean in an effort to explore new experiences & on board attractions. I have sailed Carnival as well as MSC (so far the latter is my favorite). The ports of call/itinerary was great & for an aft balcony, thankfully we got a great deal, so it wasn't all bad. Here's a synopsis of my thoughts:
Embarkation: Smooth, timely boarding. Informative & helpful. Checked in & on the ship within 60-90 mins.
The Ship: Pretty fixtures but overall nothing breathtaking or over the top. Most areas were clean with the exception of public restrooms. Many lacked toilet paper & stayed messy for hours on end. We liked the touch screen directories to help us figure out how to get from point A to B, but the elevators were feast or famine, which got really aggravating. Not enough pools or hot tubs, although Flow Rider was cool. Many bars to choose from, but Café Promenade was an "oh but why?" disappointment (see below). Beautifully decorated for Christmastime. Getting around got easier with each day.
Loved the aft balcony. LONG walk to the first elevator bank however.
Not enough to do for a private island, ziplining fees were outrageous. Same old food that we get on board. Not happy.
Beautiful stop, shopping was great.