We chose this cruise for the chance to visit the ABC Islands without having to fly to Puerto Rico. We'd love to visit Puerto Rico for a week sometime, but flights from our location are quite expensive and there are few direct flights. Florida departures are much easier. We flew down a couple of days early to do some shopping at Dolphin Mall and to visit the Keys. We had a nice time in Miami and used Air Miles to stay at Homewood Suites (breakfast and dinner included through the week).
Embarkation was ok. We were process quickly enough and were on board before noon. Rooms were available by 1:30pm. The ship is lovely in its common areas but definitely showed some wear and tear in our balcony cabin. There were black mold spots in our shower, there were stains on our couch, and I'm still recovering from our mattress. It needs to be replaced immediately.
There are lots of choices for breakfast in the Windjammer. We most had oatmeal, fruit, and hard boiled eggs. But there is something for everyone. There are all of the usual choices for lunches. Royal Caribbean switched us to the late dinner without our knowledge just as we boarded. So it would have been nice to have some more choices for a little snack in the Windjammer at 4pm - chicken wings, veggies and dip, mozzarella sticks, sushi, etc. Instead, it was hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, and fries. Dinners in the main dining room ranged from good to excellent.
Stale.
The windows on the balcony were dirty when we boarded and were never cleaned.
Our room was never vacuumed once on a nine day cruise.
There were black spots in the shower.
My back is still very sore from the mattress.
We stayed at Homewood Suites Dolphin Mall. We took a drive to the Keys. Very nice.
Lovely day at the beach.
This island is beautiful. We walked around the town and had a nice lunch at Iguana Cafe.