We chose this ship and cruise date so our 20 year old daughter would potentially enjoy this more than our usual Princess cruise-and the price was more reasonable. Looking back she too prefers Princess. Embarkation was a breeze. As is our custom whenever we cruise we arrive early in order to get on board early and start our vacation. The areas in the terminal are clearly marked and even though we were not any type of elite status or cabin we boarded quickly and easily. Made our way to the Windjammer before the line got long. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food having read some less than glowing reviews. After that we were off to explore the ship, tour the spa and make any necessary reservations. We were in a Central Park cabin that was really quite nice: clean, roomy, different from usual balcony. Bathroom was small but clean-there were three of us and we made it work. Room steward was good. The Central Park area of the ship is truly beautiful and quite amazing when you look at all the plants and consider you are on a cruise ship. Our ports of call were Labadee, Haiti, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Charlotte Amelie, St. Thomas. Beachtime at Labadee-loved it-good food, cold drinks, clear water and white sand. Did our own thing in Puerto Rico-walked to the fort,shopped a little and enjoyed our time. Same in St. Thomas-taxi to town, spent some money shopping to stimulate a hurting economy. We chose to dine at the same table every night-had a great waiter and good food!! We didn't like making reservations ahead of time for entertainment. Bummed that we were unable to get in to see the comedian-the comedy venue is very small. Casino was fine, not an art person so I can't comment on that. The disco party was a hoot-don't miss it! Fitness center was really good, lots of equipment. Downside-all fitness center staff try and sell classes/programs. Spa was very good-we purchased the week long Ultimate Pass to their thermal suite with the mudroom/milkbath addon-highly recommend this!!! All spa staff were wonderful. Also, sent our daughter for a cut/style/blow dry; she looked great and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Almost forgot-favorite spot on the ship besides dining room and spa was the Solarium at the front of the ship; 16 y/o and older area. It is a great spot, lots of chairs, great view, plenty of wait staff and a lovely bistro to get food and drink pretty much all day. Ship was big for our preference but that's just me; the only time it really felt crowded was when we were done watching the dive show and there were a bunch of people in the area for another event. Pools were nice, lots of chairs and servers. Royal Caribbean does a great job creating a fun, family environment. All in all a very good cruise and family vacation!
We were in a Central Park cabin that was really quite nice: clean, roomy, different from usual balcony. Bathroom was small but clean-there were three of us and we made it work. Room steward was good.
This area was hard hit by the hurricane and still recovering so we were happy to spend a little money shopping.
We walked to the fort and spent two hours exploring it then did a little shopping.
Enjoyed the beach, lunch and sunshine.