We are in our mid 50's, live in Toronto, Canada and completed nine cruises. This was our third with Royal Caribbean, the previous two were on the larger Voyager and Explorer, so we knew the ship will be smaller and without the attractive Promenade space. We needed to be in San Diego in February. The ship's reviews were decent, the itinerary covered new ports for us, and the price was really attractive for a balcony cabin (7552).

We stayed 5 nights pre-cruise at the Holiday Inn Bayside which was an excellent choice at a great Entertainment Book rate. (will post a hotel review on TripAdvisor). We took the free shuttle at 1:00 pm as HI suggested, had smooth embarkation and our cabin was ready. We waited in line after getting off the shuttle to hand over our two suitcases, which were already tagged. It was not necessary, as we could just walk over and leave them with the other suitcases. Some "porters" offered "priority service" for the suitcases, which we declined.

Upon entering the cabin I noticed dark spots on the carpet near the bathroom, and a musty odor. They sent a "technician" who concluded there was no leak and offered to bring in the powerful fans to deal with the odor. We declined since we still had to unpack and get settled. We also complained about the life boat overhang and hump which obstructed the view. (A couple of days later guest relations called in response, and offered a bottle of wine.) We were prepared for plumbing issues on the ship, but I thought Deck 7 was already fixed. Throughout the cruise we saw workers replace large pipes in the ceiling of Deck 7 corridor one section at a time. Some had face masks on while welding PVC pipes. It was giving off unpleasant odor. Read more