We boarded the ship in Civitavecchia after staying one night in Rome. I highly suggest arriving a day or more before a cruise. Much more relaxing and not stressful. We had to test (COVID) two days before the cruise via the webmd app. The embarkation process on Aug 30 was unbelievably fast. We had a 1pm arrival appt to board, but we were early, arriving at 11:20. We provided our negative test results, boarding pass (on my iPhone) and we were on the ship by 11:30. Amazing. RCCL deserves a 10+ for the ease of embarkation.

The ship was gorgeous, modern and only 10 months old. Went straight to the Windjammer, packed with guests. Keep in mind there are other cafes to have lunch after you board.

Cabin - we had an aft cabin, 10326. I was hesitant when I booked, since we have never had a balcony cabin the back of the ship. The room was bigger, as was the balcony. It was incredibly quiet and we never heard a peep from the engine, other rooms, plumbing, etc. My husband said he missed seeing the ports from the middle of the ship. Read more