This marked our 50th cruise, many of which have been with Royal Caribbean. We went with a group of 20 people, 12 of whom were country line dancers. We left from Bayonne very excited to be going to the warm Caribbean. Embarkation went pretty smoothly except we had to go looking for our luggage down the hall and found someone else's luggage outside our stateroom. This was a first for us. Our cabin was neat and clean and everything seemed fine until we got to the main dining room. Apparently, Royal made a significant change to their menu, beginning with our cruise. It was much more limited than it used to be and had dropped the section of classics that were available every day in the event the selections of the day were not appealing. The change that made me most unhappy was the fact that if it wasn't on the menu, it wasn't available in the dining room, so when I asked for a baked potato instead of rice, I couldn't have it as it wasn't on the menu that day. A friend asked for cocktail sauce with his meal and because it wasn't on the menu, his request was refused. When we had the wedge salad for an appetizer one evening, I asked if I could also have it the following night and was told no, because it wasn't on the menu at that time. One of the head waiters was actually short with a member of our group when she asked about the wedge. However, the coup de grace was on lobster night, there was a note on the menu saying that if you wanted a second lobster tail, you would be charged $16.99. That has never happened before on any of our other 49 cruises on any of the cruise lines we sailed. I couldn't believe that cruising had dropped to that level. Overall, the food in the dining room was sub par and the menu very disappointing, but the service was excellent.

On a more positive note, we had one of, if not the best, cruise directors we have ever had. He was funny, energetic and was actually seen around the ship. He stayed and entertained us with his staff throughout the 50's party rather than disappearing after about 10 or 15 minutes which usually happens.

They offered ballroom music every day at 4:30 PM at which they announced the dance before playing the music which is a first, and appreciated. Read more