I was very disappointed in this cruise. It's been a while since I cruised with RCI: this is my 14th cruise overall, but the last 3 have been with NCL, much more successfully. We had decided to try RCI again because we were very attracted to the ports on this ship, and they were great: San Juan (embarkation), St. Thomas, St. Croix (our least favorite), Dominica, St. Kitts and Barbados. But the ship itself did not live up to the standards I have come to expect since cruising other lines.

We arrived in San Juan 2 days early, only to experience a 5.4 earthquake at the airport! Luckily no one was hurt, and there was just some minor damage at the American Airlines terminal. We stayed in Old San Juan at the Sheraton--not my favorite hotel, but it was adequate. The rooms were institutional and the casino took up the entire lobby, something Trip Advisor had warned us about. But the pool on the roof was nice-small but with a view and a warm hot tub. We ate well in restaurants in the city, basically going to places that smelled good!

Embarkation on the day of the cruise included long lines and no personnel with whom to ask questions: why were we waiting? Turns out it was only to hand over our luggage, again something that has been much better handled for us on other lines. Once inside, where to go was not explained and it was confusing. I ended up translating explanations for some French-speaking passengers who were lost. Read more