MarkGoldberg

I have very mixed feelings about this cruise. Allow me to begin with the positives:

* Royal Caribbean is the best of any cruise line for on-boarding and debarkation. We were given a time to be at the port and were on the ship exactly on schedule. Similarly, leaving the ship was extremely efficient.

* Service, both in the cabin and in the dining areas, were phenomenal, easily the equivalent of Celebrity and far superior to Carnival.

* Coco Cay was a beautiful, relaxing island.

* Although I did not bring my children on this cruise, there were a ton of activities planned to for kids and teenagers, and, even though there were many kids on the ship, at no time were any of them disruptive. If you are going on a cruise with a family, I would suggest using Royal Caribbean

* Eating at the Chef's Table on Saturday night was one of the best culinary experiences of my life. For $75/person, you receive champagne at the start, a 5 course meal specially designed for you by the chef, a different wine paired with each course (and unlimited amounts of wine during the meal) and a signed cookbook. This dinner lasted 4 hours and was worth every penny.

The negatives:

* The food, other than at the Chef's table, was simply not at the same level as Celebrity. There were a couple of dishes I really enjoyed but I was rarely wowed any items.

* Compared to the last cruise on Celebrity, there were fewer fun activities during the day. We did go to a Chateau Lafitte wine tasting, but that was it, there was not much else to do during the day.

* Nassau was a bit of a disappointment, as it is a very impoverished area outside of the 2 streets you are supposed to visit. Not sure I would go back into the town again if another cruise takes me there.

* The ship, while in good shape in general, does show its age in places. Carpets are worn, areas need painting, and in the Schooner bar there is a window that is completely shattered that has not been fixed.

If you are a family with children looking for a cheap vacation, I think this would be an excellent option as the service and activities for kids are wonderful. If you are a couple traveling without kids, perhaps another ship in Royal Caribbean or Celebrity might be better suited for your needs.

My wife & I took our first cruise on a Celebrity ship on 4/26 and had a wonderful time. Prior to boarding, we read a number of reviews, so we had a pretty good idea of what the ship was like and they were fairly accurate. This is the oldest ship in Celebrity's fleet, and it does appear so, especially on the top two decks. 

However, the service and attention to detail by the crew was exemplary. The housekeeping staff were very responsive to all our requests, the wait staff at meals were all very attentive and the onboard programs we attended were all very informative. 

The food was also superb. There were a couple of mis-steps, such as the burgers on the main deck which were not very good, but other than that I enjoyed or absolutely loved all of the meals prepared for me. Our sommalier deserves special praise as he was very knowledgeable and a lot of fun to talk with during dinner.

If I had to pick one area of improvement, it would be on the excursions. One reason we chose this trip was for an excursion to Sonoma to visit certain wineries. On the first day of the cruise, we were told that trip had been cancelled due to not enough interest. I recognize that these trips can be cancelled without notice, but it would have been good customer service to let us know that some trips are more likely than others to be cancelled (this one, in particular we were told by the staff is often cancelled) and to post that information online. Stating that an excursion needs a specific number of participants to happen, and showing the progress towards that goal (such as this trip needs 25 regsistrants and there are currently 10 people registered) would help calibrate expectations.

Another idea might be to develop an app to use onboard where you could check the daily schedule, any planned activities for the day and possibly directions on how to get to that activity.

We did very much enjoy our trip on Celebrity and look forward to cruising on their line again in the future