Great experience, but beware if you have dietary restrictions (vegan/gluten-free)

This cruise had a great itinerary, with 6 different ports of call.  It was a great way  to see a large area of the Southern Caribbean.  The staff on the ship were for the most part friendly and helpful.  The one day we spent at sea, we had to skip one of our planned activities because there was so much to do!

We ran into difficulties because two of our guests had dietary restrictions.  If you have dietary restrictions, it is much better to go to the dining room, and not the Windjammer Cafe. The biggest problem was with a vegan diet.  The first waiter we encountered in the dining room was not helpful at all when my sister mentioned she was vegan.  Even the vegetarian dishes on the menu had butter, cheese or eggs cooked into them, so the choice she was given was to take out the main part of the dish and eat salad or fruit.  We were seated in a different section the next night, and that waiter brought over the head waiter who arranged for my sister to have a special meal prepared for her every night, as well as to have something made up for breakfast. 

The few times we went to the Windjammer Cafe, there was only one vegan salad at one meal, that had some protein in it (lentils and beans).  Everything else had meat in it, including the chili, which would have been easy to make as a vegetarian/vegan option.  I have restrictions eating gluten, and I felt that the Windjammer Cafe was a trap, because there were no signs designating anything gluten-free, except for some G.F. bread which I found on the last day, and they seem to add flour to all kinds of things that are normally G.F., such as meat with a sauce, and pancake syrup!

Back in the dining room, the G.F. options were clearly labelled, and once the waitstaff learned about my restriction, they were extremely accommodating.  I found something among the G.F. options every day that I wanted to eat.  Also note that beyond being G.F., I enjoy eating almost anything.

All that being said, once we sorted out the dietary problems, we found the food in the dining room delicious, the waitstaff friendly.  We also found the staff around the ship to be generally friendly.

Getting on and off the ship was a fairly simple process with the SeaPass card.  The daily itineraries were great for helping to plan the day.

Our 5-year-old daughter requested to go to the Aquanauts program one day and loved it.  She went back for more sessions later and seemed to really enjoy herself and become attached to one of the staff there.

We loved our first experience cruising and would definitely recommend Royal Caribbean to others.