Overall - we had a fantastic trip. This was a large group of 12 (6 couples) traveling together. All the ports were awesome This was my first Royal Caribbean cruise, I would definitely sail with them again. Our first day was exploring they ship and soaking it all in. Weather was absolutely perfect the entire week. We arrived a day early in San Juan. Stayed at the Hotel Miramar with was a small boutique hotel right near the pier. It was nice for 1 night. Because they did not have a pool and wasnt on they beach, I wouldnt recommend it for longer than that. But for the price of $103 per night, it was perfect for us. Once the entire group arrived, checked in, had lunch at the hotel restaurant, we ventured out to Old San Juan via taxi. Dropped off the San Juan Fort and walked all around from there. Had dinner at a local spot, great drinks and fantastic pizza. One nice feature at this hotel was the rooftop terrace. We spent the rest of the evening there - beautiful night and awesome views. The next day, breakfast in the hotel then off to the port. Since it was a large group of us, I reserved all our transfers in advance with puerto cruise excursions - Airport arrival, hotel to pier and from pier to airport. Very nice large Mercedes van that accommodated 12 people and over 25 pieces of luggage. We had the same driver each time so he was familiar with the group. We arrived at the port at 12:30pm, dropped our luggage, through security, checked in, got our sail and sign cards, took welcome photos and was on the ship by 1pm. Let the games begin!
There is a duty free liquor store that sells wine right inside the pier if you do not want to carry it with you.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Main Dining Room food was just OK. We ate dinner there everynight were were onboard. Windjammer was nice, only did breakfast and lunch there. Lots of options and quality was OK. Love, Love, Love the handwashing station outside of Windjammer - that was an excellent idea. Cafe Promenade had great after hours pizza.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We loved Kareoke and did that a few times. The 70's night in the Royal Promeade is a lot of fun but way too many people for such a narrow space. Shopping was good on the Royal Promenande.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The only show we attended was the Ice show which was fantastic. For a small rink, they did a fantastic job, very entertaining.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The crew was very accommodating. We had a few issues with our dining reservations and they went above and beyond with make it right. We had the late seating (8:30pm) and 2 nights in a row when we arrived for dinner, there was another group at our table. The first time, they arrived an hour late and wasnt finished when we arrived so we stood there an waited for them to wrap it up, clean and reset the table. They apologized and said it will not happen again. The next night, looked like they had just sat down, when we arrived. We looked at the Matri' Di and he just couldnt believe it happened it again. This time, the other group had changed dinner from early to late seating but failed to realized, it was at a different table number. They apologized again - gave us 2 free bottles of wine and took good care of us. Our server was a little slow and seemed confused most of the time but he was so nice and we loved him anyway. Gave extra gratuity at the end.
Our cabin steward Vaughn was very nice and he did his best. No complaints there.
Casey, the cruise director was great, very funny.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
You could tell the ship had some age - rust here and there, lots of coats of paint, tattered and outdated furniture but it was clean and did the job. There were parts of the ship that I never had a chance to visit i.e, flowrider, mini golf, slides. Just didnt have time - too many things to do. The imperial lounge is just old - that place needs a makeover so bad.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
The cabins are extreamly outdated - boy they need an overhaul. The carpet seems new, that wasnt bad at all but the sofa is very stained, the furniture was old and tattered, beds had a dip in the middle but you are so tired most night you dont really care. The balcony furniture was fine, seems recent enough and in good shape. Our shower flooded every night, soaked the rug - we had to use towels too. We reported it several times but it was never fixed so we just left it alone and worked around it. Balcony could have been cleaned more - there seem to always be dirt right in area where I want to lean over the railing. Lots of nooks and crannys for storage, we had ample closet space.
Ship tip
Shop in the Royal Promenade on the last port day - good deals. Get to the pool deck early on the 1st at sea day - its busy. The 2nd sea day was much better. If you love the photos taken by the ships photograpers, get the photo package. I got 85 pictures for $169, othewise they are $19.99 each.
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