Another great experience with Royal Caribbean. Super-fast embarkation and debarkation, great Royal Up upgrade on our room, excellent food variety and quality, average entertainment on the main shows, 3 great ports and 4 relaxing sea days. One thing to note was that we saw medical evacuations at each port (including before we left Ft Lauderdale) and a helicopter evacuation at sea. This is why we always have a good travel policy that includes medical coverage and medical evacuation coverage. Hopefully those evacuated are all doing well.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Fastest embarkation in 19 cruises. Dropped the bags at the curb, they took our photos with an iPad and we headed straight to the ship with no waiting. From Lyft drop off to sitting at the Windjammer was 12 minutes.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Dining room service, selections and food quality were excellent. We ate at the Windjammer for Breakfast, lunch and one dinner. There was always a large variety of choices and the quality was as good as can be expected based on the number of people served each day.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We did not use a lot of the available activities, but there are more than enough options and variety to satisfy all ages.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The main stage shows were somewhat repetitive with a similar theme of rock music through the ages. There were also 2 comedians and one show with a juggler and acrobat that were okay, but not the best we have seen.
Children's Programs
No children with us
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Room attendant and wait staff were excellent. There was an issue with the one ship excursion we booked ahead of time that took a while to get resolved and the Shore Excursion desk was not the most helpful.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
We love the Voyager Class ships. They are large enough to have everything you need and are still easy to navigate and never felt crowded. The ship was clean and well maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This was by far the largest cabin we have had on any cruise. We originally booked an Category 2T Promenade Interior View and received a Royal Up email offer. Our offer of $ 35 pp for the week for an outside view cabin was accepted and we were upgraded to a Category 1K Ultra Spacious Ocean View cabin. This cabin included a sitting room with chair, ottoman, sofa that converts to a queen size bed, flat screen tv and storage cabinet; a separate room with bunk beds, closet and table; bathroom; separate bedroom with a king size bed (or 2 twins), flat screen tv, closet, storage cabinet and dresser with drawers. The Pros - Lots of room (328 sq ft), sleeps up to 6, 2 televisions, separate sitting area, 4 large porthole windows that overlook the bow. Cons - Front of the ship location feels more movement, only one bathroom (fine for us, but may be crowded if 6 are staying in the room), electrical plugs only in the main bedroom (2) and bathroom (1).
Ship tip
Make sure to check-in online ahead of time to speed up the boarding process. The Royal Caribbean app is also very helpful for viewing menus, activities, deck plans, etc.
Our first time here. We did the All West Beach Hopping tour with Irie Tours and had a great time. Our ship arrived 2 ours late due to medical evacuations, but they were waiting for us at the pier and still gave us the full tour. We visited several beaches and interesting sights and there were only 12 of us on the full size bus, so we each had our own row. We were able to snorkel at 3 different sites, including snorkeling with turtles.
This was our first time here and some of the best snorkeling we have done anywhere. We did the afternoon tour with Woodwind Catamaran and it was excellent. We stopped at 2 locations for 35-40 minute of snorkeling each time, and were provided with drinks and great food as well. The number of people onboard was limited, so it never felt crowded.
Fastest debarkation of any cruise. We did self-debarkation, left our cabin at 6:30, breezed through customs, got a Lyft to the airport and were at the Southwest Ticket Counter by 7:00 AM and able to change our flight from a 12:45 connecting flight to a 10:00 AM direct flight. We were at the gate by 7:45 and still had almost a 2 hour wait to board our 10:00 AM flight.
Love cabin 8500 on this class of ship. So much room and 4 portholes. Actually have it booked on Explorer of the Seas in January. Sailing Adventure in March and cannot wait.
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