Great 1st-timers cruise

Well-choreographed and very efficient. Was on the ship within 15 min of initial check-in.

All the food from MDR, Chops, Giovanni's, J Rockets, and the WJ was really good. I didn't get anything I didn't like. Chops = steak was beef perfection (we had the Filet & the Petite Filet), the appetizers were tuna tartare & Caesar salad, with dessert being apple pie & cheesecake - all was excellent. Giovanni's = great calamari and caprese salad appetizers, ragu and prawn main dishes, and tiramisu for dessert. MDR (had a breakfast and Italian nite) = we enjoyed a good standard American style breakfast, and evening we had good escargot and tortilla soup, enchilada (huge burrito-like thing) and carne asada, and Creme Brulle. J Rockets = chili cheese fries appetizer, the main was a BLT & Rocket Double - both enjoyed, and root beer float for dessert. WJ = great buffet options all around - there wasn't anything we didn't find appealing, but we had to pick and choose since there were so many options.

Participated in the 2 Veteran's events and thank RCL for doing them. The Sail Away and parade was lots of fun. The shows were outstanding. All were led by either Tanya & Grace - each did a high-energy, fun, & amazing job. I went to the Macallan scotch tasting, but we couldn't do it due to low attendance - shucks - folks missed out!

All were led by either Tanya & Grace - each did a high-energy, fun, & amazing job. We enjoyed the comedy show, the dance show, piano music, retro rock, and the rock-n-roll show - wow, could these folks perform & we were out of our seats most of the time. The girl who did the Whitney Houston (I will always love you) song NAILED IT! Loved the Queen song trio too. Great job to the performers, we really enjoyed the time & effort y'all obviously put into the shows.

I want to call out recognition all the following staff members for commendation: Our room steward (we kept missing him) kept our room in meticulous condition - thank you for your work & dedication to ensuring our satisfaction & comfort; Tanya & Grace - each did a high-energy, fun, & amazing job; Derek & the cashier lady (lost her name, from Chile - on Feb 25 {nite 1}, we attended the watch sale & the wife got me a really nice Citizen watch) were super nice & we had a great visit, & for his ready smile each day we later saw him; The restaurants' staff were great - very polite, helpful, eager to please, and knowledgeable - of particular note: Rede (Chops - great menu recommendations, made our anniversary dinner more special), Samir (Giovanni's - made our anniversary dinner more special, very amusing), James (J Rockets - fun dancer and singer, good menu advice), Edwin, Ricardo, and Indah (MDR {day 3 breakfast and Italian nite} - super attentive service & friendliness all around), Ivan Jesus & Vikas (D&D Pub - our favorite haunt - for great service, friendliness, & interaction), Joy (Champagne Bar - for very fast work & friendliness), and the little dancing hostess at the WJ (lost her name) was always upbeat, & friendly; Rafael (Photos staffer) was super knowledgeable, friendly, and attentive - helping us finalize our photo package when we got lost in it...; and Room service attendant (whomever you are, day 5) - thanks for delivering hot food - it was very appreciated. Each listed above stood out to us for their service, friendliness, professionalism, knowledge, & entertainment. Each obviously wanted to ensure our total satisfaction and did so with a welcoming smile. Even though we had the auto-gratuities included, we didn't hesitate to add a couple bucks here and there for those mentioned.

I thought it was fine, but what do I know - it was my 1st cruise. I didn't find any of it a problem. The crew emphasized cleanliness during the whole trip. Hand-San stations were everywhere, including embarkation & debarkation (including port calls), as well as the meal locations. I know of nobody who got sick due to cleanliness.

Our cabin was midships, starboard side, 9th deck, with muster station B5. We enjoyed the spacious balcony (had breakfast delivered & had a blast there) & having it made the experience that much better, vice a port hole or wall. We'll do another such room on the next cruise. There was plenty of storage for us. We brought extra hangars and needed them, but I guess we could have asked for more from the steward. The bathroom was good enough for 2, though the shower was tight for this big guy, but it's not their fault. The provided body wash was good too. The fridge was a swamp cooler type, so it didn't get cold, just cool. Multi-plugs are a must for this cabin, & the wife dried her hair in the room vice the bath - only shaver receptacles there - but we minimized our electronics (unplugging if the best thing to do during a vacation), so we had no issues with that. We regularly walked if the destination was a few decks away, & only took the longish-wait elevators when climbing would be too much.

Checked bags were to be placed in the hallway by 10pm on the last nite. We didn't do breakfast. Had to vacate room by 8am & our debark time slot was 8:15ish, so it wasn't an issue for us. We waited at the designated location for 10ish minutes before we were called to debark. It went swiftly from there. Identities were confirmed, bags located, & the building exited - all in about 5 minutes. Well done RCL.