We absolutely loved the entertainment on this show. We believe it was the best of any cruise we have been on. I would like to do this ship again but would prefer a different itinerary. Living in the Northeast most itineraries are the same. If you get the chance to go on this ship you will not regret it. There is a tremendous amount of free things to do on the ship for all ages.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
The only place to park in Bayonne, New Jersey is at the port. While it is very convenient it is an open air locked. It is also $30 per day. Getting through security was easy. But people leaving the ship and for those who try to get on early the overlap was large.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Drinks: we had the Royal refreshment package. I did not think the coffee was good at any of the coffee shops. I am not talking about free coffee but about special order coffee. I know each person has their own personal taste when it comes to coffee, but for me this was the worst coffee on four different ships.
Food: we ate in the main dining room each evening except for one. While our servers were very good the quality of the food was nothing special. Again compared to other ships we have been on I don't think it measured up. This was our first time with the new menu, but I don't believe that had anything to do with it. We did Chef's Table, and while it was very good, I don't think it was worth the money. We also did Taste of Royal, and believe that was our best meal on the ship. We did Giovanni's for lunch and did not find it worth the price. We really liked Portside BBQ and Playmakers, but they are ala cart pricing. We shared a meal at both places for special lunches.
Chef's Table
4 out of 5
The food was very good but there were only a large family us and one couple. So the discussion was rather limited. It is an experience worth doing. The cost is high but the quality of food and the amount of alcohol given makes the value reasonable.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Our adult children did the rock climbing and very much enjoyed it. We all did the water slides, the zip line, the hot tubs, and the carousel. Our adult children enjoyed the art auctions.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Cats was great. Aqua 80 was fantastic. The ice show was entertaining. The headliners we good. Loved the free entertainment on this ship.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
We had no problem with anyone in the service area. It was not the same feel as we have had on smaller ships but I completely understand that. Every person working on the ship with friendly and went out of their way to help us.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
I personally like all the different neighborhoods. The ship was not hard for me to navigate. It is a very large ship so there is a lot of walking over the course of a day. Then again, with the amount of food I ate, a lot of walking was good for me.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This was a first for us. We had a forward facing portal, window, for our room. The only negative we found was it felt like storage space for clothing was very limited. Otherwise we loved our room.
Ship tip
If you can afford it, I would recommend the ultimate dining plan. I believe the food in the specialty restaurants is much better than the main dining room.
We did the kayak excursion and while it was nice it was not worth the money for us. We also did snorkeling and saw many fish, stingray, and some even saw a small shark. The food at the buffet was fine, but the food at The snack shack was much better. We did not pay for thrill water park.
This was our first time here and have heard many horror stories. There were four of us in our group and we did our own walking to work. We had an excellent time but did stay away from the straw market. We did Great clips, John Watling rum distillery, and had lunch of conch at a local restaurant about a mile from the ship. Well it was a lot of walking we really enjoyed our time.
Don't get off the ship if you don't have a planned excursion. This is more of an embarkation port than a visiting port. We didn't have good timing in port to do anything. Arrived at 1 in the afternoon.
We agree with you in regard to the food quality. It went down in the last couple of years. We typically eat in the MDR….specialty restaurants aren’t that much better. We love cruising and food will not stop us from experiencing the different aspects of cruising.
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