The ship is beautiful and we had a wonderful time. That being said, this was our 4th cruise in three years and we have noticed a decline in some aspects of our experiences. We had three rooms between the six of us. We had a wonderful room attendant, Bernadette from Jamaica. She was truly a joy! Our son and fiance also had a very nice attendant, but our other sons never met or saw their attendant during the entire stay. Definitely not what we are used to. Something that was new to us was the lack of poolside drink waiters. We weren't given receipts to sign this time and therefore there was nowhere to give them additional tips. I think that the lack of extra gratuities made for longer waits on ordering drinks and receiving them. What was the biggest minus I would give would be the fact that we only ordered the drink packages because my husband and I enjoy having our pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris by the pool. We got on the ship on Sunday and by Monday evening they were out of pina colada, strawberry daiquiri, and mango daiquiri mix everywhere on the ship except the schooner bar. They kept assuring us that they would have some by Thursday in Rome(2/3 of the way thru our cruise) because all of the children on board had drained their stock in a day and a half. I would think that the Beverage manager of the ship, would know how many children would be on board and would, from experience, know that children with drink packages would drink virgin frozen drinks. That was our biggest complaint because the drink package was a lot of money and did not afford us the drinks we enjoy. We have also noticed a lesser selection of items in the Windjammer. The kids usually like eating there, but were actually getting food at the other food locations on the ship this time.
We decided to try my time dining this time, we were glad we did. The service was great when we had Fabian from India as our waiter and it was just ok with the others we had. We noticed that service was a bit slower all around the ship this time, compared to our trip on the Oasis this past January, perhaps since it's a new ship they haven't all gotten into the groove yet.
All in all, even with these minor inconveniences, we had a wonderful time and took some wonderful tours. It was definitely a whirlwind trip with so many things to see in very little time.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Not as good as on other RCL cruises
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Plenty to do for all ages.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The headliners The Tenors of Rock were stupendous, if they are on your ship don't miss them. Grease, the ice show and the water show Fine Line were also great and shouldn't be missed! Also enjoyed the OnAir club's Karaoke, who would've known there'd be so many talented people on the ship as guests...
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Fabian from India was just exceptional! We enjoyed his banter with us and how accomodating and social he was.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Beautiful new ship!
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had a handicap room because of the location. We didn't need a handicapped room, but it made it very spacious although we did not have a sofa in the room. It was very clean and having Bernadette as our attendant made us feel doubly blessed! She was such a happy person and a joy to have known!!!
Ship tip
You'll love it! Make sure they're going to have what you like to drink before ordering drink packages. Also, make sure to book all of your entertainment before getting on the ship, shows do sell out.
We didn't actually see Marseilles except from the Church on top of the Hill.
Aix en Provence and Cassis were two of my favorite places on this trip! The Calanques in Cassis are not to be missed. Our guide was Lucille from Shore Excursions and she was very knowledgeable and courteous!
It is a two hour drive to Florence giving you little time to see anything in depth. The Accademia is amazing and we wish there'd been time to go into the Duomo, but the lines were too long and we had to get back to the ship. Tuscany in my Pocket tour with Guido was pure joy and we learned so much about Tuscany and Florence from our wonderful guide. He also has been doing this for so long that we didn't have to wait to get in anywhere.
Too much to see in just a handful of hours. We saw so many things but mostly on the fly. Our guide Nicola from Rome in Limo got us into Rome in 50 minutes. The bus excursions arrived about a forty minutes after us. We did get to go into the Coloseum, the Sistine Chapel and Basilica but other than quick 15 minute jaunts, it's difficult to see everything. We did see so much and so grateful to have been able to do so. If you want to see the Coloseum on the inside get there as early as possible. We only waited about 15 minutes to get in compared to an hour and a half in the afternoon.
We didn't see Napoli, but did have a scenic drive to Sorrento and Positano and then saw Pompeii in the afternoon. Unfortunately the first rain in a month put a very little damper on the morning, we truly enjoyed it. Positano is the beginning of the Amalfi coast and is so pretty and picturesque, I would defintely recommend it. Sorrento was a fun town, wish we'd had more time. Pompeii is much bigger and has more than you can see in a couple of hours. We had an excellent guide Lucio who contracts with Rome in Limo. Our guide Mario, from Rome in Limo was the best!!! He was very knowledgeable, is a cerfitied guide and driver. He bought us a wonderful treat called Sfogliatella. If you're in Positano stop in a bakery and get one they are delicious. When he picked us back up after lunch and siteseeing in Sorrento, he brought us a bottle of Limoncello and olive oil as a gift to us. He was a very kind and polite gentleman and I would highly recommend him as a guide. He also does walking foodie tours in Naples so maybe on our next trip!
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