Overall this was a great cruise. Best advise, make reservations ahead of time and plan on spending a lot more than the price of the cruise. In my opinion, RCL is pricing themselves out of a lot of business. With Norwegian and Celebrity throwing in tips and drink package with the price of the cruise, you get a lot more for less. And places like Mexico and Roatan are in danger of doing the same. When a bottle of water cost more in a port than on the ship, you dont buy it.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
This was the smoothest embarkation I've ever experiened and I've been on at least 25 cruises.ced.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
My time dining was excellent. But make sure you make reservations before you board or you"ll spend too much time waiting on line.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
The water slides were great. Mini golf was fun and my son loved playing ping pong. All the activities were great and there really wasn't a long wait for any of them.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We saw the ice skating show, which I wasn't really excited about, and it was fantastic! But the best show by far was the water show. WOW!! Phenomenal! Fo not miss this show. And make sure you make reservations prior to boarding. People without reservations have to wait on a long line and end up with leftover seats.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
We stayed in cabin 11590 and the Steward was excellent. The cabin was always clean and he took care of everything we asked of him. The waiters in my time dining were hit or miss. Most nights we were placed at the same table with an excellent staff, but there was one night where we ended up with slow service.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Everything was clean and well maintained. We loved the boardwalk, central park and promenade. The only thing that didn't thrill me was the casino. Kind of out of the way as opposed to in the center of things.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The bed was a little hard, but everything else in the cabin was great. Plenty of storage and a fantastic balcony.
Ship tip
Use the app to make reservations for dinner and shows before you board. Also, be prepared to pay through the nose for drinks. While every other cruise line is including a drink package in the price of the cruise, RCL is way overcharging for their drink package. And if you dont get it, you pay extreme bar prices to less than generous bar staff. You tip on top of their "service charge" and dont even get a smile in return.
Hondorus was not great. Nothing to do unless you book an excursion and even the port was under construction so we stayed on the ship. Mexico was nice but I noticed they're jacking up their prices for the cruise passengers to the point that we ended up passing on a few purchases.
We loved their private island, but RCL, enough with charging for everything. The ZIP line was one charge. Water park another and so on. The pool bar and DJ were great, but again, the bar prices were high. The beach on the far side of the island was nasty. You sunk in a foot of slimy mud instead of sand and it smelled like sewage.
We went to an all inclusive place on the beach. Tropicanti. First, dont get on the long line for the taxi in the port. Walk away from the port a few blocks and look for a taxi stop. You'll save yourself a lot of time. And make reservations if you go there. Its required. Its fifty a person and includes beach chairs, food and drinks. All you want. The staff were great and the food was really good.
We grabbed a cab and went to a local beach. Prices were jacked up a little for the tourists but not too high. The beach was nice. Drinks and food were good.
We were also on Harmony just recently. We noticed they charge you for every little thing. No happy hour in the bars and not even peanuts with your drinks. I much prefer Holland America.
We find that Royals prices are about the same as other cruiselines. We don't drink alot, so we don't feel we spend alot more than the cruise cost. Excursions and wifi are our only add ons.
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