A Bit Different Than Our First RC Cruise

Since our first cruise with RC in August, we knew what to expect. Again, we stayed in a hotel close to port and arrived about an hour early. This time we had to wait outside and they lined everyone up based on their scheduled arrival times. Security was a breeze and when we got inside the terminal we now had to sit in sections based on our scheduled times. Made it a bit challenging when our (adult) kids had a different time than us.

This was our first sailing since they changed the menu. In the MDR I loved the fact that the vegan options were now in the regular menu for all to see/enjoy. What I didn't like, was we now only had one option to choose from in each section. Service was much quicker but the portions were much smaller. This was disappointing and most nights we would leave the MDR and go to the WJ. The WJ would serve similar items to the MDR but obviously had other sections too. Some nights stuff in WJ was marked vegan, other nights nothing. It was also disappointing that in the WJ it wasn't consistent on what we could eat (being vegan). Some times they would have steamed rice/veg and then the next day it would be cooked with butter. There was literally one night we were served one small portabella mushroom cap in the MDR so we immediately went to WJ for more and all we could eat was potatoes. Nothing else was suitable for vegans. Even the WJ Manager was apologizing for it. Breakfast was the same thing again (oatmeal) and we found out later we could have gone to the MDR for a tofu scramble. This was never mentioned on their menus so we had no clue! I feel we shouldn't have to ask about anything when it comes to what they are/can serve. We also asked for a menu/nutritional guide for what was being served and they could not tell us anything. Very disappointed. Loved our servers and they tried but I feel they really didn't understand what a vegan can or cannot have (we were served bread with cheese every night). I think this just comes down to education. Plant based diets are taking off and they need to be more inclusive for those who don't eat meat/dairy.

This ship had the typical shows, scavenger hunts, trivia, etc. We really enjoyed the ice show! I saw it without my family and when I told them they really should see it they were skeptical but went with me at another show and were amazed! We didn't really get in the pools but did spend some time in the hot tub. It was strange that the pools and hot tubs closed super early (one day they were closed at 8pm).

Enjoyed the ice show performance! They were amazing! We did go to a silent disco one night (we enjoyed this on another sailing and wanted to do it again) but this one just didn't do anything for us. For starters it was only one DJ vs two and one channel they only played Latin music and the other a mix of 70s-90s music. We left after 15 minutes, as did a bunch of other people. Loved the comedian that was on board! The last night we participated in the Crazy Quest show and that was absolutely a ton of fun! Several people in our row apparently left when things got spicy (bras/clothes coming off). But it was a fun time with my family! Lots of laughs!

Loved our room attendant. He left us two different towel animals and that was always a fun surprise to come back to. Everyone on the ship was having a good time and made sure we were taken care of.

This was a smaller ship for us and the layout was similar to Independence OTS, which was nice. Everything was kept clean and we saw people cleaning everyday. The only thing we don't like is the casino since you can smoke in it. We feel this should be located elsewhere and not so close to the common areas.

Stayed in an ocean view room on deck 2 and loved it! Quiet and calming (couldn't feel the rocking).

Since our last sailing we knew what to expect and so we made sure to get up and off as soon as we could. It wasn't stressful at all (with a little planning) and we missed the big crush of people leaving so it was a much nicer experience for us.