Great Cruise, Great Ship, Great People!! (Mostly)

I have been on one other cruise prior to this, and that was with Royal Caribbean. My first thought when walking onto the ship was that it was beautiful, clean, and well taken care of.  We explored the ship at first to familiarize ourselves with where things were, and were greeted by employees throughout this time.  When we got to the pool deck, we were greeted by a game (Rudi) who asked if we'd like a drink, to which we said definitely.  He was super nice and personable, and remembered us for the rest of the cruise (by name)!!! All in all a great time.  Below are a few 'concise' pros and cons of this, as compared to my experience with RC.

Pros:  Big, new ship; Plenty of dining options (without extra cost); Dinner restaurants were excellent; Many chairs on pool deck; Plenty of various entertainment onboard at all times (ranging from people playing piano, to game shows that involved audience members, to karaoke,  to the casino, to music or games at the pool deck, and more!); Fair drink prices; Friendly people (with the exception of our cabin steward; GO RUDI!!); Great stops (St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Nassau); They have a special area for young kids and another special area for teens - they had a lot of activities for children so even though a lot of families were on the ship, the kids were never really in the adult areas (which was REALLY nice).  

Cons:  Buffet food didn't seem to be as good as what I experienced with RC; Our cabin steward was NEVER around and NEVER introduced herself to us (this was part of the fun and enjoyment on my RC cruise!!!!); A lot of the extra shows (Legally Blonde, Illusionarium, Comedians, and others) cost extra money, and a decent amount at that (I don't recall paying extra on RC)

All-in-all a great cruise and ship, with (mostly) great people.  If you can't tell, I'm still a little bitter about our cabin steward.  All other people were great.  Definitely recommend, whether you're traveling with or without kids!