I'd say pass this ship on by..

We have been on many cruises with Carnival and Princess. This was our first cruise with Royal Caribbean and after our experience and discussions with multiple other travelers, we were not alone in our distaste for our trip.

Positives:

1. The ship was unbelievable~ The different areas of the ship are really nice to meander, but once you've seen it all you will be bored. 

2. The Solarium was really nice to have an adult only section. It was quiet and you could always find a lounge chair. 

3. Chops (Fee based) Restaurant was fantastic. Now that we have experienced the difference between a mega ship and regular cruises, I would suggest buying in advance the fee based specials for all the extra restaurants.

4. In comparison to previous cruises, the checking in, getting off and disembarking procedures were so easy and quick considering the quantity of cruisers. The mandatory safety briefing was by far the best we have experienced.

5. Our room view/location was fantastic. We had a balcony room overlooking the boardwalk towards the rear of the ship. Not only could we watch the shows, we had an ocean view too. (best of both worlds)

Negatives:

1. The crowd was that of much older. I would say maybe 5% were of family age with children. Usually our children (14, 9) find many others to "hang" with while onboard and I would say we only saw about a dozen children in total the entire time. 

2. The food was TERRIBLE. I would say breakfast and lunch is pretty much cafeteria quality. Even the salad bar was gross. The dinners were a step up and decent but I wouldn't say they were anything near what we have had on other ships. 

3. The room was as expected but the bathroom shower was tiny. My husband is 6 ft and about 190 pounds and he struggled to move in it. 

4. The service by employees was meh.. Our room steward was the best but everyone else really wasn't interested in even being friendly.

5. The shows.. Well, no one told us to book our shows prior to our cruise. (One of many problems I actually had with Cruiseonly itself) We met some people who told us to book those shows as they will not be able to be done unless you have a reservation... Well sure enough... All shows were booked and its a pretty much too bad situation. They only had a total of 4 comedy shows during the 7 days in which you didn't need reservations but the room only holds 75 people. (do the math, only 300 people of the nearly 6,000 onboard can see it) The water shows off the back has really talented people, but the "show" portion was very boring and we didn't finish watching. 

6. The constant selling was probably the most nagging and annoying item during the ENTIRE cruise. Just when you think they can't try and sell you more.. they do. The itinerary is basically full of selling more than the cruise itself. 

All in all, we would never do this ship again. It was pretty much all everyone was saying onboard and when we were leaving. The gave up the whole experience for this giant ship..