This was the most beautiful cruise I've ever been on, but also the least fun! Royal Caribbean was definitely catering to the older crowd, and it showed. The cruise director has seen his better years, and his activities were meh at best. The food and service, however, were par excellence! Our waiters and statesroom attendants were some of the best ever! If they could iron out the entertainment wrinkles, this would have been the cruise of a lifetime.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
RCCL has greatly improved their embarking experience! The muster drill is so easy now, since they have gone digital.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food was excellent this trip! We got the unlimited dining package, and enjoyed all of the specialty dining options. The Windjammer has seriously improved their buffet. Quality food throughout the ship. We ate at the main dining room for one breakfast, and was disappointed. After that we only ate at the buffet for breakfast. Gordon at Chops Grille was the best server on the boat!
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
I loved using the fitness center. It has the best view from a treadmill that I've ever had! The weather didn't permit much else.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The comedians were great, but the rest of the entertainment were subpar. Paul (cruise director) needs to retire. His age was glaring and he just seemed tired. A cruise director needs to be full of energy.
Children's Programs
No kids.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Safwan (room attendant) was the best we've ever had! Funny, energetic, and meticulously clean.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
For a 23 year old ship, it was well maintained. Only issue was that one of the elevators was out of service all week long, which caused traffic issues.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This was the best balcony room I've ever had! The view from our room was spectacular, and I will always choose this area of the ship. The balcony was HUGE!!! One thing to note: chose a room on decks 8 or 9 rather than 10. Windjammer gets noisy with people moving tables around above you. It can be difficult to take a nap in the afternoon, which is my favorite thing about cruising.
This felt like a redneck town. Very trashy. We did an excursion rafting down the Mendahall Glacier River. It was an ok excursion. If I had it to do over, I would have skipped it.
The glacier was magnificent! We didn't do an excursion, but regretted it! I wish we would have skipped the excursions in Juneau and Skagway and splurged on the Glacier excursion!
We didn't get to see much of Seward, but took the train from Seward to Anchorage. This transfer was better than all of our excursions! I highly recommend it!
RC utilizes Cruise Directors very differently than Carnival. On Carnival, the CD is part of the entertainment and it is someone else’s job to manage all the entertainment. Where on RC the CD just manages the entertainment and occasionally makes announcements. It’s OK to be showing your age in that role.
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