Purchasing "The Key" really made a huge difference. From embarkation to special priority tenders, priority seating in the dining room and theater and priority disembarking, everything went smoothly with little or no waiting in lines. The excursions that were terrible were no fault of the cruise line and we were determined to make the best of them and not let it put a damper on an otherwise amazing vacation. We will definitely cruise with RCL again.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We had "The Key" so we were on the ship within 15 minutes
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We ate most if our on-board meals in the main dining room. The menus for dinner were amazing and delicious and the breakfast buffet was also wonderful. The freshly made donuts were dangerously delicious! The salad bar in Windjammer was a great lunch option. The Latte-tudes coffee bar had good coffee and a great staff (except for the young man in the morning who either didn't understand and didn't listen when I ordered anything other than a straight up beverage)
Main Dining Room
5 out of 5
Our waiter Elmer was exceptional! He remembered our drink preferences and that my husband liked extra vegetables and I liked ice cream with all my desserts. He also made sure we were done in time for our evening plans by asking each night what our plans were. The quality and variety of food was outstanding as well. Sometimes it was hard to choose!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We didn't partake in many onboarding activities.
Day Spa and Fitness Center
5 out of 5
I got a sea salt scrub and massage which was both invigorating and relaxing. The massage was a bit too hard and I had to tell her a couple times that it hurt and I did end up with a couple bruises on my shoulders and legs. When she massaged my head, she didn't get the oil off of her hands, so I ended up with oily hair. I got a wash and blow-out the next day and she was efficient and used the color safe products I requested, but wasn't friendly at all. She literally never smiled. She did a good blow out though.
Guest Services and Explorations!
5 out of 5
When my Achilles tendon acted up after a couple days, we had to reschedule a couple excursions to ones with limited walking/standing. The Guest services person was very helpful in finding tours I could do.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The shows in the Broadway Melodies theater were outstanding, with the exception of the "illusionist" on the last night. The musicals were beautifully choreographed and performed and the juggler was extremely talented . Having the special seating for Key passengers was a bonus.
Broadway Theater
5 out of 5
The seats were comfortable and in the suite/ key are, there were 2 and 3 seat sections where we had more room and could sit closer together when we wanted. The shows were wonderful with the exception of the "illusionist" on the last night. He did about 4-5 "tricks" which were more like a demonstration of how to use props - very rudimentary at best. The singers and dancers were very talented and put on outstanding performances.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room steward (Ikadek) always remembered to bring ice each time he made up the room and if he saw us in the hallway, he always said hello and asked if we needed anything extra. Our dinner waiter Elmer was exceptional. He always remembered what we liked to drink and that my husband always wanted extra vegetables and I always wanted ice cream with dessert. He always asked what our plans were for after dinner so that he made sure we were done in time. The head waiter in Windjammer (Maria) always came and said hello, asking about what we did that morning and offering us more beverages or cookies, etc
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Being a much smaller ship than we're used to, it was easy to find our way around. The decor was dated but well maintained. We were the last passengers before going into dry dock for renovations so everything will be fresh and new on future cruises.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
It was a typical size for a balcony cabin but there was SO much storage space! We actually had some cabinets and drawers that went unused! The bed seamed hard when I first sat on it but was actually quite comfortable. Our room steward kept everything clean and tidy.
Ship tip
Pay the money and get "The Key"! It makes boarding, tendering, seating for shows, etc super nice!
We stayed in Venice for a couple days before the cruise and did a walking tour of Venice which was awesome. We stayed at The Danieli which was incredible and totally worth the money.
I was disappointed that we couldn't even get into St Peter's square because it was a Wednesday which is one of the days the Pope comes out. If we wanted to go into the square, we had to take a long detour (walking) and go thru a long line which we didn't have time for. I have no ties to the church, so it was ok to not get in but it was the only stop on the excursion that we were able to get out and walk around so Rome was kind of just a city to us.
Through no fault of RCL, this was a horrible excursion because it ended up pouring rain and we were totally unprepared - no jackets and no umbrella). After getting soaked to the bone, we were put on a little boat where people opened windows to take pictures and left them down, causing very cold wind to come through the cabin. We couldn't even get close to the leaning tower in Pisa so we ended up sitting and having some cappuccinos and bruschetta so we could warm up a bit in the restaurant.
Again, not RCL's fault. We took an outside excursion and had to walk literally a mile to get to the meeting point only to have the bus be over 30 minutes late. The tour guide didn't speak or understand english very well and would just point out things as we passed by, with no description or explanation. If you asked for more information, she would hand you a typewritten sheet of paper with the most basic information and tell you to read it. She obviously had a script, but didn't know English well enough to actually read it to us. We weren't the only ones to complain about our lack of an adept guide. When we got to the Notre Dame basilica, she just left us to climb up over 100 steps to see it. While there we found out there was a little trolley that could have taken us up if she had only told us. Worst excursion ever.
We stayed in Barcelona for a couple days after the cruise and fell in love with it! There was so much to do and see! We had a tour reservation for the La Familia Segrado cathedral but it was canceled due to planned political demonstrations (which ended up turning violent, so it was for the best). We will definitely return to see more of this beautiful city.
Again, having The Key made it so we could disembark when we wanted and we had a special breakfast in the main dining room before disembarking. Our special luggage tags made our luggage easy to find in the special area of the luggage claim area.
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