Wanted a super-sized cruise ship. This delivered in spades! Amazing experience.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Super fast check in since we installed their app and checked in online.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We ate 4 nights in their specialty restaurants- and glad we did. When you first get onboard, look for the kiosk that is signing up people for the reestaurnts. You must pay extra for these- but you get better food, better service and less crowds, for a package price deal that is only available at that time. For example, we chose the 3 restaurant special- and we selected the three we wanted, then were offered a 4th night - only good for the first night of the cruise, at the steak restaurant - for half price... So glad we did. The main dining room was just OK- the service was exceptional, but I found the food not great compared to the restaurants we went to each night. We ate at one of the two buffets for breakfast, and the Windjammer buffet for every lunch. Tons of food to pick from. Most of it was good. Some items were not great...but its a buffet- get something else! I'd say 95% was good. The prices of drinks on board were starting to annoy me- no excuse for $16 glasses of wine, $6-$8 beers, and higher for specialty drinks. Sorry- I don't play that game. Drank mostly ice tea and water with juices throughout the day.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
If you can't find something to do all day long- sorry- that's on you... not them. Almost too much to do...just open the app on your phone and it lists multiple things to do each hour on board. We hardly got to do anything upstairs with water activities- since we were busy either off the ship with excursions, eating, walking along their 1/2 mile track (yes...2.4 laps = one mile. I managed to walk 3-4 miles every other day onboard).The gym is amazing too, read books on my I-pad, checking e-mails back home, and then if there was time, checking out the top floor activities - which are too many to name. Lots of pool areas, "neighborhood" areas, and shows.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
I've cruised a lot. This ship has hands down- the best entertainment I have ever seem on a cruise ship. Seriously.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
I saw lot of kids onboard - they all seem to be having a blast. Tons of water activities, kids camp, even a TV channel for pre-teens and another one for teens.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Absolutely the best service I have had on any cruise ship. I mean that. When I think back on our trip ( last week) - it's the one thing that's top on my mind. Everyone had a smile on their face. Everyone was more than willing to explain how, show me where, or had advice that just helped make things even better. Our room attendant was the hardest working guy I have ever seen. I think the guy never sleeps...he's always working! He even gave me advice on check out day - what to do to get off the ship and through customs faster- he was right! Hint...take your luggage with you as you exit the ship. Do not place your suitcases outside the cabin the night before. Otherwise- you must wait for them to show up in the terminal and find yours before going to customs with everyone else...all 5000 of you! Instead- take them with your and head directly to customs. It literally took me 15 minutes to exit the ship, go through customs, walk to the local bus to take me to my car at the hotel I stayed at in town, load up my car and check my watch. Yes...just 15 minutes before I was in my cabin. Now in my car driving away. That is fast!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Spotless ship, everything was cleaned, scrubbed down, even the handles of the cabins had a detergent sprayed on them to kill germs. Super clean ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We chose this cabin- super large room too! This cabin was in the front of the ship- looking over the helipad in the bow of the ship. Two issues with this: A lot of the activities are in the mid and back of the ship- and the ship is 1200 feet long...yes- a lot walking. But since I ate so much on board- I actually liked the extra walking! The room was oversized due to the shape of the ship up front- the lower floors were longer that the rooms above it- we had a 10x10 space near the window that could have had another couch - it was that big...we just kept our suitcases there. Another small negative- the ship workers sometimes go outside to take a break- outside our window. There was a bench they would sit on. No biggie- we had an electric window blind that we put up 75% - and blocked them from seeing us getting dressed, etc. Not a big issue at all. Bathroom was spotless, everything looked brand new.
Ship tip
Sign up for excursions or you will fight crowds in the small shops in port only. Go out and do something. We chose a less expensive room (with a window) rather than a balcony room - to put the money toward anything we wanted to do. Worked out great! Never any crowds anywhere on the ship. They do a great job separating everyone so it never feels crowded at all.
Super efficient. Park away from the port parking lot. Less expensive and free bus takes you and your luggage round trip from/to your car fast. I would absolutely use Port Canaveral again- and I'm from Atlanta.
They did an amazing job creating this island for so many people. Never feels crowded. We had 5500 people exit the ship, and another Royal Caribbean ship was also in port that day- still didn't feel crowded, and no lines anywhere. Tons of lounge chairs at each beach area,
Not much to do there- so we created our own activity. My wife and I rented mopeds and travelled 60 miles across the island to the other quiet beaches, and followed the beach road back to Cozumel. Took nice pictures along the way. The roads are not in the best shape- so watch for potholes - easy to do, but watch the road!
A private developer built this amazing, scenic shopping venue with pools, water everywhere, thatched huts, restaurants, etc - and very colorful. Very festive looking from onboard the ship...even the roofs were colorful looking down. We bought a lot of items there that day. Diamond jewelry from the Diamonds Int'l store- the help was amazing and they are not pushy. The typical T-shirts. Pricing was actually OK there.
Not a lot to do there. Off the ship around 9-10am, back onboard by 3:30-4pm at the latest. Typical cosmetics, T-shirts, etc. Excursions were available but we didn't do them. Not a lot of city around the port. Just nice water and trees everywhere!
Super fast and efficient if you take your suitcases with you as you exit. Customs only took our pictures and that was all. Took 5 seconds and we were through customs.
Great review from a level headed cruiser !
We are on her in Jan. Do you know the shows go live to book on the app ?
We have the 3 night dinner package. Do we have to wait to book on board?
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