First off, if I had to describe this ship in one word it would be ....WOW! They don't call it a monster ship for nothing! Guest Capacity: 5,400 double occupancy, but don't let that scare you, it NEVER feels like that many people. Royal Caribbean out did herself, this ship is really incredible. The ship has 220,000 gross tonnage (yikes), 16 decks high, and 1,187' in length. As soon as you step on board you will find yourself in awe and walking around with your mouth wide open. Now that being said, let me begin my review and suggestions of this wonderful ship. We arrived at the ship Saturday May 22 around 12:00 noon. My sister dropped my husband and I off in front and it was already packed with anxious passengers, but Royal Caribbean had the embarkment and disembarkment (more on that later) down to a science. Our luggage was handed off to the Porters and we were on the ship in less than 20 mins- seriously NO LINES! What a breeze, we could not believe it, a great start to the vacation. We were both very impressed. Small tip: our cruise was sailing at 5:00 PM and our cruise pass said boarding time was no earlier than 2:00 PM- don't go by that, get there around 11:30 -12:00 you can enjoy and explore the ship before sailing. As we were boarding there were signs posted and sheets handed out where they were serving lunch. We decided to grab a bite to eat before exploring the ship, so we chose to try the buffet at the Solarium Bistro. Nice selection of more healthy foods. Also you may hear people complaining about how they nickle and dime you on this ship... In my opinion. that is not true! Here is my take, yes, they have the speciality restaurants on board and they all charge a minimum fee from $10.00 - $35.00 per person. But that includes Appetizers, Entree, Dessert, Coffee and tips. Alcohol drinks are additional. Here's the other nice thing.... you don't have to use them, they still have the main dining room (The Opus) which is complimentary as well as numerous other restaurants available at no additional charge. So they are available if you want them, I love that option, it gave us more choices and felt more like a resort than a cruise ship. We only got to try the Steakhouse, Chops Grill and the dinner was perfection, as well as the service for only $25.00 Per Person. Well worth it! I'll explain more about the restaurants later and other cost around the ship.
After lunch we headed to our room. We chose an inside cabin to keep the cost down, but if you like suites and views that is available as well, the rooms are great, but again it is a personal choice, I would recommend mid ship (less movement). The room was very nice and fairly large for a cruise ship. About 178 sq ft. An extremely comfortable bed, large flat screen TV, work desk, seating area with couch. Lots of storage, the closets had ample hangers, but we always bring extra hangers, never seems to be enough. They have two levels for hanging clothes which was a nice feature, plus shelves in the closet. Also some small drawers in the desk area. I felt there was plenty of room to put everything away in it's place. Our luggage arrive very quickly too, we had it within the hour-Amazing! There was a very small safe, which my husband felt it could have been larger, but we were still able to get all our valuables inside. The bathroom was very nice, small typical cruise ship baths, but again plenty of storage for our "stuff" (See photos to follow).
After all our belongs were put away, off we went to explore the ship. First stop one of the "Neighborhoods" Central Park. I was really looking forward to seeing this area and I was not disappointed. It was breathtaking. You honestly did not feel like you were on a cruise ship, but in a metropolitan area, with fancy restaurants, outdoor cafes and bars in a park like setting. There were trees and plants everywhere, you could even hear the birds singing. So peaceful and beautiful. This was also where most of the speciality restaurants were. There was Vintages, which was a relaxing wine and tapas bar. (Cost were a-la-cart, but most of the tapas ran $2.00-$8.00 each) Delicious and elegant Chops Grill, Royal Caribbeans signature Steak House ($25.00 per person-highly recommended), Also elegant and sophisticated 150 Central Park-just beautiful! (the most expensive at $35.00 per person but a complete 6 course meal). And finally Giovanni's Table- Traditional Italian Cuisine (Lunch $10.00 per person, Dinner $15.00 per person, very reasonable). I would love to tell you all the speciality restaurant were fabulous, which I am sure they were, but we only ate at Chops Grill, not having done the speciality restaurants before, I did not know what to expect, but you can be sure I will do them again.
Next onto The Boardwalk- What fun, reminded me of a small version of Coney Island in New York. A great place for Children, but we found ourselves there many times. They have the only Carousel at Sea and all sorts of fun things for children where they can make their own stuffed animal or pinwheels, there is a candy store (yum), and ice cream parlor, the whole area is set up like a carnival. This is also where Johnny Rockets and the Seafood Shack are located. There is a small charge at Johnny Rockets, breakfast is complimentary, which by the way, the egg sandwich is sooooo good. Lunch and dinner is $4.95. Seafood Shack is open for lunch and dinner at a cost of $8.95 per person. Most of the places here involve a minimal cost, except for the donut shop, where they have yummy donuts available all day long at no extra charge. You do pay extra for your lattes, but they go so well with the donuts :) There are numerous places on board to get free regular coffee, which is a nice option and the coffee is always piping hot! Also on the Boardwalk toward the Aft of the ship is the wonderful Aqua Theater. Where by day it is a pool and by night is where the Oasis of Dreams diving show takes place.
Here is another VERY important tip: Before you leave for your cruise and once it is paid for, go on http://www.royalcaribbean.com/. They have a wonderful interactive site where you can make your reservation for any of the speciality restaurants, also book your reservations for the shows. YOU MUST DO THIS- This will save you a lot of time and waiting and you don't want to miss the shows, they were fabulous. You can also sign your waiver for the zip line and flowrider all before you go. It is also recommended to fill out and print all your travel docks on line for your cruise pass, they make it simple to do before hand and assists in making the on board experience trouble free. You can also book your excursions, so most everything can be done before hand, which I really liked. They also have a toll free number if you have any questions. Also be sure to talk to your travel agent about which dining time you prefer, this can not be done online, so you must go through your travel agent. They have a few options , the first seating for us was 6:00 PM and the second seating was at 8:30 PM. The new My Time Dining program allows you to enjoy dinner in the main dining room, while pre-reserving the perfect seating times (between the hours of 6:00 and 9:30 PM) during your cruise vacation. To ensure prompt service, reservations for each evening are strongly encouraged. Prepaid Gratuity will be automatically added to this reservation. Prepaid gratuities are required when you select My Time Dining.
We continued to explore the ship, went to the Royal Promenade, where all the parades, shops and a lot of the activities were held. Went to the Entertainment place, which consist of the Casino Royale (no luck there) Comedy Live, Blaze night Club, Studio B where ice show and skating rink were. They had this fabulous floating bar in the Royal Promenade that went up 3 floors to Central Park. It was really nice giving you a different view while relaxing with your favorite drink. Just before dinner we stopped by the Aqua theater and watched the fountain show, which was pretty, water dancing to the music and different light colors...
It was now time for dinner in the Opus Dining room. Tonight was casual, we had to wait for a seat assignment, which was a little frustrating that this wasn't taken care of before time. We were only able to reserve the time so a table as not given to us until that night. Apparently we could have gone to the dining room before 4:00 PM and had our seat assigned then, but no where in the cruise compass or on line do they tell you this, so that was the only complaint I had. Once that was settled, we were escorted to a table for 2. The service the first night seemed a little confusing for the waitress, they seemed to be slow with drink refills. Another tip: Soda drinks on board are $2.00 a drink,they offer a package deal you can purchase online before your cruise. For $48.00 including the tips you can have unlimited Coke. My husband is a huge coke drinker, so this saved us plenty of money throughout our 7 day cruise. They also give you a complimentary insulated Coca-Cola® souvenir cup. The other choices for the beverage package is bottle water, juice or wine. The dinners in the main Opus Dining room were adequate, food is typical cruise fare. The service on our return visit was impeccable. Our waiter John from the Philippines, was right on, very polite and addressed us by name. Always had good suggestions and even made a request for something not on the menu. He was our first waitress replacement, which we were very pleased about, she was transferred to the My Time Dining area. Our assistant waiter Christopher from India was equally as good, kept our water and coke filled and always smiling. After dinner they had an unexpected Welcome Aboard Show, starring El Gaucho from Brazil, who put on a unique comedy, music and visual effects show. He was very good and started off the wonderful entertainment on board.
The assembly drill before dinner was different. We had to go to our designated area and basically watched a movie video, no life jackets required. That was it! Our station was in Blaze Night Club, so it was very relaxing.
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