1stTimeRoyal

Yea, we found the pizza quality very good. The 4 cheese one in particular was just made well each time it seemed like. People also seemed to like the Caesar salads there. We never really do cheers, but did this time, and the coffee bar next to pizza in the AM was great too. You could get a latte, and then get a Gatorade or something to take out to the pool. And again, maybe 2-3 people in front of you, max?

No, not really. Pizza, coffee bars…I mean, sometimes there was a line but nothing crazy. Longest food lines probably breakfast at like 10AM on buffet or maybe Guys Burgers when they open, but again, maybe like 10-15 min max.

Didn’t notice anything in disrepair. Ship looked good to me.

We did not do sea day brunch, but yes, offered every sea day. We did breakfast in the dining room before Half Moon Cay, it was pretty good. Service was prompt. In and out in about 30 min. Lunch for us was usually Lido Buffet, BI Cantina, Chopsticks (the Asian food was good all week on the buffet) or Guys Burgers. The cakes were great all week too.

Second night and Seventh Night. I actually enjoyed the second formal night more - filet was excellent.

Here’s how embarkation and disembarkation went for us (granted we aren’t diamond or platinum, but hopefully still relevant) 1) Embarkation - had a 1:30 arrival time. Got there at like 12:50. Parked with no line or wait. They were boarding everyone at that time so we walked right in, they checked our VeriFLY, and then they ran the passports etc, and we were on the ship maybe 20 min after we parked. We never sat. 2) Disembarkation - we were on Deck 8, carry on only, so we were the first group off after flights. Ship got back to Baltimore an hour early, we were let go at 9:15 or so. By 9:30 we were in the car driving out of Baltimore. Couldn’t possibly be easier. We never stopped once after getting off the ship - do they not do customs anymore??? In any event, easiest disembarkation ever for us.

On Half Moon Cay, with the size of this ship, there are no bad spots at the beach. Again, super easy to get chairs. On Grand Turk, we rented a golf cart and just explored the island. In Amber Cove, we stayed at the pool complex which was awesome. Zip lines, huge pools, big water slides. That was a fun day. The 2 things we did on this cruise which I will now do on every cruise: 1) Carry on bags. We were off the ship so early, and if you pick the 1:30 embarkation time, you can just drop your bags off when you get on. No lugging bags up to the buffet etc. 2) Late dining. We had an awesome wait staff, and it’s so nice to have the same people each night. But even better - between like 4 and 6, every day, the pools, Serenity, bars etc - all empty. It was like the magic hours. With early dining, I feel like you are always scrambling to get ready, especially on port days. also, one other recommendation - at least on the food. The meats, soups, and pastas in the main dining room are almost always very good. We didn’t do steakhouse, but a nice thing is just to order a steakhouse entree in the dining room. It’s like a $30 savings, and you get the apps and desserts from main dining which were always pretty good. I got the steakhouse lobster last night and it was really good.

Any questions - fire away. Overall an excellent cruise. Friendly crowd, super staff and service on board, food was pretty good in most venues all week. Entertainment was so-so in the main theater, but the variety of musicians (Alter Jamm!) around the ship more than made up for it. Probably the best thing, IMO, outside of a ridiculous line to get off the ship in Grand Turk, nothing ever felt crowded all week. Comedy shows were tight, but that’s always the case. Buffet lines never that bad, deck chairs easy to get, pools fairly quiet all week. Embarkation and Debarkation were about as fast as possible - again, just everything easy and relaxed. And again, the service. If you are fortunate to have Alvin, Sherwin and Jess in the main dining room, or Sherin in the Lobby Bar, or just about anyone else on this ship who work so hard, so quick, to make you have a great cruise, you will have a great time. Weather was good all week. We loved Amber Cove and this itinerary. Not many complaints at all. Sure, you can see some of the differences if you want to find them, some of the cutbacks (bacon on the buffet every other day etc) - but it’s still a cruise, and it was a great time.