We took the Baltic cruise in July with a group so we had no choice of cruise lines. This was our first time with Royal Caribbean and we would not choose them again. The on-board experience was generally good; main dining room good, buffet was laid out poorly and crowded, entertainment excellent, embarkation was smooth and the staff was excellent across the board. Our stateroom (balcony) was very dated and the mattress looked as if was original to the ship. Our major disappointment was the port time spent in Helsinki and Stockholm. The narrow channel into Stockholm required entry and departure in daylight (?), so we arrived in midmorning and departed late afternoon, a short half day stop. The captain stated they needed two days at sea to get to Copenhagen! Then we idled at sea for two days at 11 – 12 knots! Why didn’t we stay in Stockholm overnight to allow more time in the city? Port fees? I looked at other cruise lines’ itineraries and they all took one day for the same trip. So we were cheated out of time in Stockholm to save the company some port fees? A really cheap operation.
Very dated, original to the ship.?. Hot water cycled on - off every 20 seconds. Mattress looked like it was original to the ship.