Hey all! I am Channing, and I travelled with my boyfriend Shawn. Both early to mid 30s, from California. We have cruised Carnival twice and Princess once, so this was our first time on Royal. We originally booked a south pacific cruise out of Sydney but unfortunately, couldn't make it happen, so we opted for this cruise that looked really fun, and was easier on the budget. Shawn's mom lives near Orlando, so we were able to spend a few days with her pre-cruise. We spent most of our time lounging by the pool of her complex, and spent a day at a waterpark in Daytona! We also spent one afternoon picking up any last minute items we needed for the cruise (we are VERY light packers, especially when flying!). Sunday morning she was nice enough to drive us down to Port Canaveral and see us off. We arrived at the port about 1130, and we waited about 15 minutes for the security lines to open up for us "peasants", as Shawn would say. Once it opened up it went very quickly and the entire process was a piece of cake! We were on board, first drink in hand by 1230!

Thoughts on the Ship: I loved it! I really appreciated the different neighborhoods and how they made the ship feel less crowded. We rarely waited for anything (but, we go out of our way to avoid the busy areas when they're the most popular). Shawn felt like it was too much like a city, but that's kind of what i liked about it.

Stateroom: 4D Oceanview Balcony, room 9662. Midship Starboard. Great room! Very clean, bed was on the closet side. So quiet! We did hear the occasional chair shuffle from nearby balconies, but that was only if we were also outside. Shower is very small, but the glass doors are a nice touch, as opposed to those darn human-attacking curtains on Carnival! Our stateroom attendant was pleasant and worked very hard. We saw her every day. Read more