We have been on 10+ cruises but this was our first one with Royal Caribbean. We would definitely recommend and book again on this ship! We were impressed with the beauty and cleanliness of the ship, the quality of food was very good, the ship is configured very well to give people both quiet space and areas for energetic activity. It's a big ship but we never found it over crowded or overly lined-up at elevators, restaurants, activity centers, buffet areas. yes, there were lines sometimes but they moved quickly.

My favourite area was the Central Park and the Park Cafe. It was a garden oasis with real birds and plenty of comfortable seating. It was sunny and tranquil during the day - perfect for lounging around, reading and a coffee/drink. At night, we had dinner at Jamie Oliver's and sat outside on the patio where we were serenaded by the guitar and wonderfully tranquil atmosphere. It truly was magical. I would definitely recommend the BOGO specialty dining package as you get 2 specialty restaurants on the first 2 nights at 2 different specialty restaurants of the ship's choosing for around $40 each person. We got Jamie Oliver and 150 Central Park and both were excellent! I only wished the Park Cafe had longer hours. Doesn't make sense that they create a beautiful area for lounging and then limit the complimentary cafe for only a few hours. It was inconvenient to hop down to the 5th floor for snacks, lunch each time.

The food was good but we would have liked more variety each day. The Windjammer basically had the same food for breakfast, lunch, and dinners. The main dining rooms switched it up a bit but still not a huge variety to choose from. Our main wait staff was efficient and friendly enough. The bus staff in the Windjammer were terrible. Surly and slow pretty much sums them up. Very busy buffet area but tables were not cleared quickly and bus staff seemed to work begrudgingly. We were also very surprised to see that many of them did not speak any English at all. Definitely more training needed for customer service excellence! On the other hand, the servers behind the counter and in the main dining areas were quite attentive and we were very impressed at the length they went to ensure our son's peanut allergy was taken seriously. Loved that buffet food was labelled gluten, nut, no sugar etc clearly for passengers!! Low sodium options would be great to see for healthier fare. Have to mention that people are like crazed animals during meal times at the Windjammer. Careful they don't run you over especially if you like to take your time considering options. Read more