WE chose this cruise because my husband had the week off, the port was close to home, and we had enjoyed all of our other Royal Caribbean Cruises. This cruise was the exception. Just as a side note. This was our 14th cruise, the 4th on Royal Caribbean. We have also cruised on Holland America, Princess, Norweigan and Celebrity.

First, the stateroom. We were in cabin #9370, a balcony cabin. The bed was terrible. It was like sleeping on a table. We could not sleep more than 3 or 4 hours at a time without waking up in pain and having to move around. We asked our room steward for an egg crate to put over the mattress, but apparently the ship does not stock them anymore. The room steward was able to only get an extra quilt to put on top of the mattress,which helped not at all. The room itself was adequate, the steward did a nice job keeping it clean, no complaints there.

The Windjammer Cafe. Disgusting. I have never been on a cruise before where the staff sees food on the floor and simply walks past it without cleaning it up. Whole pieces of bacon, lettuce leaves, pieces of fruit. Just laying there in front of or near the buffet line. The staff in the Cafe were indifferent. You were lucky to catch them to get you water, or lemonade. Mostly, you ended up getting it yourself. I never saw such a lackadaisical attitude on any ship or cruise line we have been on. We had to ask to have the tables cleared off and wiped off, and even if you could get a crew member to do that, you would still be left with pieces of food on the chairs and on the floor around you. It was really gross and unappetizing. The food itself. Horrible. Old food. Rotten fruit. Pieces of watermelon that would bend in half from being so either frozen or waterlogged. Blackened and burnt potatoes. Overcooked hamburgers and hot dogs. Breakfast sausages and bacon so overcooked as to be almost inedible. There was not a lot of variety. Much of the time, half of the Windjammer would be closed for cleaning, even on sea days when there was no where else to eat. Read more