This ship is beautiful.........wow factor!
We arrived in Barcelona (on time) and our cases were taken from us at arrivals and we didn't see them again unitil we entered our cabin, we did the transfer with royal caribbean itself. Transfer to ship was excellent. Booking in at the terminal was fantastic. Counters indicating your particular deck or suite enabled a very quick booking in service. You cannot enter your cabin before 1pm.
Cabin: We had a junior suite (deck 10 cabin 1694 aft) was very quiet and huge! Only problem with balcony is the over hang of the deck above. We hardly got any sun whilst on the balcony.The suite has everything u'd want, bed is huge! Mini bar is very expensive. Bottled water $3.95. Small red ball $3.95 (all have 15% added). In the terminal is a shop that sells bottled water at 1euro, buy before going on board! Hair dryer is ok but I used my own and GHD's. There is a 240v plug, this is situated by the kettle, took me awhile to find it, other sockets are only 120v.
Our attendant Dale was wonderful, his towel animals suprised us every evening. We couldn't wait to go back to find out his next creation! Other staff onboard were always smiling, friendly and helpful, asking you how you enjoyed your day and wishing you a pleasant day or evening.
Reception staff were excellent, I had been given an onboard spend which wasn't showing up on the tv review account. They sorted it out straight away after contacting their head office. I had taken a print off of my initial booking which showed the onboard spend, this helped quicken up the problem, so I would advise to take any docuements with you to prove what your entitled to.
We didn't get bothered with photographers, when asked and we refused everytime, they accepted it without any bother. Bar staff didn't keep on asking either. If they saw your glass empty they would ask you, but if you said no they left you alone. Drinks onboard are expensive, Jack Daniels $5.50 ($6.77 inc 15%). Small bottle beer $4.75 ($5.84 inc 15%). Can of coke $1.95 ($2.40 inc 15%). I promise you it soon adds up over a week!!!
Ship Food: We mainly ate in the Windjammer as we prefered to eat what we wanted and when we wanted. Food was plentiful. Sometimes not as hot as we would have wished, but this place is open from 6.30pm-9.30pm. Our only whinge is the potato option, it was mainly mash every day!! so many meats and veg to choose from but only one selection of potatoes! There is a curry section every night. On our cruise we were told the were 34 different nationalities on board, so it's hard to cater for everyone, so our whinge is a small one.
We only ate in the main dining room once, portions were so small that my husband didn't want to go back lol! And the potato served with main meal was mash lol! What was funny, we saw diners who had been in main dinning room eating in the windjammer later having extra meals to cater for the small portions served in Magic Flute!
Johnny Rockets was fantastic, try it, I know you pay an extra $4.95 each, but it was a wonderful treat!
Formal Nights: On our 7 night cruise there were 2 formal nights. Not everyone dressed up, you DON'T have too. We didn't and we didn't look out of place at all. I'd say half the cruisers didn't bother. We travel with semi formal clothing which looks just as good, so don't feel you have to wear the gown or tux!! With a small luggage allowance on the planes it's a headache what to take. It's your holiday, wear what you like! Casual nights, many wore jeans, and there are 3 of those, and 2 semi formal nights.
Entertainment: Excellent! Ice show was fantastic, theatre shows were also excellent, the theatre is huge, 3 tiers! Our favourite place in the evening was Scooners Bar, Chris Martin sang and played piano from 9.15-1.15am, he was brilliant. He encourages you to join in with songs from all decades. We met many new friends in this bar, including the 3 waiters who were fab at their job. They got to know what you drank, and asked as soon as you arrived if you wanted your favourite tipple! There are so many places to sit and enjoy your evenings, too many to mention here!
For smokers: there are several bars where you are allowed to smoke, no having to go outside on this ship.........thank you royal caribbean. Smoking is also allowed on balcony cabins only.
Excursions: We only used the ship for one, Rome (£160 for 3 adults!) and this was Rome on your own, they just take you and drop you off at the Vatican. We didn't attempt to try this one on our own as it's such along way from the port and we didn't want the ship to sail without us! All the other ports we did our own thing. Train from naples to pompeii, taxi to train station 12 euros, train to pompeii 3 euros each return!Pisa, taxi to train station 12 euros and again 3 euros each return on train, plus 1 euro each from train station to pisa itself. It was easy, try it! Monico, 4 euros return train trip each, with trains every 30 minutes. Toulon, we went to the beach by bus, 8.80 euros return for 3 people, it was so easy, the bus is right by where the boat docks.
This was our 1st time with Royal Caribbean and we loved every minute of our cruise. The only major complaint was the early departure from the ship at the end of the cruise. Our flight back to Heathrow was at 4.35pm, we had to leave the ship at 8.15am!!! The last people off were timed for 9am, unless you paid $35 (plus 15%) each to stay on til midday. We were at the airport for 6 hours!! Barcelona airport is wonderful, but it's along time to be there.
For smokers: Barcelona airport has 2 large outdoor areas after you go through security, wish british airports had the same!!
Would we sail on this ship again....... OH YES!!!!!
Travel operator:
royal caribbean
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