David Beckerman

Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
Sea
Sailing Date: August 15th, 2002
 

Our trip was in August which included my wife and our two small children, age 4 and 5. We had heard that RCCL cruises were “family friendly” and we were not disappointed.

For starters, the boarding time was fast and efficient. No long lines and the pre-boarding form-filling for customs were also fast and efficient. When we boarded at the Centrum level, the staff was helpful and knowledgeable. No problems, here.

The activities on deck were okay but the game area on the stern – the one below the basketball deck – could have been more kept up; i.e., the ping pong tables were not in great shape and the other games were not easily available. The twin pools on the pool deck was my only major quibble. Both pools are salt water which is counter-intuitive. After all, with all that ocean water under us and on Coco Cay, it would have been nice to swim in a fresh water pool. On the plus side, each of the pools had a “kiddie” area adjacent to the main pool separated by a rope fence, so you could check on the kids while you swam. A nice touch.

The food was as people had told us in advance: not bad but nothing to write home about. The service, however, was great with the wait staff taking care to know who you were and doing what they could to make you comfortable; a major point if you have picky diners. For the kids, the ship had a supervised kid’s dinning area on the Windjammer deck, so the kids could eat with their peers and leave the parents to a quiet and serene dinner. Even better, the ship had all day activities for little kids where you could drop them off and pick them up as late at midnight each night. One night was devoted to a theme activity: the kids were dressed up and made up like pirates and paraded around the ship’s decks, brandishing “sabers” made of cardboard and tin foil and declaring they were “taking over the ship!” Even the ship’s captain got involved as a temporary “prisoner” of the pirates. The kids loved it and the adults thought the sight hysterical.

The cabins were small as expected but then again we were there to enjoy the cruise, not sit in our cabins. Adult activities were designed for designed for all age groups and the best activities were late at night. The shows were surprisingly well designed and choreographed and we all had a good time.

Coco Cay was pleasant, if not exactly like a Club Med experience. Again, there were all-day activities for the kids on the island and it was a good experience. One minor problem: at the time, there was one tender (out of three) out of commission, making disembarking and re-embarking slightly longer than normal.

The ship displayed no motion when encountering waves. The weather was good but windy on most days with white caps on 3 foot waves. The ship’s stabilizers managed these with no problem and no discernable motion.

Disembarking in Key West was longer than usual because several people did not heed the call to register with the INS and no one could disembark until all were accounted for. We lost 2 hours of time ashore but we didn’t mind since we’ve been to Key West before.

Overall, it was a good experience and I would not hesitate to use RCCL again.