Royal Caribbean International

Advantages: Huge with many things to do day and night
Disadvantages: Gratuity system annoyed me

...the advertising hype on the Royal Caribbean internet site before we arrived at Southampton, for the inaugural Independence of the Seas, Canary Island/Lisbon/Vigo 12-day cruise in early May, and I was expecting a really huge ship. Nothing could have prepared me for the size of this lady. As we drove into sight we could not believe our eyes. It was massively ginormous! Brand new, only launched a few days before, this absolutely fabulous marine monster ...
...well for its purpose. The Royal Promenade is a bright, bustling shopping complex in the middle of the ship and it serves as a popular meeting place, entertainment 'stage' and of course a variety of shops. The amount of quality artwork on walls, in hallways, in the restaurants, bars, reception, in your stateroom and on the escalator area is definitely impressive. There was apparently a Pablo Picasso onboard and at the champagne art auction I went ... Read review

Advantages: food, staff, ports, pretty much everything
Disadvantages: expensive

...a hotel we booked through Royal Caribbean called the Atrium Palace Hotel. There was a taxi waiting for us at the airport to take us to the hotel. When we arrived there was a Royal Caribbean representative there to greet us and explain our transfers to the ship. The Hotel itself was great. The rooms were big and so were the bathrooms! The only problem was that my brother and me had to share a bed, as we had two double rooms. It wasn’t too much trouble ...
...get back to writing about Royal Caribbean and the ship we were on! After our time in Barcelona was over, we were given a time to get the coach at the front of the hotel. Our luggage was loaded onto the coach by the porters and was taken straight to our room on the ship! Almost magical! The coach took us along with a busload of other people from a different hotel straight to the ship. ♥ Getting onto the ship: Checking into the ship was really ... Read review

Advantages: everything
Disadvantages: very expensive

...board or connected to the Royal Caribbean cruise line. It was presented by crew members where it was fairly obvious that they were reading from prepared texts. For me, the balcony was the best part of the room. There was a table and two chairs outside. The views were spectacular from about 70 feet up. When we weren’t exploring around the ship, this was where we spent our time. We just took drinks and sandwiches outside and watched the scenery in ...
...and beach was beautiful. Royal Caribbean used large motorized life rafts for the tender. Service was provided continuously and we only had to wait a few minutes. Free cool drinks were provided while we waited. Day Three: Livorno, Florence (Italy) From Livorno, it took about an hour to get to Pisa and 90 minutes to get to Florence. The excursions began about 7:45. We saw the piazza featured in the movie Hannibal through the Academia and Art Excursion. ... Read review

Advantages: Plenty to do, georgous food, beautiful ship, the list is endless!
Disadvantages: So much to do, so little time!

...the Seas is one of Royal Caribbean’s new ships, released in 04. She is Voyager class and the second largest ship in the world. Her size is amazing; I was speechless when I saw her! The size is unimaginable. She is in great condition as well. There are 15 decks of entertainment, food, activity and accommodation. This includes an ice rink, rock-climbing wall, 9 hole mini golf, golf simulators, inline skating track, full-size basket ball court and volleyball ...
...3 pools, 6 Jacuzzis, Royal Promenade shopping area (this is longer than two football fields!!), library, cinema room, a five-level theatre, a nightclub, show lounge and more!!! One thing I can say is I was definitely never bored!!! The Booking: Last year we booked through First Choice travel agents. We used the air Royal Caribbean offered. It was Britannia and was brilliant! The aircraft was lovely, the staff were very pleasant and Royal Caribbean ... Read review

Advantages: Everything
Disadvantages: Not long enough

...the Seas' which was a Royal Carribean ship. We enjoyed out first week in Orlando but were ready for our cruise when it arrived. Orlando is not a relaxing holiday. Because we had booked it as part of a package it meant we had no problems finding the ship. We were picked up by taxi from our hotel and desposited at the side of the siip. This was a good move as we later found out from other people that had come by car that there was no parking at the ...
...a private island owned by Royal Carribean. There was lots of building work going on there but we just went to the other side of the island and lazed on the sand and in the sea. You must try a coco Loco if you go there. This involves rum, coconut and ice cream. There was a picnic style lunch which ad plenty of choice and was hot. The only downside to the island as far as we could tell were the toilet facilities. There were not rally enough and they ... Read review