Royal Caribbean cruises is not just for the elderly (Royal Caribbean International)

Member Name: Ladymagic

Product:	Royal Caribbean International
Date:	01/12/08 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Utter luxury 24/7 , a different country every day ,

Disadvantages: If you suffer from sea sickness or lack of funds.

Like most average people I've been on many land based holidays , so when I had the chance to go on what was then the biggest cruise ship at sea 'The Voyager of the Seas' around the Caribbean , well I would have been a fool to have said no thank you .

This holiday was going to be something speacil, I managed to play three travel agents off against each other (one on the TV , one via Internet and one in town ) by saying that each had quoted cheaper than the other and by the end of the week had saved a whopping £2,000 of an outside balcony cabin for two , its just a matter of keeping your head and being firm with them and you can get huge amounts off.

We travelled to London and picked up the flight to Miami where we had been booked into the Hilton Hotel for an overnight stay before boarding the ship the next day , having arrived at the airport in Miami , tired and hungry we where met by a huge completely empty luxury coach to take us to the hotel , where after some messing about with those awful electronic keys we managed to get into our room and a good nights sleep .

As we travelled via coach again the next day we could see the top of the ship from a good mile or so away and I'm not kidding when I say ...........awesome , utterly over the top awesome.

Royal Carribean is in a class of its own and having now travelled with them I do not want to go with another company as long as you live , well unless it was a luxury suite for the family completely free of charge ( Ha, some dream )

The ship was not over sold by its brochure as some are , in fact it was everything it said it was and in my book it was a cross between a fairy tale and your best ever dream come true.
The sheer luxury of this ship was unbelievable , our room was super clean and had all you could possibly wish for , along with a valet who would bend over backwards to help us out .

Every day we went out this nice man came in and cleaned every inch of our room , made the bed , and emptied every bin . I'm one of these people who always leave a place clean , tidy and put everything away so his job was simple in our case.
Our valet was very kind to my husband and I and each morning after I'd chosen our evening wear for that night and had hung it on the outside of the wardrobe door , he would take it for me and press it , something which is not on his 'to do list'

The evenings on the ship where an utter enjoyment , the food was very well cooked, presented and the choices utterly OTT, I dare anyone to try and find fault with such a well planned main restaurant and the other 6-7 smaller restaurants and cafes on the ship which you could eat at anytime ( and we did !)

We opted for a table with 6 others and where placed with 2 sets of just married mid 20's and two single ladies , who after braking the ice with on the first night ,all turned out to be a real screams and each meal with the others was great fun and very interesting as they where all Americans and we the only two English in this part of the restaurant .

One thing I would say is that when booking your cruise dont be tempted to pre-book all the daily activities you can find , the heat , your possible tiredness and the sheer night time activities will take there toll on you , however old you are .
We pre-booked all 7 days outings then had to re-think and re-book some of them as these all day outings are just to much .
Your best bet would be to book each days outings the day before, possibly first thing in the morning .
We also discovered that if you want to go shopping at each port the ship docks at , do a planned trip early morning then come back to the boat , eat and drink before going off into the town to do your shopping , spending the late afternoon sitting by the pool resting for the evening and taking in large amounts of water .

Sea-sickness: A lot of people worry about this nasty little holiday annoyance, I didnt suffer from it , but there where a number of people who looked very green and washed out at times.
Either take your own sick sickness tablets ( make sure you have enough for the whole cruise) taking them at least 2 hours before you board the boat , taking them each day as prescribed.
The ships hospital will provide travel sickness tablets free of charge for you if you suddenly find 'out of the blue' you don't have sea legs after all.
If you are taken ill on board the on board doctors are very efficient and helpful, but be warned you will be asked to pay for the consultation and treatment THERE AND THEN , so make sure you have an extra couple of hundred pounds tucked away for such an emergency.

In all the 12 days we had with Royal Carribean was the best holiday I've ever had in my life and I've been to some brilliant 5 star places and hotels around the world.
I think what made this extra special was that my boyfriend ( now husband ) on going to Mexico to the Tulum ruins made a fool of himself for me , he got down on one knee and proposed to me in front of half the ships guests , he had tried to take me up to the sacrificial Alta but it was closed off at the time , so he had to do his proposal at the foot of the steps , his idea was that if he was going to sacrifice his single life well he might as well do it in style .............mmmmm, not to sure about me being the sacrificial lamb thought!!!!

That night when we went to dinner so many of the staff and guests came up to admire the ring and congratulate us ( our valet had spread the word , bless him ) on our engagement and the ships staff had a cake made for us and brought it with dessert, it was just one of those magical days which you will remember all your life .

I'm hoping in late August of 2009 to take my husband and 18 year old son on the 'Independence of the seas ' travelling from Southampton for a 12-14 day holiday of some sort , unfortunately neither my son or I can fly because of our heart problems so its going to be a Mediterranean cruise this time , but I tell you what if the last cruise was anything to go by then next years will be even better and I cannot wait to book the tickets .

If your thinking of trying a cruise for the first time , do it .
Its not just for the 50-60 year olds , cruising is total and utter luxury , the staff cannot do to much for you , the food is out of this world and the service is like having just won the lotto , each and every day .

Summary: A trip of a lifetime , honeymoon , family ,couples or just alone, you cannot go wrong.