Top 3 Royal Caribbean cruises?

"Best" is subjective. You might hate the things I like best. I've sailed with RCCL for 5 of my 9 cruises and loved them all - and all for different reasons.

I took the Explorer from NJ to the Eastern Caribbean. Loved being able to drive to the port. Was surprised to find a ship big enough to have a three-story "mall" down the middle of it.

I took the Jewel from Ft Lauderdale to the Eastern Caribbean. Smaller ship, great views of the sea, pretty much the same ports so I got to explore places I hadn't been to the first time.

Then it was Vision to the Mexican Riviera. This is one of their smallest ships, but it didn't feel crowded.

Next was Serenade to Alaska. This is one of Jewel's sisters in the Radiance class, and all the glass on the ship made it a great place to see the views, especially the day we sailed down a fjord to see a glacier.

My most recent cruise was on the Jewel again, as it repositioned from England (where it spends the summers doing cruises to the Baltics) to Boston (where it spends about 6 weeks doing Canada/New England cruises before heading down to Florida for the winter and Caribbean cruising). Two weeks, seven amazing port stops (2 in France, 1 in Ireland, 2 in Iceland, 2 in Canada).

One of the best things about Royal Caribbean is that they have a wide variety of ships in a pretty good variety of locations.

You want a big ship with tons of things to do on the ship? They have them. Oasis class and Freedom class ships.

You want a small ship with lots of glass and views of the sea? Try the Radiance class.

Europe? Alaska? Caribbean? South America? Far East? They have them all (although not all at the same time of year; the Caribbean is the only year-round location).

Depends on if you are wishing for the Caribbean or other location. Each cruise has it's own personality in some sense, as the itinerary is going to make a big difference.

For the Caribbean, you have the choice of Eastern Caribbean, Western Caribbean, or Southern Caribbean routes. While the Western Caribbean is more popular, I like the Eastern Caribbean route better.

There are several ships leaving Florida that generally alternate Eastern and Western routes from one week to the next. For the Southern Caribbean, you have to leave from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Cartagena, Colombia, or Colon, Panama.

That pretty much sums up the Caribbean, as that is the only venue I have been on with Royal Caribbean. There are surely other areas that are just as nice.

If you want the experience of being on the largest cruise ships ever built - go on the Oasis or Allure; but they only sail the Caribbean, but they sail year around.

If you want a big ship experience but a better selection of ports, then the Freedom or Voyager class would be the ships. They were the largest cruise ships in the world when they were initially launched.

If you want a smaller ship experience, one of the Radiance or Vision class ships.

If you want an older ship kind of elegance, then the Monarch or Majesty would be the choice.

I have posted reviews of my last 10 Royal Caribbean cruises at: http://www.caribbean-cruising.net/

Post this question to http://www.cruisersconnect.com!/ It is full of cruisers that are very knowledgeable in ships, ports, and more, so they are bound to have an opinion! Most of them have probably been on some Royal Caribbean cruises, so they can help you from their personal experiences.

Hope this helps