Gracy

We throughly enjoyed our cruise. (I was worried after reading some negative reviews). The ship was big and had lots of people on board, but we knew that. After day one, the crowds disperse better and you can find quiet spots. The service was fine and pleasant, always a smile. The food was good but not what it used to be. I am not a foodie so we used MTD every night. The first night was a bit slow to be seated but the service was very good there. The servers even knew our names when we were seated and when we went back for the second night they asked if we wanted the same wait staff. I didn't perceive the sales push as much as others have said, but I didn't like the sales tables set up in the center of the Esplanade. The photographers took dining room pictures two nights but we didn't buy. We are 68 yrs old and I loved the entertainment. I was also worried we would be too old but...not so much. For the Gift and We Will Rock You, we sat down front and I am sure that made the stories easier to follow. The two entertainers/comedians were excellent and I thought it was all family friendly (although very young children may not have enjoyed it) it was at worst PG rated. The Spectra was very interesting with cool special effect, costumes and staging but I liked the introduction to the Two70 shows we saw the first night with the cruise director. Dance in the Box was really cool. It was probably the best cruise theater entertainment I've seen (but also the biggest ship). They did have evening movies by the pool but it was way to cold to enjoy that on a New England cruise. A few people did brave the cold and wind wrapped in pool towels. Too bad there isn't an indoor theater for movies. As always TV programming is lame. The Solarium pool area was really great and quiet and the Bistro provided a nice dining alternative. I would recommend trying to make reservations for IFly and North Star as soon as possible. They were hard to make, the shows were easier, but do make reservations for them too. We never found out anything about the puzzle escape room. The only reason I am giving the cruise 4 stars is the comparison to cruises we have taken in the past when you didn't need to pay extra for the fancy food. And, as I have read in other reviews, after the final account statement, they added $12 on for water bottles we never used so I needed to call to get that refunded.