Great ship assuming you're ready pay a couple thousand more than expected. Drink station was down, but it would have been great if it worked. Had to pay $160 just for water, coffee, and fountain drink access.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
The embarkation was great. Had a super quick and easy muster station to learn safety protocol and then we were free to go!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The food was great. The dining room was the best with 5 star service for sure! However, we couldn't even find water to drink unless you paid for bottled water. I ended up buying the $160 drink package just to find out that the main drink station didn't work at all and I was limited to the drink selection at the starbucks counter... the only working drinking station was very far from us on the 11th floor in the buffet and was accessible 24/7. So I barely used the cup I paid $160 to be able to refill.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
I didn't do much actually, but the pool and hot tubs were great for the family and the wave generator to surf on was awesome!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The music was great and the few shows we went too were assume as well.
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
Long line to get in. Wasn't sure about all the details. They should leave a paper with the details for kids area in the room like they do for other services. Rooms were kind of small. Otherwise it was great.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
The service was excellent! 5 stars all around except for room service. 2 hour wait for coffee and some orders never showed up.
The rest of the staff was unbelievably great though!
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Everything was very clean but the shop felt very disconnected and things were kind of everywhere. I remember the carnival cruise everything felt open and fun to walk through. Here, it felt more like a chore to find and get to different places
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Super great. We loved the cabin and the stateroom attendant!
Ship tip
They charge $16/day per person to your credit card. I didn't know this until after booking the cruise. It eneded up costing us an extra $640 after the cruise. Plus you have to pay for EVERYTHING. Couldn't even find free water unless you got a glass from a bar. Or a small cup in the cafe on floor 5. Plan on an extra $1000-$2000 just to sail after your ticket
San Francisco Beach was wonderful! $20/person. Dedicated beach chairs and umbrellas, service was great. A few shops. Lots of water jumpy castles, jet skis, etc. Water was blue and beautiful!
Martyred is correct. Any bar, eatery, has tap water available and if you have minimum soda pkg you can also get soda at Windjammer or at any bar or MDR
Free (ship filtered) water based drinks are available at all eateries on board, you need only ask the server what your choices are. Additionally there is more than 1 self service gratis beverage area within the Windjammer buffet and down at the Promenade Cafe, so I can't imagine all of them being out of order everyday of a cruise. As for using your package cup that's only required at the Freestyle machines which are prone to problems on land but with much less access to technical support if the machine is out to sea. Also any bar tender or drink server could fulfill your drink order, and it doesn't depending on your drink if you had a drink package or not as all on board beverages have individual menu prices for those that prefer to pay as they go.
Appreciate your detailed review. Sounds like this is a first cruise as most of the cruise lines have the standard gratuities ($16/day) additional charge. Usually you can pay it before boarding or wait until you sail. Sorry you had several hiccups.
As your profile states you have no previous cruises perhaps it was more incumbent on you to do some research on cruising and beverages. Without various drink packages things like specialty coffee, soft drinks and even bottled water ..no cruise lines ( except higher end) include those.
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