It wasn’t a bad cruise, just hard to pinpoint what was missing. Several people commented on that. They’ve turned these cruises into cash cows with extra charges for things that were always included before. The esplanade was disappointing, not really a lot of choice, too many expensive jewelry stores. There were full pages of activities listed but really nothing much to do in the afternoons if you don’t want to shop or go to spa seminars that are usually just sales events.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very quick and easy
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food was good in Windjammer. Main dining room was mediocre and very rushed. Couldn’t cut my steak with a streak knife. Too many extra costs added with specialty restaurants. Food not special enough to warrant extra charges. British pub, disappointingly, had very limited menu: hamburger but no fish and chips! Lots of pastries around but nothing memorable. Cookies were best and most popular.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
If you are into sports it’s great, but otherwise the only activities were sales and spa events. So nothing much to do. Tried to go to a jewelry making class but it turned out to just be a pitch to sell a bag of beads for $14.98 and no actual activity.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Guitarist was excellent. Stage show was ok but stupid story and theater seats very uncomfortable.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Staff was great and very hard working.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Not enough elevators to handle size of ship. Long waits at elevator banks and often one or more cars out of service. Ship was clean and well maintained. Rooms were well designed.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Cabin Size was good and very clean. But they need to use king beds, not queens. If you split a queen into two beds you get a crib size mattress. Plus the mattress was very hard.
Ship tip
Get a cabin near the forward elevator bank. Makes everything easier to access with less walking to get to venues.
Port was very easy to access. Need to better organize car pickup points. Taxi wanted $65 for a trip to Newark Airport so that needs to be regulated better.
I agree totally! Not the same vibe and excitement of the smaller ships. Rushing you to get out of the Windjammer. The people working on the ship just not as friendly as we are used to. We had a junior suite, with a cabin attendant that was horrible. Our room wasn’t even cleaned or picked up until 4:30 in the afternoon. And this was a junior suite. Just too many people. Tough getting on and off in ports. Elevators jammed. Just not our cup of tea!!
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