Overall was a good cruise - I knew going in the island/ports we were going to weren't going to be the best I've been too. I went on Royal for all the extra activities on the ship but felt that the hassle of reserving and lack of availability wasn't worth the extra price. I would probably do Norwegian again and save a little money for just as nice of a cruise.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
This was my first time going out of Bayonne, NJ and it was great! Easy in, drop off bags, drive 100 yards to secured parking garage, easy walk right into check-in. Only complaint - I had trouble getting hooked into the wifi to use app for COVID test results. I had to walk almost halfway out of building until I could get into it. I would recommend printing everything or taking pics of everything before leaving home!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Food was excellent in main dining room and very good at the buffet with lots of choices. Also hit the Sorrento's Pizza which was great for late night snack and the Dog House hot dogs which the kids used a lot since near the Sea Plex and teen room.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
I was a little disappointed here - not sure if it was a post COVID thing but I feel like in past I couldn't get to everything I wanted to do and this time I was struggling to find things to do during the day. I'll mention just the disappointments - trivia - the prizes were cheap keychains and zipper pulls - they used to give away nice water bottles etc. The North Star and IFly - free experience was only available on port days and you couldn't reserve until the morning of and they filled up fast. One of the reasons I went on this ship was for all the free activities but I felt there wasn't a lot of availability. I will say at least the teen room reserved a something (rock climbing, bumpercars, flow rider) for a couple of hours each night so the kids were easily able to do them. Reservations needed to be made in the app but some people had issues with app or if you missed and needed to rebook you had to go through customer service. Also the paper "Compass" that used to list the activities is not available - they want you to use the app (which download before you go) but I didn't like having to carry my phone with me everywhere. I was disappointed this ship did not have a waterslide - I just didn't notice that when I booked.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Most was good (Welcome show, Farewell Show, comedians, High Velocity band),
Some were excellent (Frankie and the dreamers, Love and Marriage Show, Guitarist in pub (I wish I remembered his name), Aeromith (if you like Aerosmith music))
Some were awful - Cabaret show - we actually left that early
Disappointed - We Will Rock You was not available - I heard due to cast member getting COVID
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
I had two teenagers (13,16) and they both enjoyed the teen room activities. There were a lot of kids there - spring break week - so they both found other kids to hang out with during sea days.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Main dining room wait staff was excellent our team Anthony and Aslam were outstanding! The gave great recommendations and remembered our preferences. There were plenty of staff coming around the pool, bars etc to get you drinks and usually the bars were well staffed if you went up to bar to get your own drinks. Windjammer staff was good as well - always courteous and quick to clean tables etc. Room steward was great too - was always in an out when we weren't there, kept the cabins clean and bathroom stocked with fresh towels.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Everything was very clean and there was hand sanitizer stations all over the ship. There are plenty of signs to help point you in the right direction so easy to get around.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We had adjoining balcony rooms - so was nice with the kids to have their own space. Plus you can't beat having two bathrooms! I found there was plenty of storage space. Our room was very comfortable for two people. Only problem I had was the mattress was too firm and I had stiff neck/back issues. After couple days I asked and they put a mattress topper on that made it much more comfortable - I wish I asked after first night!
Ship tip
Download app ahead of time and have all check-in paperwork either printed out or pics of them in case you can't get into the app - especially for the COVID test results!
If you are going to Coco Beach try to book the ships shuttle bus (I think it was only $6/pp roundtrip) If you miss out like we did, when you get off the ship there will be a taxi shuttle you can get for $16/pp roundtrip - if you are using cash - have exact change but they do take credit cards. DO NOT UBER - I was going to do that but it was $40 one way!!
We paid the $80 for the waterpark and it wasn't worth it. There were two Royal ships there that day and after the first hour the lines were hour or more wait. No lazy river only wave pool and the slides. I know there was another pool and beach areas that I don't know if they were free or not. Or stay on the ship - we went back at noon and found the pools and hot tubs virtually empty!
Again, getting off the ship was about as easy as getting on - we did self assist so we walked off with our luggage in hand. Disembarkation started at 6:45 (I saw a line already before that) We went down at 7:00 and there was no line we walked right off. They spit you out of the terminal right at the parking deck - there were kiosks to pay for your parking and attendants at each kiosk to help you if you needed it. Only thing wrong was one elevator in the parking garage wasn't working so line got a little backed up for elevators but if you could carry your luggage up the stairs then no problems
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