Modern ship with a multitude of activities, but with the high number of passengers wanting to experience them all, it was mayhem. Having 1200 kids on board made securing an activity a tedious and unfulfilling chore. Literally each and every activity that was the selling point for us was booked up for the duration of our trip.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Unlike Carnival which does not enforce its boarding times, having 4000 passengers in line at a time, RC made sure only the right time slot passengers were in line. The only negative was the fact that my Covid test results came back inconclusive, forcing me to take the $99 in port test that in actuality was $150.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Impeccable service with everyone always going above and beyond. Food in the main dining rooms was hit and miss. Food presentation was always incredible, however quality and taste varied. With unlimited choices it was not a problem finding something that was edible.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
With all the onboard amenities on this ship I was certain to keep busy, unfortunately all the available time slots were constantly booked up. With NorthStar I was able to book our family of 4, unfortunately our activity was cancelled due to bad weather. I wasn't able to rebook our whole family, and we had to settle for booking 3 of us on 3 separate days. IFly was always booked up, and even though they released the bookings for that day at 8am every day, by 8:02 all the time slots were gone. What made it especially frustrating was the fact that the booked up activity remained on the app, and I had to click on all 20 of them individually to see if I could reserve a spot. With spotty and slow WiFi it was a chore that could have been easily avoided if the activity was removed from the planner as soon as all the spots were filled. The same was true of bumper cars were all the spots for the duration of the cruise were booked. With the rock climbing wall as well as Flowrider, the lines were 50 deep and that translated to wait times in excess of 1 hour for 2-3 minutes of use. Roller blading was not available, but should resume within 4-6 months. Which left us with just sitting by the pool with Solarium our favorite. Make sure you get there 6:30-7:00 as the loungers are claimed early.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
This would be 5 stars if not for the fact that the one show we were truly excited to see, We Will Rock You, was cancelled on the second day, due to bad weather, and no attempt was made to reschedule it for another night. We loved Hannah with her incredible voice, The Gift and Spectra's Cabaret were memorable, comedian was super funny. The cruise director was exceptional and made sure the disco dance night was a big hit. I'd also recommend the Hush party with the use of 2 channel headphones.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
Always entertaining and kept the kids occupied
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Absolutely impeccable service, worthy of a 5 star resort. Super attentive and always remembering minute details about every single guest. The only negative I had was a very slow service at Johny Rockets, were consistently a 5-7 person wait line translated into 20-25 minute wait just to get to order, with another 5-10 minutes to actually get your food.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The design was incredible, cleanliness though... I do understand that it is the passengers that are responsible for creating a mess, and it is inexcusable to just throw your food and drinks in the stairwells, however it would take the staff, what seemed like forever to clean up spilled cups with ice cubes littering the carpets.
Cabin / Stateroom
2 out of 5
As wheelchair accessible cabin it was extra spacious, however there were a few quirks. The first one was the fact that the door opened all the way and stayed open for a whole minute to allow the wheelchair to pass through, however when the wheelchair is not being used for the remaining 3 guests it was very annoying - maybe a wheelchair button and a regular door knob design would be more practical. The other issue stemmed from the fact that after every shower the entire bathroom floor would have 1/4 inch of water that would not drain and we would use 3-4 bath towels to build a dam around the shower curtain to keep it reasonably dry. I do understand that there can be no lip on the bathroom floor for wheelchair accessibility, however I wish there was a slight pitch to the floor so that the water can drain properly. The pillows were 4 inches longer than the pillow cases, which made absolutely no sense for sanitary and comfort reasons. And finally our bed had 2 queen size pee pads stacked on top of each other which bunched up constantly making indentations in my back every night.
Ship tip
Find a spot on the ship where ship WiFi is strong to book your activities at 8:00am sharp. There were a lot of dead spots throughout the ship even in the open Promenade.
We had booked the early helium balloon ride and rushed to get off the ship (with a 1000 other passengers snaking through the Promenade, stairwells and casino, just to get to the attraction and be told that they have informed the ship that there will be no helium balloon rides all day due to winds. I wish someone would let us know so we wouldn't run for no reason, maybe a notification in the ship app! Our second excursion - the waterpark - was limited due to winds. Our third excursion, the jet skis, was cancelled as well, and we were not told, until we trudged to the chill beach from the south beach. A little bit of communication would go a long way... Chill Island Beach had its own "wave pool" with the strong winds, but the whipping sand made it impossible to enjoy. Breeze Beach was mostly chilly like the Chill Beach. Your best bet was the South Beach with its swim up bar. We had the best time at the Oasis Lagoon with its own pool bar staffed by 20 bartenders.
Our Pearl Island 5 hour excursion was cancelled as well, and we were left exploring Nassau on our own. There are a lot of pushy salespeople selling anything and everything you can think of, now it's not as bad as Jamaica, but close...
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
