From the minute we got on the ship until the minute we got off we laughed, met many wonderful people (crew & cruisers) and have memories that will last a lifetime. Our relationship had gotten a bit stale and I know this sounds corny but we were renewed on that ship - that renewal has lasted thus far. Can't believe at 64 and 71 we had not experienced this wonderful vacation.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Because we had never been on a cruise we were nervous. But there were so many people who were there to guide us, our anxiety turned into relief.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Excellent! We were very well fed at every restaurant from the Windjammer to our nightly dining experience in the Minstrel dining room to Giovanni's.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We caught the Kenny James Motown show, the Love & Marriage game, a rock trivia game, the pool and hot tubs, the spa (for a full body massage), the movie theater and the Casino....all were great experiences
Entertainment
5 out of 5
As stated above, we loved all of the shows we caught
Children's Programs
We didn't bring children
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
OMG - Pablo and Elizabeth (our waiter and asst.) were amazing; it seems that Elizabeth works ALL the time but still had a smile for us each time we saw her. Don Smith was amazing and we LOVED the towel animals and the great care he took to make our stay really incredible. We also became quite attached to Thiwi who was at the Windjammer telling us "Washy Washy" with an incredible smile on her face - ALWAYS! Such interesting people in the crew - everyone was from a different part of the world and were very interesting. We also saw how hard they all worked yet always were gracious and made us feel like they really liked us. They were AMAZING!!!!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Every part of that ship was so well designed and decorated - we felt like we were in the lap of luxury.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had the best room - I would ALWAYS have a balcony. Each night we'd leave our balcony door open and were rocked to sleep by the sound of the ocean and the gentle motion of the ship. The bed was soooooo comfortable and again, Don made sure that our room stayed clean and was there to respond to our every request. We were delighted at how big the room was; we were expecting much smaller.
Ship tip
I think you give what you get. Some other people had previous experiences to compare this cruise to. I think we did so well because we were very appreciative of all the pampering. Most likely we will compare future cruises (which there definitely will be - we're hooked) but I also hope that we can experience new adventures with the same awe as we did on this voyage. And because the crew were from all over, some sending money home to their families, others just enjoying the experience, and even though they were totally professional and well trained, we never felt like we were looked down upon even when we weren't sure which fork to use or what kind of food was on the menus as can so often happen in fine dining restaurants on shore.
Came in from Sarasota straight to Enterprise to return the car and onto the ship. Went back to Sarasota afterwards and didn't spent any time in Tampa. The city was pretty amazing looking though.
We did a non-RC excursion (didn't know that the ship will wait for those RC excursion people if they're late but won't wait for the non-RC excursions - you probably should advertise that). But we had a BLAST!!!! It was quite a reckless day but we felt young again - I had previously lived in Mexico and forgot there are no rules of the roads or of anything. Our excursion, however, could have ended up with us missing the ship - we flew (on the road) back to port with only 15 minutes to spare.
We were on the same exact cruise as you! My husband and I were virgin cruisers too and we loved it as well! Every part if your review is exactly as I would write it!
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