For the most part, the crew was great. Despite cruising on birthdays and on our anniversary in the past, this was the FIRST TIME our anniversary was acknowledged and in a big way. Beside oversized card and balloons on our cabin door, we got gift certificates to the spa, the shops and for photo shoot. And an incredible dessert. Overwhelming!
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Long walk from hotel shuttle drop off: wheelchair assistance not met until almost at the end.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Buffet looks like leftovers from night before. Food not hot when it should have been. Very salty. We tried to eat at the restaurants offering breakfast and lunch, so we could get what we wanted without self-service. Enjoyed pub lunch one day...away on tour for other days offered. Steamers a disappointment for lunch...not seafood.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Trivia, port talks. Some time conflicts with overlapping activities, but many shows/talks were played again on stateroom TV's.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Stage shows were typical, but amazing performance with soprano guest star; cruise singers also sang opera, unexpectedly good. Comedians; 1 okay the second one not so much. No nightly comedy show for adults.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our dining room staff very personable, as well as
professional. I can be hard to please, but they rose to the occasion. Wish I could say the same for the kitchen. I was on a low salt diet, but low salt does NOT mean low taste. For example, short ribs were cooked in water. JUST water. No herbs or spices, no veggies. REALLY? I wanted to talk to the exec. chef, but he never came out. Shame on him!
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
You can't get there from here. I think all ships have the same design flaw. The ,galley is located close to mid-ship, so if you are trying to get to the dining rooms, you frequently have to go up a deck or two, cross over and go back down. Since I use a scooter on board, it means two elevators, and the inconvenience and delays. Also the halls with cabins have service carts for the stateroom staff. One is mis-sized. I could not get past them on the scooter (small size) unless the carts were moved to block cabin doors, or I had to swerve into the cabins to get by. Also, buckets were left in hallways, all hazards. And electric cords from vacuum cleaners tripped more than one passenger....one I knew of ended up with a dislocated shoulder.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Our cabin had bunk beds attached to the walls, so getting in and out of bed, both my spouse and I banged our heads and shoulders several times, despite how careful we tried to be. And parking my scooter in the cabin was a pain in the neck...difficulty to turn around and the threshold was hard to get over unless you cranked up the speed, risking crashing, and endangering my spouse who had to hold the door open.
Our cabin attendant was great. Very thoughtful, and handled all my requests promptly and with a smile.
Ship tip
Go to the port and shopping talks. Extremely useful and valuable information.
The only positive I can say is Southwest flies into Ft. Lauderdale, not Miami, and I have family in the greater Ft. Lauderdale area so I was able to have a brief visit with them.
The tenders could not accomodate a scooter or a wheelchair, and the ship also did not offer loaner wheelchairs, despite having a stash of them on-board. But as I said they couldn't go on a tender, even folded up. Tenders not designed with space for them as I found on other ships/
Did the shopping trip only...not a ship tour, but a tour arranged by the ship's shopping advisor. It was much cheaper than any other tour, and the guide gave us a running commentary of the history and pointed out special sites. The only thing we missed was actual tours of churches, and a vista view from a hill. But not much time in port.
Did a lake boat tour. Long ride to catch the boat, surprised we got lunch (was advertised as snack only). Very overpriced, but interesting. Not much time to do anything else. Also port came with serious warnings.
Went on rainforest gondola tour. Lots of walking, even though advertised as easy. Gondola part was short. I thought it would be much longer. Interesting history of this site, however. Also very overpriced. No chance to 'shop' at port.
Received wrong info, but once directed to correct spot, got off very rapidly. Very pleased the ship offered to send our luggage to the airport, provided luggage tags and boarding passes.
*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.
