Easy on and off. Good food. Good service. Good fun.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
This was the easiest and quickest embarkation I’ve ever encountered.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Golden Restaurant
5 out of 5
The restaurant was wonderful! We had the best wait staff! The food was delicious and the atmosphere was not as formal and stiff. It was enjoyable every night.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We played some trivia (and won two ships on a stick!), played some bingo, went to some shows and spent time in the piano bar. The piano bar was great. Cassidy Rae was delightful. She was a great singer and her bar man Gustavo was awesome.
Kaleidoscope Boulevard
5 out of 5
This has got to be one of the best places to people watch!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The shows were what you made of them. Some of them were really fun. The musicians were the same - some were really good, others not to my taste but they were to the taste of others on board.
Amber Palace Main Lounge
4 out of 5
The Epic Rock show is the best! The music is phenomenal! Some of the other shows need updating but they are still fun! TheThey are as much fun as you make them.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Tanakas, Sunu and Myat in the Golden Dining Room are an amazing team! They made dinner every night so much fun. We laughed with them and they danced (or tried to) and were genuinely interested in what we did during the day. Ulum was our room steward. He had everything in order and took care of every request quickly. Gustavo in the piano bar always had a smile and a high five for you even if he was outside the piano bar!
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship was clean and laid out well. It was showing its age though. There were areas that were showing a lot of wear and that needed replaced.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Balcony cabin. There were three of us in the room. There was plenty of room. Our room steward kept it clean. It was cool and comfortable. There was only one small issue - they were doing some small repairs to the a/c while we were in port so they had it shut down. When we got back on the ship it took a little longer than they anticipated to get it back up and running. The problem is that they didn’t communicate that to the passengers. Once it started though, the room cooled off quickly. Other than that, no issues.
Ship tip
As with any cruise, bring enough cash (tip your bartenders), book shore excursions before the cruise and the most important thing - research your ship and ports.
Again, we did an excuse through shore excursioneer. We went to Mr. Sanchos. It is so worth the money. You have pay for the taxi but it’s not that expensive. All you can eat and drink is worth the taxi ride. The beach is beautiful I full and the water was refreshing. The pool looked like a lot of fun with the swim up bar and the swings. The people selling their wares were not pushy and when you said no they said thank you and moved on. The food was tasty and came in large portions. The drinks were yummy. Excellent value for the money. And so much fun!
We did an excursion thru Carnival. We went to the turtle center. It included lunch. That was nice. It included transportation. The bus driver was friendly and knowledgeable. The guide at the center was also friendly and very knowledgeable. The center also had a gorgeous pool. The water slide wasn’t working while we were there (it was down for maintenance). But we had quite a bit of time at the pool if we wanted it. We had a few hours after the tour to shop or go to a restaurant or do whatever before we caught the tender back to the ship.
We spent two days here just exploring on our own. It was hot and humid but oh so fun! I wish we had more time. There is so much to see and do. The port was easy to get thru and easy to get to thanks to our hotel. Of course we did a swamp tour and checked out bourbon street. Hurricanes (the drink not the storm) were a necessity. So glad we did this.
We did an excursion thru shore excursion ever. We went to Sunscape Resort for the day. It was nice. Buffet lunch and all you can drink. Beach, pool, water park too. The water was blue and warm although it had a lot of seaweed in it. The food was good and the kinda skimped on their drinks. But it was relaxing and a good way to spend the day. They provided transportation to and from which was nice. And it was right beside The Hard Rock which allowed me to pop over and get a t-shirt (since I collect them).
Just like embarkation, disembarkation was wicked easy. They wanted everyone off the ship by 10:00 a.m. and they achieved it. It went smoothly. There were no holdups, no clusters. Everything went smoothly.
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