Flying and sinus infections are not a good mix. This is important to cruising because we were able to recover by doing as little as possible, not be contagious, enjoy good food, drink, sleep and in general be restored. It is also the best way to celebrate a milestone birthday. I boarded younger than I am now. We enjoyed this cruise!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Choosing an embarkation time was not important. It was first come first served. What was important was being in the green or blue lanes. Green meant you had everything done prior and embarkation was smooth. Once the first group boarded it went quickly!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Enjoyed the drinks and food. We reserved our dining times (dining my way) before we were on the ship, making it easy to go to the main dining rooms. It was simple to change or delete once on board. Most of the food options were good, but beef in the main dining room was tough. Steak at the Crown Grill was delicious. We usually had breakfast and lunch at the buffet and found something to enjoy daily. Drinks were very good and they did NOT skimp on the alcohol (especially at the wave bar at the end of the evening) They did run out of Kailua on day 5, so no more white russians.
Swirls Ice Cream Bar
5 out of 5
The soft serve machine kept breaking. They didn’t miss a beat. Brought tubs of ice cream and were ready to serve you either a cone or dish as requested. When the machine was working, would make your serving as “tall” as you wished.
International Café
5 out of 5
Often busy and always friendly. Sometimes frustrating when something happening in the Piazza (like line dance class) because it was hard to hear your name called or hard for them to hear your order.
Crown Grill & Bar
5 out of 5
Great job with your steak. Cooked exactly how we liked. The bar was friendly and drinks well made.
World Fresh Marketplace
5 out of 5
Everyday had some of the same items AND had areas that were different each day. Al’s had a children’s section for things like Mac and cheese or chicken tenders (note available for anyone). Different desserts daily.
Sabatini's Italian Trattoria
5 out of 5
Had one dinner and one lunch here. Nice salad. Pizzas are 10 inches with thin crust and very good. Calzones are large, we should have had on to share instead of one each. Go early as the line can get long. Service superb.
Alfredo's Pizzeria
5 out of 5
Tasty and quick.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Lots to do or not as fits your needs. Line dance classes, ballroom dance classes, trivia, seminars, shopping, pools, hot tubs, and much more. We chose to do very little as we were conserving energy to heal. Also we retreated to the cabin on a couple of occasions and watched movies on the TV. A wide selection of movies on demand.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Rock Opera was outstanding. The comedian, Gary DeLena, extremely funny. Music throughout the ship not overwhelming. I liked that every venue stopped when an announcement was made so it could be heard. Note announcements were not constant. So it was worth the quiet to learn what was being said.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Every staff person we met was wonderful. Our room steward, Daisy, friendly and serviced the room twice per day. Clean towels everyday. Matt the CD professional and accessible. Customer service helpful but wish we could have gotten more than $10 in ones when breaking bigger bills. Medallion center (forgot the actual name) would get the app to work for you, but didn’t always explain what they did. Note: my medallion/app worked from the beginning and didn’t have any issues. My DH had issues from the beginning and didn’t get it working completely ever.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Ship like new. Easy to find your way using the interactive portals.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Plenty of closet and storage space. Only one chair so TV watching was from the bed. Comfortable bed with duvet. Balcony cozy with table and two chairs.
Ship tip
Prebook your dining preferences. It’s easy to change once on the ship but many fill up early.
The Everglades tour post cruise was interesting but seemed rushed. Lots of standing in line. We did see an alligator while on the airboat. There is a demonstration after and you can hold a baby alligator. Nice airport:
Fascinating little village. Not all shops have recovered from last hurricane. Nice display of flamingos. Several rain showers. We started to watch the Mayan Sky dancers, but as they started climbing the pole they quickly descended. Why? A heavy rain shower hit as they landed on the ground. Waited and got to watch this interesting recreation of a 600 year old ritual. If you ever have the opportunity, you should watch it.
I’m giving this full stars even though we skipped this port. We were unable to dock because of winds and current. The captain came on the intercom to explain the situation when we should have docked, saying he’d try again in an hour. The local harbor pilot was on board. After several attempts it was decided to be unsafe. The pilot left the ship and we continued on. The captain mingled with the guests saying how sorry he was and took pictures with anyone who wanted. This was the most professional and friendly way I’ve ever seen this type of thing handled!
We did the Everglades shore tour as we had a late flight.Special luggage tags were given the night before along with a matching sticker for the tour (in our case yellow 2). When our bus was ready we went to the luggage area, our luggage was together (mostly) and easy to get, went smoothly through customs and onto the bus. Luggage put in hold of bus. NOTE: remember to keep your shore excursion tickets with you! Bus takes you to airport after the tour. A bit of confusion as he forgot to put luggage in hold according to airline.
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