Good First Cruise

This was our first cruise so we weren't sure what to expect. We purchased the Faster to the Fun pass and it was worth every penny. Embarkation was smooth and our stateroom was ready as soon as we got aboard. My wife found a few long black hairs on the bed which grossed her out but otherwise everything was clean. The staff did a good job keeping our room tidy and it seemed like every time we left it had been serviced.

The sit down dining food was generally pretty good, especially at dinner (breakfast not so much). Service was good but we had Our Time dining and there was always a wait to get in. On the last night we waited 40 minutes. The Lido deck food was OK, not too bad for lunch. We didn't really eat from the buffet, room service, or pizza.

Entertainment was good although I think I would've gotten bored if our trip had been any longer. My biggest complaint is about the internet. I had some homework to do on the trip and purchased the top internet package for $60 (supposedly video chat capable) but could barely open email. The only time I was able to get online to do my coursework was when everyone was off the boat at Ensenada. Even then the connection was horribly slow.

My wife and I loved Catalina. We did a food tasting excursion and the food was great. We got a history lesson on the island as well. We are looking to go back to Catalina for a couple of night to see some other stuff there. Ensenada was seedy and dirty. We went early, shopped for an hour while we waited for the restaurants to open, then ate and headed back to the ship. Stay on the main street in town.

Overall a good first cruising experience. The staff was great. The ship was dated but clean. We would take this trip again.