Relaxing California Cruise

Mardi Gras Dining Room

The staff was wonderful. The food was "meh", but better than the buffet. We always seemed to sit down right before the nightly "show". Loud music with the staff poorly dancing along was not what I wished to experience while I ate dinner.

Grand Buffet

Food was nothing to write home about. Kept me from going hungry.

Guy's Burger Joint

I've had better burgers. The bacon "patty" was not worth it.

Cafe Des Artistes

I don't drink coffee, but I do love chai tea lattes. I ordered only one and wished I could have gotten my money back. I didn't pay attention to how they made it, but when I took a sip, it was awful. I realized they (partially) brewed a chai tea bag in hot water before adding hot milk and then directing me to another counter to add my own sweeteners. I make my own chai at home similar to this, but I couldn't make the one on the ship taste good at all. I was not impressed.

BlueIguana Cantina

I ate here once. While the food was okay, I wouldn't say it was anything special.

The Fun Shops

The Shops were cramped in a small area at the front of the ship. They did several drawings here and there was no room to move or breathe (very warm with all the people). I gave up attending any drawings after the first one because of this. Plus, the perfumes were all located in the main shop (which I'm allergic to), so it made it hard to browse for me. The "sales" were also crammed into the small alcove outside the shop (between it and the jewelry shop) and there was no easy way to look at the items being sold without being jostled about. I gave up after just a few minutes.

Photo Gallery

I really liked how the photo gallery was laid out on this ship. The photos didn't feel like they were crammed together and it was fairly easy to find your photos in a sea of thousands. I thought the photos were slightly higher cost-wise than I thought they should be, but overall, it was a nice experience.

Monte Carlo Casino

Machines were tight and hardly paid out. Every time I went through there, there was barely anyone in it. Maybe it was fuller later at night?