We had a great time that took over two years of waiting for, and as usual flew by way too quickly. We spent our time relaxing, and was not in a rush to experience everything the ship had to offer. It was a very nice return to cruising for us and, as usual, we are looking forward to our next one.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
They got us on the boat fast. I like the new "staggered" embarkation appointment times. It helps a lot to alleviate the congestion of everyone trying to get on the ship at once.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Due to personal reasons we had to cancel our Steakhouse reservations. I got the steak in the MDR to make up for it ($20 extra) but it was only so-so. Everything else was very good, considering it was MDR food. As usual, Guy Fieri didn't disappoint. I had 3 of his burgers on a 6 day cruise (I normally eat a burger every 3-4 months) and his bbq is awesome.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Just sat and hung out a lot, staring at our planets beautiful ocean. I never had a problem finding a deck chair, and I did not notice too many chair hogs.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our cabin steward (Jan) was top notch. He introduced himself within an hour after we boarded, and promptly took care of all our requests. The waiters in the MDR had great, positive energy and enthusiasm. I had the opportunity to speak to our cruise director (Simon London) who was a very genial and helpful fellow.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Beautiful design with a nice touch of art deco in the public areas. Extremely clean and well maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Typical balcony cabin, although it's the first time we actually used one with an upper Pullman. My only complaint (no... that's not the right word. More like an annoyance and difficulty accepting reality) was that the Pullman was dropped down that first afternoon and stayed down the entire cruise. This did not allow us to utilize the lower bunk as a sofa during the day. I understand the reason, but I would have preferred if they folded the Pullman back up every day so we could use the sofa, then re-deploy it at night. But I realize that's not practical, and I learned to live with it.
Ship tip
This was the largest ship we've sailed on. As usual, I booked a cabin mid-ship, figuring it was an equal distance walk to just about everything. However, my wife has bad knees, and the walk to the aft elevators to take in the buffet was still very long (and painful) for her. If one has ambulatory issues and they like to use the buffet, I recommend booking a cabin in the aft of the ship of this size (or larger) just to cut down on the walking.
Nice beach, decent bbq. Good all around experience. Due to my wife's ambulatory issues, I'm not a big fan of tender boats, but we took a later one which wasn't as crowded.
Meh. To me, Grand Turk cruise port looked like a just a speck of land that a cruise line dumped some money in to create a "destination". Other than that, it didn't do much for me. We did not go any further than the port area. If we visit it again, I'll take a bus tour to see what else it has to offer, and what kind of life the locals have on the island.
WOW, everyone really upped their game. We got off the ship in record time and the new facial recognition scanners used by the USCBP really speed things up. I found myself looking for an agent to show them my passport.
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