I think this cruise would have been awesome if just a few things were fixed/addressed. In addition it would also be great if we could have more time in port. Usually when we arrived the towns were not open yet. We would get off around 8 but the businesses didn’t open up until 10. Then we would need to be back on board around 4. So this meant you were having to make plans around 3 so that you could ensure transportation back to the ship.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Setting sail went very smoothly. We had no problems.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
The steak house was pretty good. The main dining room was okay. They missed the mark on a couple of things. I ordered mussels for an appetizer and thank goodness I order 2 of them. The first bowl had about 8 mussels but 5 of them were completely empty. The 2 bowl only had 3 that were empty. I ordered caprese salad (tomatoes and mozzarella) one night. A major component to caprese salad is olive oil and balsamic vinegar There was no balsamic vinegar. My husband ordered a Reuben sandwich one day for lunch. A Reuben sandwich is supposed to have 1000 Island Dressing. It didn’t and when asked about it he was told they didn’t have any.
The buffet food was not as good as we have had in the past. There was a problem with keeping the food hot. In the past I was used to getting a variety of teas in the coffee/beverage area. There was only 1 kind of tea.
We opted for my time dining. We like that. However, we didn’t get good seating until we complained about it. We were always put in the back corner where we could not see anything (table 374). We would have liked to have seating next to a window at times so that we could see out. It seemed that those seats were only given to larger groups which made us feel that as a party of 2 we didn’t get the same treatment.
You also have to pay extra for room service.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We didn’t use anything. It was too cold to use the pool. There really wasn’t anything to do. We looked for the library so that we could check out some games or cards but they didn’t really have anything. All the reading matters geared towards younger readers.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We went to 2 stage shows. They ere very good. We also enjoyed the strings music. The 3 people in this group are extremely talented.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Our room attendant was very good. I’m sorry, but I can’t remember his name.
We booked this cruise to celebrate our birthdays. Our booking agent arranged for us to eat in the dining room on a particular date. We went on that date and we’re seated way in the back in the corner. But unfortunately we had to tell them it was our birthday dinner. They came back with just one dessert with 2 candles. I know that in the past we would each get our own.
When we were put in a different area, the waitress,Abigail, was outstanding. She went above and beyond to make things right. She wanted to get me more mussels when she saw all the empty shells. However, I told her that between the 2 bowls it was okay.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Everything was fine in this category. It is an older ship and I was impressed as to how well everything was maintained.
I did use the laundry room on this cruise. I used the one on level 7. There were 2 washing machines but only 1 was working. This made for a very long wait as a lot of people were wanting to use them.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Overall, everything was good. There were only 2 issues. The major one was that our shower kept flooding badly. No matter how we placed the shower curtain it would flood. We even tried limited shower time and it still flooded. We went through the towels, but attendant always kept us in towels. We would have recycled them if we didn’t have to use them to wipe up the water. The other issue was the lack of t.v service. It was out about half the time.
Ship tip
You need to request bathrobes now. You also have to pay extra for room service. You
I've sailed over 200 nights and in all cases they actually told me the port times before I decided to book or not and I made my decision. It wasn't a surprise.
For your next cruise try Holland America, food is better, they cater more to older adults that prefer a more upgraded experience. If you do, book the Club Orange option, more intimate dining in a special dining area ( Pinnacle Class), free Room class upgrade, and priority in boarding and a special line at guest services. How the room upgrade works is if you book at restricted view balcony room you will get upgraded to non restricted balcony. You can’t purchase Club Orange after boarding and the earlier you book it the better as there is limited availability.
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