The ship is very dated and you can tell it's the C level entertainment staff on board, but the itinerary is worth it. Just plan for your own entertainment onboard and wouldn't really recommend for young families, but it's clean and the food is good and the ports are must see places.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very smooth
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
All the food was great, but the coffee, including the lattes and specialty coffees were terrible. Loved the taco bar, esp for breakfast, but wish it was open after lunchtime. Get a breakfast burrito though!
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Really, unless you wanted to play trivia or shop, there wasn't much to do, especially with kids. It was too cold to use the pools and nobody really hung on the Lido deck.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
The entertainment staff was TERRIBLE! C- level shows at best. The 80s show, they wore all black and white and didn't play one NKOTB song! We're used to these great shows, but they were shockingly awful. The first two comedians and the magician (Brent Kessler) were fantastic, but the remaining comedians were terrible. There wasn't a white out party as advertised and the 80s party was at 10:30 before an early excursion day, so those were a bust. The piano player (Marshall?) - a favorite for us on most cruises - was embarrassingly bad too! His English was barely understandable, so when he sang these American style classic songs, it was so uncomfortable to witness. There just wasn't much to do on the ship overall and very little worthwhile entertainment on the lido deck like most cruises. The Cruise Director, Mike and his team (Mikayla) were wonderful, but if they weren't there, it wasn't likely to be worth going.
Children's Programs
1 out of 5
The only things that were truly for kids were the arcade, candy store and kids club. We did do the build a bear which my kids enjoyed and the cost was reasonable (~$30). However, we went to one brief visit of the kids club and my 9 year old just recoiled at the sight of all the young kids just playing video games, so she never went. Would have liked a public meet up of families with the kids club team to introduce kids to what it's about or just to allow more family time interactions.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Most of the staff we interacted with were friendly and helpful, but it wasn't the over the top usual feel that we get from other cruises.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
I found it dated and terribly inappropriate in the stateroom hallways! Semi nudes may be ok on an all adult ship, but some of these looked more like playboy shots than art and it was just flat out ugly and dated feeling.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The room was well spaced, esp with the bunk bed and very comfortable. The bed and pillows were the most comfortable I've ever slept on. However, the bathroom was a bit dated with the turquoise top and you could see that some areas weren't properly dusted/cleaned, but it wasn't terrible.
Ship tip
Set your expectations low and you'll be fine. If you're used to ships with lots to do and updated decor, this is not it, but the itinerary is worth it.
Visit Conwy Castle and drive through Snowdonia Mountains!! Best stop of our whole trip. Do not stay in the town of Holyhead though. Nothing to do there.
If you're not going to drink beer or whiskey or want to see something in particular, it may be worth just staying in Dun Laoghaire. Dublin is just a big city and you have to pay to visit the cathedrals. We did the hop on/hop off bus and it wasn't worth it for us.
Blarney Castle is great and no need to go up if you don't want to kiss the stone! The gardens and area around are so cool! We could have spent the whole day there. If you go to Kinsale, get lunch at Kitty O'Se. Best meal we had on our whole trip!
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