Positive comments:
- All CCL team members were great to interact with, from the cruise director to the dining room staff to the cabin stewards. I really like staff who take genuine interest in my sons. Even Frankie got to know them without them hanging all over him and the entertainment team. You guys really like your guests, and it shows!
- Ports of call were great, and we appreciate the last-minute substitution of Costa Maya for Grand Cayman. We would have preferred Grand Cayman, but Costa Maya was also fun.
- The debarkation experience was outstanding, we were out of customs by 7:15am. That was tremendous for us since we had 8 hrs of post-holiday travel back to NW Georgia to deal with.
- Doing the rapid covid tests at home was a serious pain in the rear… but wow it made things seriously smoother at the port. I can’t imagine someone traveling a long way and then waiting until embarkation day to check for covid. Since this was our first experience with the rapid tests for a cruise, it was not fun at all. Now that we know, we will plan further in advance and be prepared for the time it takes to get the tests completed.
- Port of Tampa was unusually nice this time. Pre-covid sheriff directing embarkation traffic have normally been irritable and impatient, yelling at cruisers who were experiencing port of Tampa for the first time. A pre-covid customs official even threatened to arrest one of my teenage sons for a meaningless declaration “violation” which made a permanent impression on him. But this cruise was smooth, the sheriff directing traffic were pleasant and the customs officials were all business.
- Guy’s Burgers was OK this time. Normally I am jonesing for a Guy’s burger & fries the moment when I get on a CCL ship on embarkation day. But on this cruise? Meh. They were OK and a bit greasy & messy. The Guy’s BBQ sauce & chipotle mayo made it all better, but I probably won’t be running to get one on future cruises.
- HUGE shout out to our waitstaff in the dining room at table 230. I have been talking up the incredible S’mores Parfait dessert for YEARS to my kids who had never been on a 7 night cruise before… only to find out that it wasn’t going to be offered on this cruise! But that didn’t stop I Kadek, Parman, & Rohman from getting us six S’mores Parfait desserts for table 230 on our last sea-day dinner! The waitstaff team for table 230 was the ABSOLUTE BEST. Thanks guys, for the maximum effort! That was above and beyond, and that’s the reason we will keep on cruising with CCL!
- The new gameshow “The Showdown” was awesome, total props to the creators on the Pride. Can’t wait to do it again on other CCL ships. “Deal or No Deal” was great too; I’ve always wanted something a little more adult than the Hasbro games. It would have been nice to have no less than three contestants; two was a bit too short. Frankie did a great job as gameshow host.
- Props to Frankie for keeping this cruise PG-13. He went out of his way to make sure that the vulgar stuff stayed out of the public presentations (think the obscene chants during Billy Idol’s Mony Mony). He kept the crowd profanity to an absolute minimum, and as a dad of young men I appreciate that.
- Also much thanks to have the fitness center open all cruise long. Would have liked for it to be open before 7am, but that’s OK with me. Also thanks for not hassling joggers using the “walkers” loop on deck 10. Running 10.5 laps (3 miles) on the deck 10 loop was way better than 1000 laps on the deck 11 jogging track.
- The new big screen & sound system on the Lido deck under the skydome was FANTASTIC. Way better than the seaside theater screens on other CCL ships. And the sound system did not garble & echo dialog during movies, which totally ruins movies on the other CCL ship seaside theaters. Well done!
- The best performers on the ship were the Shostoppas playing at the Red Frog Pub. Excellent music, worth the time to listen.
- Really enjoyed the two waterslides. The green one was especially fun. Maybe we will be smarter on the next cruise and NOT enjoy them during a sea day when the wind is crazy fierce.
- The inside of the ship was super clean. We have rarely witnessed cleaning going on in CCL showrooms pre-covid. But on this cruise, drink tables were being thoroughly wiped down after every performance. Food service areas stayed clear of dirty plates, cups, & utensils. I hope this doesn't change after covid.
Negative comments:
- The embarkation experience was not good for platinum VIFP members. One of the limited perks of being platinum is skipping the security line, which did not happen. Plus we spoke with several guests on board who were able to board early, around 11am. We were told over and over that the embarkation window was strict and would be enforced… so we honored that by showing up at the allotted time.
- The Hub app was not a good experience at all. The chat feature worked about 50% of the time, and I would like 50% of my money back for that. The “what’s happening” feature was also working about 50% of the time, tapping events that you were interested in did not show up in your favorites.
- Breakfast and sea-day brunch reservations started off badly, but ended well. On the first sea-day brunch and the second day breakfast, we reserved our table and got the notification using the app only to find the reservation canceled when arriving at the dining room less than 5 minutes later. We were told that after 10 minutes that the reservation was automatically canceled… which was interesting since we arrived at the dining room at roughly 7:05am and the Hub app reservation was made at 7:00am when the dining room was officially open. After those first two days, we did not have another problem and were always seated promptly. The point of the app reservation is to minimize human interaction during covid restrictions and get you straight to a table. I don’t think this was quite working as advertised, maybe 60% of the cruise. I personally like the feature and hope all the bugs get ironed out. I prefer to wait in the cabin or a less busy sitting area than stand in a line for breakfast.
- Wasn’t happy with the Serenity bartenders on embarkation day. After the 16-month cruising hiatus, all my wife wanted was a Fun Ship at the very moment we stepped back onto a cruise ship. So I foolishly went to the Serenity bar to get two Fun Ships for us, and waited a really long time to not even be acknowledged. The Serenity bartenders were doing a great job of chatting up the people sitting at the bar, but paying no mind to those standing and waiting for drinks. I gave up and sat back on the couch when we were eventually served by a waiter. That pretty much solidifies my opinion that approaching a bar anywhere is a mistake, and I will only use waiters in the future. Not a fan of bartenders at all, most seem annoyed at us.
- I could do without the 80’s & 90’s themed stuff forever. I get it, it’s a good formula that works. Plus I seriously liked Lobby Trivia on past cruises with CD Erin Weigand and CD Chris Williams the Flying Scotsman; those events were the most energetic, fun, and guest-connected I have ever felt on a cruise. It was awesome to hear the entire ship belting out songs in the lobby atrium. But dang it – come up with some better themes since us past guests experience this on just about every CCL cruise now. We can definitely “see” the formula at work on CCL cruises, and I think it’s a great idea. But honestly if I hear “total eclipse of the heart” on another CCL cruise in the future (I’ve got three more booked), I may just vomit all over the fun squad.
- The Marriage Show… what to say about this. I have ALL the questions now since they don’t change from cruise to cruise. If I wanted to win this game with my wife, we could crush it since the questions NEVER change and we know exactly how to answer. Please write some new questions for the frequent cruisers so we can start enjoying this game again.
- Comedians were not funny… again. I have stopped going to comedy shows on CCL ships, but decided to stay after Deal or No Deal to watch the female comedian. Really disliked her bit about how marijuana is totally Christian since it comes from the earth. With that, she convinced me to never watch another CCL comedy show ever again. Let me know when someone actually funny does a show.
- I would really like the Fun Times to come back. Yes, I picked one up every morning at the Piazza Café along with the daily puzzle. But I actually keep them well after the cruise. Sometimes before a future cruise, I grab some out of the file to remind me of the activities. With the Hub app, I lost the whole ship schedule the moment I left the ship. People should be given a choice between the Fun Times and the Hub app for the ship schedule. Important US citizen information while at port was also printed onto the Fun Times, and I’m not aware that the Hub app works when I’m roaming around Cozumel. It would be nice if you would bring the Fun Times back.
- The Goff’s Cay excursion during the Belize stop was way too short. The snorkeling was very boring & short, the time on the island & beach was short, but the food was fantastic. Our tour guides were friendly.
- The VIFP perks were seriously missing on this cruise. The gold members had to ask for their free bottle of water and never received their free drink coupon on the last sea day. The platinum members never received their sailing gift, and honestly the diamond/platinum party was flat and boring with no food.
- We really want the CCL pens back. Signing receipts with a Staples ball point pen is not the same as using the CCL “All For Fun” triangle grip pen. These pens are valuable to us long after we leave the ship.
