Money well spent to relax and get away. You definitely get what you pay for and sometimes more (get the drink package if you're planning to drink).
Embarkation
4 out of 5
It was super easy to get on to the ship. Very fast and the rooms were ready right away which was surprising to me. There was a little bit of general confusion about where to get our room keys etc as people didn't know where to go and there weren't announcements happening. We were just sort of lead around the atrium for a bit without being given direction of what to do.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The drinks were FANTASTIC!!! All the bars had some really amazing special cocktails that were all different at every bar and really creative use of ingredients that made for some special feelings. The drinks at the liquid lounge were STRONG! The food was decent. Not a HUGE selection at the buffet each day but it was good. The main dining room for dinner was good. I did have to send the pork chop back because it was very dry.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
While there was a lot going on as far as activities, there wasn't a lot of announcements about what was happening. You really had to read the daily schedule paper or on the app each day to see. And most of the things were at an extra cost, but that cost was never explained either in a "more info" button on the app or on the schedule. Would have been nice to know ahead of time what activities were going to cost. The "parties" on board were a little lack luster as the lido deck was very small for something like a party cruise.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
LeA was fantastic Cruise Director with amazing energy. The other performers that I did see (singers, musicians) were fantastic. The comedians were hit and miss. One was really great the other totally bombed.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Overall the service was good. Prompt and attentive. There was a general sense of tiredness though that often came off in means of feeling a little cold at times to guests and not greeting them regularly. The room staff were amazing and really learned about their guests and got to know them and chat with them in the halls etc. Made it feel special.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
This ship layout is TERRIBLE! A lot of the activity floors or restaurants you would have to go out of your way to get to. Sometimes you'd have to go down 1-2 floors to go down the hallways then back up to get to certain areas. There wasn't a clear and easy way to get to everything. There also weren't signs on the floors pointing you to the front and back of the ship, so you'd often walk down the hall to find you were at the wrong end of the ship from where you needed to go. I certainly found myself looking at the maps a LOT more than I usually need to. It was not an easy ship to learn my way around and I'm usually really good with directions.
Cleanliness was good on the part of the staff and keeping everything spotless. Where the ball was dropped was guest cleanliness. Other cruise lines (Royal etc) don't let you walk in to the dining areas without washing/sanitizing your hands. This even goes so far as to have a staff member standing at the entrances to direct people to sanitizer or hand washing stations. I think I was one of only a small handful of people that would regularly sanitize their hands when entering the dining areas. Huge cause for concern on a boat.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The size was exactly what I expected. It was fairly clean. The carpets could have used cleaning, but overall it was lovely. The only thing I would have liked differently was a charging plug closer to the bed.
This was the sailing port so no excursions to be had. It was super easy to get on and off the ship. The bus to get to the airport after was worth its weight in gold.
This port felt a little odd as it was the first port we went to. Catalina Island is literally only 30-50min off the short of Los Angeles. We basically went and sat in open water all night and then pulled into port in the morning. Pulling in to the port was beautiful as there was a bunch of fog that day and it was hugging the hills while you sat and ate breakfast. Made for a gorgeous view. There wasn't a ton to do in the port unless you booked an excursion or had specific plans. I ended up renting a paddle board from one of the vendors on the boardwalk but was very limited on where I could take it. All the shops in the area very obviously catered to tourists and it was your typical things to get (t-shirts, shot glasses, magnets, hats etc)
Easy to get on and off the ship, but customs could get slow pending the time of day. I did the zip lining tour was BEAUTIFUL. The company that runs it really put in time money and effort to set it up. It's really well maintained and run. I do wish it had started a little earlier (we left the ship at 11:30) because by the time we got back, there was not much time to go and explore the downtown area at all or to get local food/drinks etc.
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