We had a great time and for us this was the perfect vacation! We have adult children living in different parts of the country. We all met at the hotel the night before the cruise and boarded together. This vacation was great because all of the planning was done beforehand. Once we got on the cruise we had tons of time to spend together and there was still enough to do that everybody could do their own thing sometimes. My kids are already asking if we can do this kind of vacation again.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
This was the only part of the cruise we had problems with. We waited in line for over 3 hours, and the staff was unhelpful and rude. There was a problem with people disembarking on the cruise before ours, which I understand but without any personnel outside the line fell apart and an employee came and tried to get the line back in place but the minute some people tried to talk to her about it and what the tie up was she threw her hands in the air and walked away. I later heard that there was a bucket with water bottles set out but we didn't hear anything about it until after we boarded the ship. A little explanation from the employees and customer service would have gone a long way to start our vacation off right.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The buffet lines were a little long but the food in the dining rooms was excellent. We ate dinner in the main dining room every night except one and our waiters were attentive and fun to be around. By the second evening our head waiter knew our names and by the third he had our normal drink orders down. He was pleasant and friendly and knew which of the people in our group were a little more adventurous with food and suggested they try the local specialties. The food we received was always well prepared and delicious. After the first couple times in the buffet line for breakfast we ate in the gold pearl dining room. The food was excellent and the waiters attentive and polite. If I have any complaints it was that standard foods like toast and bagels never seemed to be hot, not in the buffet, from room service or in the dining room.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We liked the activities available on the ship. We were fairly busy between eating in the main dining room almost every night and leaving the ship at every port so we didn't have time for a lot of the onboard activities but whenever we walked around on the ship something was going on, there was music in a few places, and I kept wanting to make it to the poolside theater for a movie but never found the time! The casino was fun and a nice way to spend just a little time here and there.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We had a balcony so I actually stayed in our room some evenings to enjoy it. We went to the three of the comedy shows, and saw at least one by each of the two comedians. They were great shows and very funny! We also saw the rock of ages show which was enjoyable. All of the shows were only about 30 minutes or so which I felt was a little short, but since you could go to multiple shows in an evening it worked out for the comedians.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
I have told everyone at home that I have never been so spoiled in my life! The wait staff at any restaurant we were in were wonderful and our normal wait staff for dining were terrific to us and made our dinners much more enjoyable. My husband and I traveled with our adult children and when one wasn't feeling well and skipped dinner the other two joked that our head waiter Fredrich should sit down and join our family. Our room steward was always on top of things and anything we asked for was handled right away. He always seemed to be in the hallway and would work around out schedule for cleaning the room. Our towel animals were adorable and different for each of the three rooms we had. All of the ships personnel were friendly and helpful. At one point I went to the lido deck for just a cup of tea and some of the passengers were crowding the area. I stood to the side to just wait it out and one of the crew asked if he could help, when I said I was just waiting for tea he stepped in and got the tea for me himself!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The common areas were cleaned constantly. I felt sorry for the poor guy who always seemed to be mopping in the pool area, and the tables around the dining areas were constantly clean and well kept. We were on deck 8 so it was only one floor away from the lido deck where most of the constantly available food was. It was easy and convenient for us to just grab a little something whenever we wanted it. The miniature golf was on the top deck which made it a little windy at times, but it was also right above the serenity adults only area. When there were a lot of kids up there it interfered with the "serenity" in the serenity area.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We were in a balcony suite. There was pleanty of room for my husband and I. We had three closet doors. The first was shelves which my husband used for folded clothes (there was also a desk with drawyers that i used), the second was for hung clothes and was adequate for the two of us to share. I don' recall if the third had a bar to hang clothes or not but we used it for suitcases and dirty laundry. The room itself was spacious and held a king size bed with nightstands and a couch. We could have probably been ok in a smaller space but for a full week it was a nice relaxing space to be in.
Ship tip
As long as you're there during the embarkation times don't worry about going for the earliest times. With the tie up we had a later scheduled time would have been better and if you get on earlier you're mostly sitting on the common decks and your cabin isn't available.
we did the See and Sea tour which we had a lot of fun on. The above ground portion was informative and fun, we then boarded a boat with windows below the sealine so we could view the underwater fish and corals. It was beautiful and very enjoyable. We also walked around near the port on our own.
Some of our group did a Swim with Sting Rays excursion which they thoroughly enjoyed. I stayed at the resort areas on the island and went to the picnic lunch provided. It was a beautiful area and the waiters were attentive to everybody enjoying that part of the island. The food at lunch was very good and enjoyable. I will note that the tender boats were very crowded and hot. It took a while to load and unload, if I have to do this again i might shorten my trip to the island so i'm on the boat at less popular times.
We walked around on our own for this island. The shops were interesting and our children went to the beach which they said was crowded but a lot of fun. My husband and I walked around and there was an area dedicated to John Glenn's nearby landing which was interesting to visit. We ate lunch at a restaurant near the beach and enjoyed ourselves.
I technically did not go ashore here but enjoyed a lazy day on my balcony! My husband and children did go ashore and do a beginning scuba diving excursion. They loved it and now all want to make sure they can go scuba diving on our next vacation! My daughter did remark that the bus they took traveled through some places that she definitely wouldn't want to be in on her own.
The disembarkation process was setup well. We decided the night before that in case things were backed up we'd prefer to take our luggage down and leave earlier. They actually called us a little earlier than the estimated time. We moved quickly and easily through the customs process. We had booked a shuttle to the airport from the hotel we stayed at before leaving. The shuttle was there and out trip to the airport was quick and uneventful.
Terrific family story. You really should try to plan another family cruise. The events you experience can never be repeated elsewhere. PLEASE plan another, and enjoy your cruise time together as a family.
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