Great ship, good cruise..

It took me exactly 1 hour from the time I got off the taxi to board the ship. Be prepared to have your passport or drivers license handy. Waited in line about 45 minutes. The only problem was that they never gave me a boarding number. I finally had to ask someone (who looked important) to let me through.

If you didn’t like the food on the ship then you have serious food issues. I read where people didn’t like the food. Not sure how they came to that overall conclusion. There are two types of food onboard, free food and food for purchase. The food in the market place was most likely where people MAY have a complaint. The food there was cafeteria style. Be prepared to stand behind people who act as if they have never been in a cafeteria before... slowly walking down the line, picking what they want with no regard to people behind them. The food quality, (as someone who worked their way through college working for Aramark) was high scale institutional cafeteria. They had 3 lines open most of the time serving whatever you wanted. For breakfast they had and omelet bar that order made what you wanted. For lunch and dinner they had a sandwich stand. Again, outstanding order made food. If you didn’t like those choices, you could go to the lido deck for either burritos/tacos, Guys Burgers or fresh made pizza. The burritos/tacos had fresh made tortillas. The fillings were many and it was quite good. Guys burgers and fries were excellent. Finally the pizza stand made a multitude of 10 inch pizzas. All of these choices were made fresh in front of you. If you didn’t like any of the food in the market place or the pizza, burritos/tacos or Guys burgers then there is simply no pleasing you. Sure, you may not LOVE what you selected when you went to these places, but go back and pick something else. The other “free” selection was the dining rooms. Starting with the evening meals, I thought the food was excellent. Everything that I expected. Hot, fresh and very tasty. At least a 9 out of ten. The organization that it takes to deliver 1500 made to order meals to a table that is both tasty and hot is a stunning achievement by the food galley. The presentation was excellent. You may not like a dish like the pasta but that is a personal taste issue. There were plenty of other choices. My only complaint was the portion sizes, however I understand why they are small. I ate in the dinning room with my group 3 times. Think of the appetizers and entree’s as small plates of food, so feel free to order multiple of both. If you can’t choose between either the crabcake or clam choweder then order both. Same with the entree. The only dish I did not like was the shrimp cocktail...either use large shrimp or nothing at all. the shrimp was medium at best. I got over this very quickly when I got the lobster. Very well cooked. Overall the dining room experience was excellent. If you want quality, upscale fine dining go to the dining room. If you are expecting 4/5 star big city ($80 to $100) meals in the dining room you will be disappointed. If you want quality, upscale dining go to either JiJi’s Asian, the Steakhouse or the Italian restaurant. there you will get that in more for less than $50 per person. Our group ate a JiJi’s, the steakhouse and the Italian restaurant at least once. Here you will get fine dining. Be prepared for a quiet relaxing meal that you would pay $100 per person in Vegas, New York or any number of large cities. They food was excellent and with every meal the chef made a special plate for each table. The portions were much larger then the dining room. If you didn’t like any of these selections then please stay home and let your personal chef cook for you. You will be disappointed on this ship. I left out two options, the seafood shack at the back of the ship. They served cooked to order, seafood for an added cost. I had the lobster rolls with fries for $12. Excellent. The other option was Bonsai. They served sushi, noodle soup and other items all for under $20 per person. Again, excellent. Finally, by surprise meal pick of the week was the brunch in the dining room on sea days ONLY. If you like steak (tenderloin) and eggs (make to order) while sitting and watching the ocean fly by then do this. The brunch menu is extensive and great. Hands down the best value meal of the trip. It was “free” and you could order multiple items. Simply outstanding. You may have not liked what you choose to eat while on this cruise, but in my opinion, the food was outstanding. They did everything they could to ensure that you were happy and full.

Great activities onboard. If you were bored it was your own fault. If you were expecting a quiet relaxing day at the pool then you were out of luck. Be prepared to dodge kids and rude people all stepping over each other for a chair on deck 10. On the senerity deck, adults only, be prepared to get up a 0600 and put your towel on one of the clam shells. People claimed them all and never left. Just FYI. However, it was away from the screaming kids and it had salad and full bar service. Nice place to hang out if you could get a seat.

The entertainment was good. I am not much of a show person. Many in my group liked the shows. They had plenty of them to choose from.

Excellent. Exactly what I expected. Friendly and always willing to help.

Excellent. However, some in my party commented on a strange smell coming from the market place hallway to the food lines. I only caughty that once or twice. They also mentioned that the carpet was worn in some places. Again, I didn’t not see that. I thought the ship was in great shape.

Excellent. The bathroom was great, shower was larger than expected. Bed slept well. Staff cleaned twice a day. Great.

I had by bags in hand, went down to deck 3 at 0700 and walked off the ship to customs. It took be 1/2 hour from the time I hand carried my bags to level 3, got through customs, got on a taxi (yes he was driving 80 mph’s through Miami) and got to my car at the Pullman Hotel. I used Spot Hero and paid $8 per night. The Taxi was $30. Very fast IF you carry off your bags and want to get off at 0700.