Beautiful scenery on an OLD, boring ship

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 28

Review summary

This was our first celebrity cruise and we choose this ship because of the ports of call and length of scenic cruising. The ports of call  were good and we hit every port with mostly good weather. Our scenic cruising was equally as good  with weather and ample time in paradise bay etc.  We were able to sail around Cape horn in gorgeous sunlight.  Falklands islands was beautiful etc.  However for 14 days that left a lot of sea days and finger twirling.  So I'll list the good and the bad and how these things affected my cruise. The ship: Old, old, old.  Looks like it has never been refurbished.  Areas are all boring. Drink Package- We had the classic package.  1. Classic package changed before sailing and had less choices than what was on website. 2.  App inaccurate and bars unable to make drinks because they didn't have liquors, 3. App drink prices wrong and told that drinks not covered on package when attempted to order. 4. No menus at bars and no app menu so unable to order any custom drink. 5. Bartenders would substitute well brands when you asked for a specific brand.  Always. Everytime. if you complained they would pour it out and remake it. 6. Inconsistent even making basic well drinks across all bars 7. Rude bartenders especially if they didn't have something they would brush you off and be dismissive. 8. Cheap wine choices no more then 3 available 9. We talked with some people who had upgraded their drink package and were having the same issues.  They had told us that they wished they hadn't spent the money to upgrade. FOOD - buffet- The buffet was not self serve due to numerous cases of Norovirus on board..  Regardless of covid, supply chain, inflation excuses this was the worse food we encountered on any cruise since the restart.  I support cutting down on food consumption and waste and if this is goal then  if your going to serve 15 items on the buffet make sure they are the best 15 items possible.  However this wasn't the case.  The choices were the same day in and day out.  lowlights: minute size meats cut thin and covered in gravies, no vegetables on buffet except maybe one pot of something, salads, breads, and maybe another station of chinese, stir fry, bulk pasta dish, pizza.  The food was bland, unseasoned and basically unappetizing and went from bad to worse by the end of the 14 days.  I have seen better choices at Golden Corral much less a Celebrity cruise. MDR- okay, slightly better then the buffet, however same issues, hardly any vegetables served with meal, limited choices on menu that include classic items.  Nothing remotely high end, impressive or considered a culinary treat.   Entertainment Very little in way of production shows.  I think 3 over 14 days. The rest of the days are filled with musical sets, groups and the naturalist and cruise director.  Actually, the entertainment relies too much on the cruise director and naturalist speaker. They work them into almost everything, comedy show, etc.  The naturalist was good for port talks but she speaks everyday for hours and it was just relentless and even after the Antarctic she was giving "time filler" talks to absorb time, same with the cruise director we got such information talks such as " covid shut down stories" WGF?  The activities staff consisted of 3 people and the activities was thrilling as a Senior Adult care.  Water colors anyone? Bingo?Trivia, trivia and more trivia.  It was mind numbingly stupid. Service: We were told by several staff that they had just gotten on the ship this sailing, and it was obvious. It was obvious the ship was understaffed as you didn't see any employees outside of food or beverage areas.  With the supposedly "enhanced cleaning" due to the Norovirus onboard, there was nobody cleaning general areas just squirting hand sanitizer in buffet.  So it was obvious when countless guests getting sick daily that gym, stair rails, elevators were never ever seen being cleaned as you see on most ships on a regular sailing.  Some staff were rude and brusque when encountered, mainly at the shore excursion desk. Overall, as a first time celebrity cruise I wasn't impressed. Matter of fact we had another prebooked for December that we are cancelling.  There was nothing elevated, impressive, above and beyond for this line.  It was all so generic and low end for food, drinks and service. if it wasn't for the ports  and the good weather the cruise would have been a waste of time and money , even though it was still way overpriced.   I wouldn't recommend anyone sail on this line and ship and search for better options.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina

Cruise Cape Horn

Montevideo, Uruguay

Cruise Gerlache Strait

Cruise Paradise Harbor, Antarctica

Cruise Elephant Island, Shetland Islands

Cruise Schollart Channel, Antarctica

Disembarkation

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