Fantastic cruise. Overall it's probably the best cruise we've had for a while. The ports of call were good generally and we went to some ports we hadn't been to. The evening entertainment was good when it came to game shows run by the cruise director and his assistant directors, but the production shows in the theater were poor. That said, it didn't spoil our cruise, it just limited what we could do in the evening after dinner. I have to say that apart from one, the photographers were brilliant. Alexis, Petra, Shaun, atim, yuri and maddie were great. They all had a great sense of humour, were friendly and took good photos. We had the all inclusive photo package, so we became quite friendly with all of them except wario who was just rude. So we just avoided him. Great ship though and we always looked forward to the captain speaking, he was very funny. The Cruise director Fernando was good and seemed like a genuinely nice guy when we met at the captain's circle cocktail party. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend the 21night round trip, only problem is they make you come home!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very quick and efficient.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We ate in the Michelangelo restaurant most nights. Food was excellent and the wait staff were friendly, attentive and professional.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Variety of things like exercise classes, line dancing, bingo and enrichment programmes to take part in, or you could just sit and read a book and have a coffee.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Apart from one of the guest comedians the stage shows lacked any kind of plot. It was our tenth cruise in total (mainly princess) and the first time we didn't like any of the production shows by the ships dancers/performers. That's pretty bad when you consider we were onboard for three weeks. The entertainment on celebrity last year was far superior. Sorry princess you need to up your game.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Apart from explorers lounge and share, the service in dining venues was excellent.
Room steward kept our room clean and tidy, though we didn't see him that often but was always polite and friendly when we did.
Officers were always visible and seemed to be checking things regularly.
The only negative was when the air conditioning didn't work in the room. Although it was sorted out, when we reported the issue to the front desk and were told that someone was on their way, they didn't turn up. So I rang and was told by someone on the front desk that they were going to investigate and I requested they ring and keep me updated. Great, we might actually get some sleep (it's now 10pm we're really tired and the rooms like a sauna). That's not to be, as 45 mins later I'm at the front desk wanting to know what's going on, explaining and that I'd requested an update phone call. And the answer was 'oh it's all been reset remotely I've got the report here and you just need to wait '. Unfortunately I'm not telepathic as I pointed out to the front desk and that had I have had the call I requested I may have known that the problem was resolved and we wouldn't have had to stay in the room waiting for someone to turn up.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Super comfy bed, nice powerful shower. Pity about the air conditioning issues. Balcony okay bit on the small side but wasn't a problem. New wall mounted TV's good but kept getting knocked as there wasn't much room between the bottom of the bed and the wall.
Ship tip
The international cafe does the best coffee and the wait staff especially Casey were great. Spent a lot of time in there.
If you go, you need to get up early for the sail in its beautiful. Tried to walk up to the fort, didn't make it all the way as it was too hot and hard going. Needed proper walking boots really not trainers. Pretty in the old town, plenty of places to eat and drink.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
