We were blessed with great weather, sunny daily, but very chilly in places. Ship staff was wonderful and friendly. Great smooth sailing. Three ports were ruined due to poor planning by RCCL with tenders, etc. Although it did seem to us that a lot of older folks would queue all day to do a two hour excursion. This is why we almost never take ship's excursions. We take the cruises for the ports, not to wait in line. Guest Services did seem a bit uncaring of this, as they said several times, "Don't worry this won't take long - just a few hours." I hate to think of what their idea of a long time would be! Have not had this problem on other cruise lines.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Was on a B2B from the prior cruise, so staff excorted us back off nd on in timely, smooth fashion.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Did not go to specialty restaurants or bars. WJ had great variety of hot, fresh food and wonderful staff.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Weight machines in gym nice, but same bike has been broken since March. Trivia too crowded, needs a larger venue. Solarium beautiful, but too cold on colder days when there was no sun. We do not gamble or play bingo.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Ships performers very talented, but "Don't Stop the Rock" was pop, not rock. "Stage to Screen" Broadway tunes had only a few recognizable tunes. Comedian repeated shows during the week. Lionel Richie tribute performer was fabulous, but we saw him in March. Glad we saw him again. Some nights there was no entertainment, so many pax were disappointed.
Children's Programs
Not travelling with children.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Every staff member was courteous, cheerful and went above and beyond to help us. Any problems related to poor planning were not their fault.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
We prefer smaller ships, as we are there for the ports. An old ship, with very old looking furniture, bathrooms, so adjust expectations accordingly.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Very tiny, but quiet. Room steward was great. Cannot get fridge on these. Old bathroom curtain and drawers that did not work. Toilet started flushing on its own one morning when we were trying to get off and overflowed (with just water). Room steward called plumber three times, and did not come for nearly 90 minutes after we left. Fortunately, there was an empty room down the hall that the steward let us use the bathroom.
Ship tip
Beware tender ports and waiting in long queues. Ship staff is wonderful. Older, smaller ship. Never schedule a cruise in which the first port of entry into US after a foreign country is not your debarkatin port.
If you were not on a ship excursion, you had to get up early and queue for tender tix, which they started giving out early due to long lines. Many did not get to the port for hours.
Acadia has become the WDW of National Parks. Unbelievable crowds in BH and Acadia. Could barely move on the streets. Was to Acadia in late September 2018 and it was very busy, but nothing like this. Parks buses were on schedule, this time they were an hour off. Total gridlock; park buses bumper to bumper and cars everywhere. Easy paths packed with tourists. BH is limiting the amount of cruise ships, but we only met one other couple from the ship there. Maybe limit the cars coming into the park? We hiked about 80% of the way to Cadillac Mountain, due to slow moving park buses that could not get us to trail head in time to finish. Buses were full on the way out, and we were petrified we would miss the ship's tender. Ship cancelled or changed time of many excursion, and pax were upset. Many stayed on ship. Foilage was ok, but it is nicer where I live in the mountains of Western PA.
Went to Aquarium, which is very nice, but lots of very young kids. Total cluster on the ship getting off, ad Boston was the first US port of entry after Canada, so one had to show passport to immigration on the ship. Long queues for hours to do so, some never got off ship till afternoon. Was nearly expecting the Queen's coffin at the end of the queue, LOL. Why they would not let Canada be last ports so this would not happen is beyond me. This has never happened on any cruise we have taken, so I will be aware for the future. Pax with excursions had delays or cancellations of them, so were very upset. Public trans in Boston efficient with many helpful employees. Beautiful, clean city.
Beautiful clean port with many mansions to tour and free trolley system. Again, tendering was a mess and many got to the port too late to do anything. We went to the Breakers, fabulous! And then did a bit of the Cliff Walk. Hurried back to the tender port and waited in queue for 75 minutes. Some waited 120 minutes. Got so warn they were handing out water in line (no bathrooms, so I abstained). Then we sat on the tender for a long time before it took off and it was so cold and windy they were handing out hot chocolate upon return. Very, very disorganized.
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