It was fine but not up to our expectations after such a long wait. The last minute changes were very frustrating. Once was understandable but none of the itinerary changes were explained and other RC ships were still going to those ports at those times. We booked this as a 4 stop cruise and ended up with 2 and a half. Very disappointing but at least we got to sail somewhere after it being cancelled twice.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
very smooth and fast process
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Main dining room as well as Chops and Giovani's had great food and service, mostly. We had service one night in the main dining room that was so bad we left. We were not at our normal table however so I don't know if that wait staff was bad all the time or just that night. The buffet food was not up to par. Cold and rubbery eggs at breakfast followed by terribly bland and barely warm hamburgers for lunch. We resorted to fruit and parfaits which were good. If all you wanted was dessert or some type of bread it was fine. Other than that we never found an option that we actually enjoyed eating. The staff was wonderful though.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We had purchased The Key so we had reserved times for both the rock wall and ice skating. Unfortunately the short times allotted conflicted with other activities so we were not able to take advantage. The Bingo and Trivia games we participated in were well run and a lot of fun. The pools still felt overcrowded even with a reduced capacity onboard and it was still a challenge to get a lounge chair. Poolside activities were very fun and high energy though.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Unfortunately, there were hardly any shows on this sailing. The one they had was okay. The comedy show was fine. We went to the club two nights but the DJ played an almost identical set each night even though the nights were advertised as different themes. The bar there couldn't even make many of the drinks on their menu because of lack of alcohol. Very disappointing for the ship's only club.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Most of the staff we encountered were very helpful and pleasant. There seemed to be quite a few "newbies" that needed more training. Luckily the experienced staff was almost always able to undo the damage or mistakes made. Clearly staffing issues were a problem so we didn't bother complaining to guest services.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Common areas were kept as clean as possible I feel. The layout was easy to learn.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our room was amazing! It was huge! We had triple the storage we needed. Having a double sink vanity and tub in the giant bathroom was a dream. The multiple spacious closets were fantastic. Our room steward was wonderful. Unfortunately it was his last sailing so nobody else will benefit from him. We expected the balcony to be bigger but it was fine for two people. Also the coffee maker was a nice idea, but the only plug for it was across the room by the bed and it didn't safely fit on the vanity there, so we never got to use it.
Ship tip
If you want a no frills cruise this is your ship. Don't expect it to wow you like the newer ships do. Clearly the company is spending their money and time on the newer ships and it showed.
We did the Beach Hop and Turtle Snorkel Experience and I highly recommend it! Our guide, Hattie, was wonderful! She is passionate about educating the tourists as much as making sure we enjoyed ourselves. The tour stops were reversed in order to avoid crowds with the turtles. She even showed us around town a bit since we got back early. The port itself was beautiful but we arrived late so we didn't get a chance to enjoy it before everything closed. It was too dark to wander off on our own. We were supposed to have a full day there which would have allowed us proper time to see and experience everything it has to offer.
We did the Beach Hop and Snorkel excursion. The first beach stop was incredible. The second, Eagle Beach, was so bad we didn't even go on our second excursion later that evening. The sand was beautiful however the water was so messy you couldn't snorkel unless you swam way out into deep unsafe water. There was one place on the entire beach that had food and restrooms. They had run out of food. We stood in line for so long we gave up getting anything. The only chairs available were rented as two chairs and an umbrella at an all day price. We were only there for an hour and a half so we had to lay on our towels in the sand under a tree. It was also the "windy season" so everything including us was covered in sand by the time we left. Most of the group headed to the buses early. The port was great though. Again, the main shops closed early so we were limited on options. There were many local vendors that had huts by our ship that stayed open later for us which we appreciated and took full advantage of.
So bad!! We were given instructions ahead of time as to where to go and when. Because we were in a suite and also had The Key, we were supposed to get to leave early. However, when we made our way down the young man running things had no clue about the process and had us all waiting in a bar while we watched hundreds of people leave ahead of us. Normally we are in a standard cabin so we are used to waiting but this time we spend a lot of money for these perks and we got screwed. Eventually two women showed up and corrected him and we could get in line but at that point there were so many people crowded together trying to leave they had to close fire doors to control to crowd and flow. We were healthy when we boarded but after that fiasco I will be shocked if everyone stays that way. It was horrible. Our concierge was also supposed to be there to assist but never showed up. I assume he got held up dealing with other disasters since he had been super helpful the rest of the cruise. .r ..
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