MIXED REVIEWS BUT OVERALL A GOOD TRIP PROBABLY BECAUSE I WAS WITH A LARGE GROUP BUT THE ASPECTS OF THE SHIP THAT WERE GOOD WERE AMAZINGLY SUPERIOR.
THE TOP TWO AREAS FOR ME ARE:
LUCILLY and WAYLON in the Boleros bar..................
CHOPS GRILLE................................................................
The negatives focused on food, coffee shop and guest relations...Johnny Rockets doesn't count.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
It was ok and went well but I felt like they herding cattle and I was just a steer. It wasn't that it took a long time but it wasn't welcoming and warm. Getting to the ship, I got there early, there weren't crew members welcoming me, no champagne like on some ships from other cruise lines. There were a couple silent not welcoming crew members inside by the elevators but they weren't helpful.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We were seated in the Leonardo's Dining Room for the late seating ... Food was never acceptable.
SERVICE...Our server and assistant ANDRI and CHRISTOPHER were so far above what others were telling us about their servers...we were blessed and so appreciated them.
FOOD...Foods were over or undercooked, deserts were so inconsistent from a total watery mess in the creme brûlée to such disgusting gelatin in all soft deserts to dry chocolate cake. Lobster was overcooked and small. Nothing good to say about the food at all.
CHOPS GRILLE WAS MY DINING 'BLEW ME OUT OF THE WATER' EXPERIENCE THAT CANNOT BE ADEQUATELY DESCRIBED....UNBELIEVABLY SUPERIOR TO ANY SPECIALTY RESTAURANT I'VE BEEN IN ON ANY CRUISE LINE.
BOLEROS LOUNGE DOWN ON 4...LUCILLY and WAYLON are the bartenders you need to meet...introduce yourself and sit back all week...you'll be happy you did.
Olive or Twist
3 out of 5
ALWAYS UNDERSTAFFED....ALWAYS UNDERSTAFFED
Great place to end your night and the layout/floorplan is acceptable...one night they should have called the plumbing/cleaning crews up because the bathroom was closed with overflowing water inside and that created a major negative experience. They just closed it and not one crew employee came up to fix the problem. Why?
The DJ's were good but didn't necessarily react to their audience and shift up the music. You needed to be into a real club experience with techno and electronic music unless you were able to convince them to try other genres.
Boleros Lounge
5 out of 5
LUCILLY and WAYLON...every night this was the spot for the gay men in my group to meet..there were a lot of us. Lucilly and Waylon were the absolute best on board and both could run a major club/bar anywhere on the globe. They LOVED THEIR JOB it seemed...they had fun, they got to know us by name and drink. They laughed, they welcomed us, they danced around inside their bar area...they really did have eyes and ears in many places in their heads because they always knew who was where doing what. AMAZING! THEY PLACE TO BE.
The music there, ALL PERFORMERS, were to loud that the high volume was unwelcoming and prevented conversation around the bar area. The extremely high volume that was never adjusted no matter who you tried to talk with is a real negative in this bar area. I can't tell you about the performers because of the abuse of volume turned me off and pushed my headspace into a negative.
Chop's Grille
5 out of 5
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THAT I'D CHANGE OR SAY THAT WOULD DETER YOU FROM THIS EXPERIENCE.
We were a group of 10 men that had reservations (reservations need to be made by your dining room Head Waiter trust me).
SERVICE, FOOD IN ALL WAYS, ENVIRONMENT...SO FAR ABOVE ANYTHING THAT I CAN PRAISE THEM FOR THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE THIS EXPERIENCE ON THE SEA.
ABSOLUTELY A MUST.
Johnny Rockets
1 out of 5
Never had folks in it....folks talked so negatively about it and I know why.
Food was not like you'd expect. Service was low to mediocre.
Unacceptable. I was told that Johnny Rockets is being pulled from the ship and that is a good thing.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
FITNESS CENTER...the layout, the equipment, the cleanliness, the classes...THE BEST FITNESS CENTER I THINK I'VE EVER ENJOYED...this made my morning hour the best it could be with a man like me that struggles to get there...the center itself gave me a reason to get there and sweat.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The entertainment was spectacular. ABE the cruise director really works hard and is always visible and seems to be so committed to all guests. I was impressed and I'm not easily impressed.
The orchestra should have their own performance. The teacher came out and I recognize shear talents...they are gifted.
The singers/dancers/acrobats..........NOTHING WILL ALLOW ME TO EXPRESS HOW GIFTED AND SKILLFUL THESE FOLKS ARE...THE CHOREOGRAPHY BLEW ME AWAY...THE COSTUMES WERE AWESOME...THE SHOW STRUCTURES WERE SO EXCITING AND THE ACADIA THEATER IS A PERFECTLY CONSTRUCTED VENUE.
THE MALE/FEMALE TRAPEZE ARTISTS ARE BEYOND EXPLANATION AND SO AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
CONSISTENT AND SO SERVICE ORIENTED....negative would be the entire guest relations cluster that I didn't have a good experience from telephoning to visiting.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS SUPER CLEAN AND FRESH...SHIP AIR WAS SO REFRESHING. THE SHIP IS SO LARGE THAT YOU NEED TO TOUR THE SHIP...find a way to do the behind the scenes tour of the ship...
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
My cabin was a nice mid balcony. Always clean and Berniece always attended to my needs. It was a cabin so what do I say?
Ship tip
Attempting to telephone guest relations from my cabin was always a mistake....I'd be on hold for so long, much longer than I'd expect. There was no way to increase volume so hearing the guest relations personnel was difficult.
The group that I was a part of had a private beach bash so my port experience was not like others would have had. My van ride to/from beach bash property showed me that there wasn't much here and it wasn't real clean though.
The city was back..there might have been areas that were still trying to come back to pre-hurricane but I wouldn't have known. There are the very local genuine/authentic artists that have their spaces going up the hill just outside the plaza.....THEY ARE ALL SUCH AMAZING ARTISTS. Not the ones near the port though...they are more like carnival vendors. Go up the hill outside of Starbucks that open area and you will experience the arts like you need to experience them.
Starbucks didn't have an acceptable WiFi.
FOOD -- GLORIOUS PUERTO RICAN FOOD....Go just over the first plaza and into the food court...WAY IN THE BACK IS "GRANDMA'S" YOU NEED TO WALK BACK..the banos are just to the right of her....THIS FOOD IS REAL AUTHENTIC AND CHEAP...GREAT FOOD...SAMPLES ARE GIVEN.
SUCH A HORRID EXPERIENCE.....IT WAS NOTHING BUT A REAL CLUSTERED MESS...LUGGAGE WAS NOT THERE WHEN YOU WERE TO DISEMBARK; THE PORTERS WERE JUST STANDING AROUND INSTEAD OF UNLOADING LUGGAGE...in October when I disembarked on a Princess Cruise in San Francisco I'd never had the treatment and most exciting disembarkation ever...this was just the opposite. The layout is awkward, the lines became a disaster because folks waited and or couldn't find luggage and to get help finding it was almost not available.
THEN YOU GO OUTSIDE...NO WAY WAS THIS ACCEPTABLE...GUIDES AND ASSISTANTS WERE NOT THERE TO HELP DIRECT YOU TO THE EXACT WAITING AREA..I was told one thing to go to wait on Uber and then when I get there I was told I was in the wrong spot both by employees. The crowd just standing couldn't see or access Uber at all and the taxi's were blocking all access for Uber to get in. They definitely cater to the taxi mess rather than being welcoming to Uber drivers. Plan on a long wait when you finally get outside and know that you'll experience employees yelling at Uber drivers and not yelling at taxi drivers.
Thanks for the info on San Juan .Try the newer RCCL ships, the better chefs & staff members usually transfer over. 1- 4 years tops age of ship. Johnny Rockets was very good when I went on liberty of the seas in 09, it was free for me. ! The Oasis in 2014, is was still good.
Glad this was better than your last cruise. We liked Freedom. I agree Chops is excellent. Debarkation always suck!!! We went out of Galveston on Navigator and debarkation was a pure nightmare so bad that I told my wife I’d never go out of that port again
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