Overall it was a FANTASTIC cruise. Great for first time cruisers. Ship was not too big, which we like.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
I recommend not getting to the cruise terminal right away. We arrived around 2:00 and we moved thru every line without waiting at all. Once on board, we were able to straight to our cabin and drop off our carry on bags. Plus the Windjammer Cafe was not crowded at all for our late lunch.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We did not try any of the specialty restaurants. Figured we already were spending enough money for food, didn't need to spend more. The Tides dining room was very nice and our waiter Kenad was FANTASTIC!! The Windjammer buffet was good, nice variety.
Tides Dining Room
5 out of 5
First time cruisers...you can order more than one appetizer, entree and/or dessert! We loved trying multiple appetizers. We always ordered a second entree to try because we can. Where else can you order a lobster dinner and a prime rib dinner all at the same time? Delicious!
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Pools were nice. We were a little bored with some of the evening shows. Seemed like the same activity crew was running around from place to place. Only thing I didn't like was the use of the Centrum. Not a lot of room for passengers to participate or watch. Think the Safari club would have been a much better use of that space. Most times we were in the Safari Club area it was empty and dead. Kind of a waste space if you aren't going to use it every night.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Not overly impressed with the evening shows.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our waiter was FANTASTIC!!! Kenad was so sweet and attentive. If you ask the Maitre D' for some table side entertainment he will show up with table tricks and magic! Can't say enough about our wait staff!!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Everything was very clean. Hand sanitizer was everywhere to help keep the germs away!!
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Very clean. The bed was a bit too firm for my tastes, but by the end of each day we were so exhausted it didn't really matter. There was surprisingly plenty of storage in our cabin. Never really felt cramped. Liked the sliding balcony door. It was easy to keep open if you just wanted to enjoy the sounds of the ocean.
Ship tip
If you don't do an excursion, the ship is very quite while in port. Plenty of room at the pools and the buffet was never crowded! Also at dinner, order more than one item! Try everything, you've paid for it!!
Since we flew in the day before, the morning of the cruise we decided to go tour El Moreo, the large fort. It was beautiful. Enjoyed watching all the people flying kites on the property as well!! Sad to see the hurricane damage to the beautiful old cemetery. At the end of the cruise we did the Bacardi Rum tour. That worked out great since we had a later flight. They bring all your bags to airport for you and then drop you off when your tour is over.
We did not do an excursion at this port. We decided to walk to the beach that was right by the port. If you do this, BRING WATER SHOES. The ocean was very rocky and difficult to walk out to.
We took the ATV excursion and loved it! At first I was very nervous having never ridden an ATV before, but it was so easy and FUN!!! We road around the entire island. Saw the sections that were hit the hardest by the hurricane. Just wished we did some off roading instead of staying on the busy main streets the whole time. They also took us to a beach and bar area for a bit. Worked out well since it rained while we were there.
No excursion at this port. We just got off and walked around a bit. This was the only port it rained pretty much the whole time. Had some excitement getting to this port, which caused a 3 hour delay in arriving. Our ship had to answer a distress call from a sail boat that was drifting out at sea. We had to leave some of our crew on the sailboat to help them get to Martinique. As it turned out, the sailboat had not arrived by the time we were to depart so we had to go back and pick up our crew. Another reason to book your excursions thru the cruise lines. People that booked private tours had some issues. In the end, our crew was able to fix the sail boat and it arrived safely in Martinique. The Captain said this was the first time this has every happened if his career. Quite the excitement for everyone.
We did the Snorkel with the turtles and sunshine excursion. We only saw one turtle on our adventure. Just a note: you do not use flippers with this tour. So if you aren't a strong swimmer it was a bit of a work out to swim from our boat to where the turtle was and back again. I took my personal full face mask snorkel and loved it!! Recommend these for sure!!!
Our favorite island. We did the Spice and sunshine tour. Toured a beautiful spice plantation. It was defiantly a bit of a drive to the plantation. IF you are prone to motion sickness, this may be a bit much. After we were dropped off at the Raddison hotel to use their beach for an hour. It was very nice.
Since we were doing the excursion we thought the disembarking would be easier. It wasn't hard, just a bit crazy. If you have a lot of luggage and are in a hurry (we were not), I recommend using a porter. Their line was moving very quickly thru customs.
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