The ship was great, the ports where fantastic, all in all had a great time and would definitely recommend!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We arrived at the dock around 2pm and there were no lines to get on the ship. All we had to do was give them our checked bags to bring up to the room, put our carry on bags through a scanner, and then check in to get our SeaPasses. Make sure you check in online beforehand so you have all the necessary documents. Oh, and if you're bringing wine onboard, put it in your carry on bag!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The breakfast at the Windjammer was amazing! We never ate breakfast at Tides to save times. We ate dinner at Tides almost every night and became very good friends with the people at our table. I'll admit that the service at Tides was very slow, so be prepared for a 2 hour dinner if you choose to eat there. We couldn't make any of the 7pm shows because of it. The menu at Tides at most of the same apps, entrees, and desserts almost every night with a rotation of two new options per day. Portion sizes are small so don't come hungry. Our wait staff were very friendly and helpful though!
Giovanni's Table
4 out of 5
It was nice to know that all the pasts was made fresh right on the ship, that was pretty cool. The menu had a lot of options though not all were traditional Italian. The specialty restaurants are an extra $30 a plate, so I wouldn't have gone here if I didn't have a free voucher. This was one of our longest dinner nights, 2.5 hours... wasn't too happy about that.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
There were a variety of activities for all ages: bingo, trivia, pool side activities, dance lessons, rock climbing, star gazing. We did trivia a few nights which was quick and fun. Prizes could've been better though.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
I really enjoyed the performances by the singers and dancers. It's probably not for everyone who don't enjoy musical type shows, but I do so I liked them. We could never make the earlier show because of how late dinner went. I would suggest starting the first show at 8pm instead of 7pm. The DJ in the Vortex was pretty great too. And the comedians for the adult only shows were very funny!
Vortex Nightclub
4 out of 5
You can tell the average age of the ship quite easily by how busy the Vortex is at night. Unfortunately it was pretty empty every night the week I was there except the night when we were all at sea the next day. The space is huge and has a loungy feel. The bar also spins which is awesome! Just wish it got more lively up there.
Children's Programs
Did not travel with children.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our stateroom attendant was super friendly! He would always stop to talk to us in the hallway and ask how our day was. He cleaned our room twice a day and always left a cool towel animal! Our wait staff at the Tides dining room were nice and liked to joke around. They made sure to remember our names and drink orders.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
A lot of people comment that this ship is too small, but coming from someone who has only been on one other cruise in there life, I don't know if I would ever cruise on another ship bigger than this one. I thought this was a great size to accommodate everything and it didn't take too long to walk anywhere. We only had a problem on the one day at sea where we couldn't find lounge chairs by the pool, but we knew that was going to happen. The ship was also very clean, nothing immediately stood out to me as being dirty.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was a little small but that was to be expected. We're not big people in general so we had enough space to maneuver around in the room and in the bathroom. There were a lot of cabinets and space under the bed to store things. The shower was a little small and the toilet seats are not comfortable at all so beware.
Ship tip
Breakfast in the Windjammer ends at 10:30am so make sure you don't miss it! And there's also late night snacks until 2am in the Solarium.W
We flew to San Juan a day before our cruise left. We didn't see too much, but had lunch at a local spot and walked along the hotel strip by the water. The food at the airport is 50x more than normal.
We did a snorkeling excursion, which was cool but the water was very choppy on the way out there so if you get seasick it might not be for you. Snorkeling is also kind of difficult if you've never done it before. After the snorkeling they dropped us off at a private beach for an hour and then brought us back to the ship. Also free rum punch on the boat as well! We didn't get to see much of the island besides the port but I heard it was pretty run down...
Be prepared to be hounded as soon as you step on the port by taxi drivers trying to take you everywhere. We finally gave in to a guy getting ready to take a group of people to Cockleshell Bay, which ended up being great! He was nice enough to give us a tour on the way to the beach, even pulling over to let us take pictures. Then we just arranged a time with our group for him to pick us back up. The beach was very nice. We bought 2 chairs and an umbrella for only $10!
St. Lucia was a little more organized at the port. There were still taxi drivers hounding you, but there was a shack where you could buy tickets to go to specific attractions and they paired you up with a driver. We went to Reduit Beach, which was pretty touristy. We again arranged a time with our group to be picked up. We bought 2 chairs and an umbrella for $20. The locals on this beach were relentless, trying to sell us stuff.
We did an excursion to the Harrison's Cave Tour that also dropped us off at Pirate Cove Beach after. The cave tour was great and very informative. It was cool to ride through the caves on a tram too. The beach was fantastic too! With our excursion came two chairs, umbrella, and a free drink from the bar so it was def worth it for the money! The beach was beautiful, the sand was soft, the water was clear and blue. There was a bar, food, bathrooms, and some people selling trinkets. No one hounded us to buy anything.
You are left luggage tags in your room that has a number and the number correlates to a departure time on the chart they give you. It was a very smooth and easy departure but our time was one of the earliest at 7:30am. Good if you have an early flight home, but ours wasn't until 1pm so we sat around the airport for hours. Didn't look in to if you could change your time, so maybe you could. You also have to leave you checked bags out in the hall the night before so they bring them down for you. Make sure you leave out anything you need for the rest of the last night and the next morning before they take your bags.
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