Overall, we loved it and can't wait to go back! Had a blast!
Embarkation
3 out of 5
We left out of Galveston several hours after our scheduled time due to fog. I understand that is an act of God and could not be helped, but because the ship could not dock on time and people were left on the ship, everything seemed done very poorly to prepare for our arrival on the ship and to our rooms. Everything was rushed and that itself was displeasing. It took two days to feel like we were on a vacation and not under stress.
In addition, we left so late we had to sail very fast to make it to Cozumel, and even with the patches on we kinda got seasick I think from the motion and speed.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The only reason this is three stars is because one of the specialty restaurants we ate in was amazing, Chops Grille. We also ate I'm Sabor, the Mexican restaurant and it was horrible. We had a party of six and all hated it and felt sick after. The buffet was simply okay, Golden Corral is better and has more options. The main dining room, for myself was horrible. I am allergic to seafood so I ordered steak, turkey or chicken off the menu each time. They were all equally gross. Cafeteria food at best. The steak was not grilled steak, it had obviously been broiled and sat in water waiting to be dished. Also it was pounded very thin. I've never had a New York Strip that was less than a half inch thick. Same with the other meats. One night I paid $20 to have the Chops Grille Filet instead of the Strip and it was the worst filet I'd ever had. It was prepared like the others in the dining room - not grilled.
After hearing so many good things about the food on the ship, I was very disappointed. The rest of the family who ate seafood was happy mostly with that but felt the same as me about the other food.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We only sat in the hot tub on one day and enjoyed it when other kids weren't coming in and out splashing us constantly. But we were in the kids area watching our kids, not in the adult area so we can't blame them. There were two hot tubs side by side and we were the only adults in one and the other was empty, and kids kept joining us. Eventually we switched to the other and kids followed. I was diappointed in the parenting of those kids, not the ship, lol. Everyone loved the pools, slides, flow rider, etc.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We had a great time at the two comedy shows and game shows we went to. The first comedy show I had heard almost every joke, but it was still funny. The love connection game show was funny, friends in our group made it on the show and we were disappointed to hear it was staged and they couldn't answer the way they would have answered the questions asked. It was rigged for a certain couple to win. No biggie, but the truth would have been funnier. Still fun though!
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
My daughter is 11, almost 12, and the age group for her was 9-11. On the first day we tried to go, there was a sign that the 6-8 year olds would be with them due to lack of participation. I get it, but she was subjected to story time and stuff for the younger kids. So we moved her up to the next group, which was unfortunately 12-17 year olds. I would have much preferred for her to not be with 17 year olds, and felt there should have been a group of maybe 12-15 then the 16-17 have their own group. But it all worked out and she had a blast. They kept them very busy and she went back every night and that was probably her favorite time of the whole cruise, which gave this the fourth star. Even though she is only 11, she's very mature and I felt very comfortable letting her come and go to the our room by herself even though others in our group were concerned. The ship felt completely safe, I'd just say a prayer for her safety from predators and trust everything would be fine, and thankfully, it was.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Everyone for the most part was very friendly and service was fast, except in the main dining room. Every night we ate in there we would wait a very long time to get our drink order or to even be greeted at the table by our waiter. Drinks would often come back wrong, and the waiters at times seemed rude. They were very fast with our food though, but that's because it is all pre-cooked and it's sitting there ready for someone to order it. Ughhh. I went back to the poor food quality. Sorry.
I did have two massages and the first one I was not impressed with my girl, and the second one I was assigned her again and at $175 a pop I asked for someone else and she kind of got rude with me.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Overall the ship was great! Everything seemed mostly clean and maintained well. The elevators had tons of finger prints which I understand is hard to keep clean when they are so busy, and the hall carpets we're disgusting but other than that it was very nice.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Considering the size of the cabin, it was wonderful even for four people. The youngest was 11, so it was almost like four adults sized people in there. We brought Clorox wipes and wiped everything down when we arrived, which I'm very glad because of the late departure I'm guessing it wasn't cleaned as well as it should have been. But it appeared to be very clean. They did well every day when cleaning the room too. Very impressed. If we don't move up to a suite next time, we would definitely request the same room. We loved the 10th floor and being on the back of the ship. Very peaceful and huge balcony. Our friends with a suite had the balcony on the side and ours was much better! Lol
Ship tip
Keep hand sanitizer on you at all times and use it constantly. There are germs everywhere considering the number of people touching things. Take Clorox wipes and clean your room yourself upon arrival. Even doing this all four of us got sick on the last day, and now it's a week later and we all have ear infections, two of us have pneumonia and two of us have bronchitis, and two of us have strep. I think it was from an excursion though, that's the only thing the four of us did differently from the rest of our group and no one else got sick and we were all in each other's rooms a lot.
Also, CHECK YOUR EXPENSE REPORT!!! We had pre-purchased the beverage packages and were charged hundreds of dollars for drinks and had to get it fixed. We were also charged for towels we had returned, $25 each. But luckily we had taken pics each time we returned and kept receipts of everything so we we're able to get it fixed. However, apparently you have to fix everything by 11pm the last night on the ship or you're screwed with the extra charges. Just be careful.
Loved Cozumel. We went to Mr. Sancho's Resort and loved all but the food. The port was nice and while the taxi drivers are insane because they are in a hurry to get their next customer for more money, it felt safe enough. The beach and water was gorgeous!
We loved Grand Cayman as well, although the excursion we chose is what we believe got us so sick. The port and island was beautiful, and we can't wait to go back. We did the Shipwreck and Reef Snorkel, but it was our first time and we didn't own our own equipment and used theirs. They had everything in this fluid they claimed was disinfectant and sterile, but I don't believe it was. That's our fault and a hard lesson learned. We loved the snorkeling though and can't wait to do it again, with our own equipment. Lol
From what we saw it was much nicer than we anticipated. We only visited the port out of fear because of all the bad stories we have been hearing about the tourists being killed and such lately. We've heard how dangerous it is, but I guess that is on the Montego Bay side, the Falmouth side was nice. It was gorgeous as well and we will definitely be willing to go back. The port shopping was so fun, the little kids we were with had a blast jewing them down. Lol.
Everything was fine except it was sad to go. Those last two days though we're the worst as far as seasickness even wearing the patches, but I'm not sure anything could have been done about that. I swayed constantly for two days after the cruise, but that may be normal. This was our first cruise so I'm not sure, lol. We loved it overall and cannot wait to do it again!
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
