Overall had a great vacation and enjoyed seeing Alaska from a cruise ship. There were a few things that I feel could have been done in a different way. It is a pretty ship and somewhat easy to figure out the layout. Love cruising (this was my 9th cruise) and will definitely be going on more in the future.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
There was a little confusion with the staff, but they had us on the ship by 11:30, which I think is a great time.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The majority of the food was decent not great. We had our anniversary dinner in Cagney’s and my husband got the surf and turf so paid an extra $35, and his filet was tough. Mine wasn’t tough, but the overall experience did not feel as elegant as it has been in the past, when we’ve eaten in steak house.
One night we ate in Teppanyaki and it was good and the chef did a great job.
The complimentary restaurants were good, but again the overall atmosphere was just not the same as it has been on previous cruises.
The Grand Cafe was really good, with a huge variety of food. The iced tea had NO flavor and the coffee was not drinkable, in my opinion. So, we ended up spending a lot of money in Starbucks.
I feel, since they do the free at sea, they just aren’t putting much focus on the food and drink. Also, when you get the two free meals or free drinks you have to pay 20% on what the cruise lines values the cost of the food and drinks, but when you get the receipt to sign at the bar and restaurants there is also the line to include an extra gratuity, and we usually feel pressure to tip on top of the tip we already gave. In fact, at the teppanyaki restaurant there were two lines to add extra gratuity, one for the chef and one for the server.
Also, $9.95 for room service seems pretty steep.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We participated in a lot more activities this time and really had fun. With that being said it felt like almost everything was an extra charge and some of them were expensive.
The little rinky-dink bowling is $6.55 per person per game, which seems ridiculous. It was fun, but should have been free.
The go-karts were $15 each, but wasn’t bad, but again could easily be included in the cost of the cruise. Also, In the group my husband and I went in, had a few little kids driving themselves and they kept running into the walls so the entire track would just stop also they drove really slow in the middle of the track. I think there should be a time for people with driver’s licenses and a time for those without a driver’s license.
The laser tag was about $10 per person, we did not try this so can’t really report on it.
The bingo and Deal or No Deal was expensive, In my opinion. I enjoyed both but feel it could have cost less.
The game shows, trivia and and demonstrations were fun and interesting.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The band Siglo was really good and played a variety of classic rock. They always drew a crowd when they were playing. We didn’t watch many of the other shows.
Children's Programs
Did not have kids on the ship.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
The vast majority of the crew was amazing! Would give this category 5 stars if it weren’t for a few bumps in the road. Had a negative interaction with spa staff. My husband also had an issue with Customer Service and the Internet cafe. His name was spelled wrong on his account and it took several trips to both to get it fixed.
The rest of the staff was amazing! Always helpful, cheerful and went out of their way to assist in any way they could.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Really liked the layout of this ship. It was extremely clean and crew were constantly cleaning.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We got a Club Suite and overall liked it. Having the closet right next to the bed was awkward at times. The bed did not seem as comfortable as on previous cruises. The room was very clean and our steward was fabulous. Was disappointed that we didn’t get any towels animals the entire week.
Took the tram up to the top of the mountain. It was beautiful up there but not really anything to do, but look around. We also took the other tram to the shopping area. It was a cute area and easy walk.
We didn’t get off the ship due to it being a very early and short port and it taking about 20 minutes each way on a bus to get to downtown. There were some bald eagles in the trees that we could see from a balcony. We watched them for a long time.
It seemed that they were calling disembarkation groups quicker than they should, so we had to stand in line for a long time to get to the actual disembarkation spot. If they slowed down with calling so many groups, people would not have to stand in long lines.
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