Considerimg Weather we had an Very Good Cruise

First let me start by saying we spoiled ourselves this time by going Haven Style.

It proved to be a very good time to go Haven, due to the weather which was colder than usual, and very windy. In fact, we were unable as were previous Breakaway date cruises to tender to their private island due to high winds. The cold and wind made standard poolside lounging less then pleasant some days, and we were very fortunate to be Haven guests because the private pool, and lounge chairs were shielded from the weather with an overhead canopy.

Our Haven accommodations, and service was Exceptional in all areas Food Servers and especially the room accommodations. Certainly a cut or two above standard and the food in many cases even exceeded the Specialty Dining. We absolutely loved it. So why only 4 Stars.

Here’s some of our reasons and to be honest if not for the Haven I would have rated 3 Stars, but the Haven accommodations pushed me to 4. I’ll list the minus as to their importance to us.

-.1 Pictures of Haven areas make them look bigger than they actually are. However our room was just as big as pictures  and I loved the shower– our room 11106

-.2 Wi-Fi quality still the same borderline fair at best

-.5 Service in several Specialty Dining rooms was slow, food was not served hot. This was our second time on ship and food was a bit under par from previous experience. Servers were very pleasant, just seemed to be undermanned which could also account for why food was warm, but not hot.

-.6 Not enough music entertainment, and where there was music it was short lived and setup without space to dance. I’m referring to 10 PM or earlier, we’re an older couple and aren’t willing to have to wait until 10:30 or later to get started, but we love to dance.

-.3 Three years ago we sailed the Breakaway and everything basically now was the same or less as far as activities. Also prices of drinks increased about 20%, and room service now comes with a $8 charge. If anything the only thing that got better was the individuals who served us, all were very delightful.

So that would be - 1.7 or short of 3.5 Stars

Why did I rate 4 Stars instead of 3 Stars, simply because the Haven Service, Dining, and rooms were Fantastic!

Had we went any other way than Haven, 3 Stars would be the best I could have done and the negatives I pointed out would have been elevated.

This was our second sailing on the Breakaway, however I would not recommend sailing her twice unless your second voyage was Haven Class.

Unfortunately, it seems like every cruise line is cutting back and charging more for what was once standard quality.