Fair but not great

Ocean Blue

The food was overall very good. Chowder was excellent as were the scallops. However, my husband's Cioppino. Even after adding salt and pepper it just had no flavor. He couldn't bring himself to finish it. My apple tart dessert was rather burnt on the edges and tough to cut through. And the apples had no flavor. The asparagus was both tough and overcooked. Likely because it was large and woody. The wine they were pushing on everyone was poor. My husband's pretty easy going with wine and even he didn't finish his glass. The biggest problem is the atmosphere. The restaurant is in the middle of the ship and the noise from the band in the atrium just ruined it. They really should switch the locations for Los Lobos and ocean blue. You don't go to an expensive seafood restaurant to listen to loud activities just outside the door.

Los Lobos

The table side guacamole was excellent and the food was fairly good. However, the service was terrible. Our waiter looked like he wanted to be anywhere but at our table. None of the staff communicated. They acted as though they were all at odds with one another. No one would fill anybody else's water or chips. It took forever to get refills. We asked for more chips and the person we asked told somebody else who we then saw go tell our waiter. By the time he got to us we were ready to leave. Management really needs to see what's going on in that place. Something is not right.

Q Texas Smokehouse

This has to be the worst place on the ship. Literally the worst food we have the whole time we were there. A bunch of people from the Philippines dressed up in cowboy gear felt ridiculous. It was like going to some strange theme park overseas. Their idea of potato salad was chunks of potatoes with seasoning tossed on them. The beans were horrible, soggy and spicy without any other flavor. The brisket tasted like it was infused with propane. The cornbread had something in it that just ruined the flavor but I can't put my finger on it. Onion rings were soggy and flavorless. I ate about half the meat and both my husband and I walked out leaving more than 3/4 of our food on the plate. The restaurant actually called us later to ask what was wrong. Everything was wrong. Do not waste your time or money in this place. It needs to be completely redone using an expert who actually knows what barbecue is supposed to taste like

The Local

We were here for lunch. When we first got on the ship which was good. The fish and chips was hot and fresh. Though it did take a while. The venue is limited though and so you don't want to eat here too often. It also is very similar to room service so between the two of them your choices are very limited. Other times we went it took a long time to get service.

Starbucks

Just your basic Starbucks. Prices are comparable to onland. Nothing great.

Cagney's Steakhouse

The filet was fantastic. The Caesar was okay but not particularly flavorful. Heavy on the anchovies and light on other flavors. The lighting is strange. Where we were sitting there were no overhead lights and no light on the table and we could barely read the menu. Other areas were fairly bright. The place really lacks any good ambience.

Garden Cafe

The food felt like it was the same all the time. Nothing was truly fantastic. I suppose I'm being too harsh for a buffet, but when you spend 15 days on the ship you expect the buffet to have a little more variety. Seating was always crowded and there was no organization. People were incredibly rude, cutting in front of you to get what they wanted rather than waiting in line with everyone else. I dreaded coming up here.

The Manhattan Room - Main Dining Room

I really wanted to like this place. I really did. We came in as a party of two, agreed to be seated with another table, and still waited 20 minutes. We were there for 2 hours, start to finish and waited forever between courses. My salad was delivered with no dressing and was the most bitter greens I'd ever encountered. The food was just mediocre. And most of it was delivered cold because of the distance between the kitchen and the table. Our waiter was clearly overworked at distracted. I took a long time to get refills on water and I was only able to get one drink refill the whole time we were there. We only want one night because the experience was underwhelming.

Teppanyaki

If you go here, be sure to go earlier in the evening. We were the last seating of the night and our chef had clearly lost his enthusiasm. The food was decent. But I've certainly had better. Teppanyaki. We really went there for the show which was lacking. No one could get into the process and after getting there early and watching other chefs, we could tell that ours cut out about half of his process. It was just boring and slow.

Sugarcane Mojito Bar

This was our favorite bar on the ship. And I don't even like mojitos. The staff here were excellent. Friendly and attentive. It has a great vibe. It's close to everything since it's in the middle of the ship.

Coco’s

Overpriced for what you get. My crepes were hard to cut. You should be able to cut them with the fork but I couldn't get through it. I needed a knife and didn't have one. Flavor was okay but nothing fantastic for the price.

Onda by Scarpetta

I suppose my one star review isn't really fair here since we didn't actually eat. We went in and sat down and looked at the menu. Neither of us could find anything that looked good. On top of that, the wood floors made the noise echo which ruined the atmosphere. It felt like a cheap burger joint. The menu was very limited and I didn't want to waste my time there so we ended up leaving and using our dining credits elsewhere. Note that I paid for extra dining credits so we had five specialty meals.

Le Bistro French Restaurant

The food here was incredible as was the service. Our hostess took time to take a dozen photos of us. We had just asked for one but she went out of her way to take photos from many angles. The scallops were incredible. As was the steak. The only downside to the experience was the family of Russian mob members who were incredibly loud and obnoxious and ruined the quiet atmosphere. My husband wanted to say something but I wanted him to stay alive.

Savor Restaurant - Main Dining Room

Food and service were both fairly good. None of our meals were excellent but nothing was horrible either. We preferred this to the main dining room as it didn't feel as crowded and loud. The tables are close together, so even if you're seated with just your party, it's easy to lean over and talk to someone else. We met lots of other couples there.

The Marketplace

Most stuff is pretty overpriced and the selection is mediocre. Even with the sale, I can get better prices on everything online. The only reason to shop here is if you have a credit you're trying to burn up. They have watches 75% off of 100% overpriced to begin with. The jewelry selection is common and ridiculously overpriced. They wanted $500 for tanzanite at sterling silver tennis bracelet. I had one at home that I bought for 175 and it was nicer. The sales people put a lot of pressure on you, even after you tell them you're just looking.

Mandara Spa & Salon

I absolutely loved the thermal spa. My favorite places were the steam room, salt room, snow paradise, and the pool. Pool. It was never crowded and I always left feeling so relaxed. My shoulders haven't felt so loose it over 20 years. The only downside is that some people were really loud which ruin the atmosphere. And the staff is pretty aggressive about trying to upsell you on other products. It took them about a week to quit asking us if we wanted to buy the sample products or sign up for a massage. Between my husband and I. We spend almost $800 on the spa and I wasn't about to give them any more money.

Encore Casino

I have never spent so much money and one so little. I tried more than half the machines. I never won more than a few hundred dollars on any of them, despite trying every bet from 88 cents to over $10. I made sapphire level in one cruise yet never left an evening with any kind of winnings. Every machine just takes and takes and there is incredibly little playback. I don't mind losing but I'd like to have some time to play with my investment. I have played and casinos all over Nevada and it dozens of smaller Native American casinos. I have truly never seen such tight machines. Given how empty the place was I wasn't the only one who had this problem.

Observation Lounge

Probably my and my husband's favorite place on the ship. We had a club balcony suite on deck 15 so the observation deck was really just down the hall. We often used it for a late breakfast or late lunch. The food offerings there were excellent. My husband called it his hobbit place because there was always extra food. Other than some loud women who couldn't seem to understand, it was supposed to be a quiet place, it was wonderful for relaxing. The bartenders there were some of the nicest on the ship.

Main Pool

The pool was okay but crowded as everyone says. We didn't have trouble finding a seat but I didn't feel particularly relaxed hair. The band, royal flush. Was excellent. They played every afternoon. I think. The bartenders were rushed and not particularly friendly. Even after I tipped them well. They just didn't seem to be happy. The people were a mix of those trying to show off all their assets, and those that were showing off things. Nobody else wanted to see. Not my favorite place.

Encore Theater

The theater itself looks great, but the seats are atrocious. After about 30 minutes, all you want to do is stand up. The cushions feel like they're from a 10-year-old theater and you feel like you're sliding forward the whole time. incredibly uncomfortable. We saw choir of man there which was excellent, and a Beatles show. Which was pretty good but the audience just wasn't into it and it lost energy.

Social Comedy and Night Club

We saw three comedians while we were there and they were all pretty good. The layout is a little strange, with somewhat uncomfortable folding chairs in the middle and then padded chairs off to the sides. The biggest problem with this place is that you only have about 15 minutes to get drinks before they shut down the bar. I learned to order two drinks at a time pretty quickly. And then stupidly. After they tell you the bar is closed and you can't get more drinks, they announced the comics and tell you to get a drink and sit down and relax. One of the comics even made a joke about it.