Was my first transatlantic. Overall I enjoyed the cruise and the food was good. Specialty restaurants, less La Cucina, were very good. Wish the weather had been better so we could have used the pool areas etc. but can't control Mother Nature. It was much colder a crossing than anticipated.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Specialty restaurants were really good, in particular Le Bistro. Best meal of the cruise. La Cantina was a bit of a disappointment. For a specialty Italian restaurant having overcooked pasta that is mushy was not what one expects. Overall the food was very good less O'Sheehans. Ate there once and wouldn't go back. The wait times, however, every night for the general restaurants Taste and the Manhattan Room were very disappointing. Never waited so long (up to 50 minutes) and usually 40 -45 minutes a night when wanting to dine there. Not sure how they could have it running with those types of waiting times every day. The open dining Garden Cafe had some really good items and overall was very good.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Too cold to use the pools. Did use the fitness center and had a good amount of machines and was clean. The Progressive Trivia was a lot of fun and met a lot of nice people that we became friends with during the cruise. Used the Spa and overall it was good...less the fact on FOUR different days female Spa Staff kept walking into the men's changing area to find people. COMPLETELY unsatisfactory!! Standing there with nothing on I do not expect women to be waking in and through the changing area or looking in the shower. I did comment to the Guest Services about it. And this is just on days/times I was there so who knows how much more often it may have happened. They could easily get a MALE staff or worker to go in and try to find someone who may have an appointment for a massage or whatever. What was also a disappointment was the LGBTQ meeting was moved several times where as other groups got to have one place every night. The third night they didn't even open the room for us and I had to go to Guest Services to get them to open it. Once they did, The Headliners Room, they didn't even have a bartender (bar was inside) for us. Then they moved us to Bliss one night but our event was while the band that would be performing later was preparing and sound testing...very annoying. Also were having a karaoke the one night so others were all piling into the room ahead of time so was just not right. Finally moved us the the back H2O and was not a good space for people to mingle as again, others were there and it was too small. So felt very 'put off' while friends of Bill W etc. always had the same spot.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All the staff were so pleasant and everyone was always helpful or tried to be helpful.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The design of the staterooms with the sink in the living area vs. a bathroom was a bit weird. An extra set of elevators midship would have been good vs. just at the ends.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Overall it was okay and what I anticipated. Unfortunately there were issues. The phone didn't work (corrected that quickly), the safe didn't work (corrected that quickly too. The fridge didn't work and was a day to get that switched out. The biggest issue was the A/C control didn't work. That took 3 or 4 days to get that addressed. It was FREEZING in my cabin and I couldn't adjust it. Luckily I got a blanket from my cabin attendant, Kadek, and that helped. Also staffed called the room way too early in the morning to check on the A/C. The second time was after it was already fixed and I told them that the first time they called to check on it. Announcements couldn't be heard in my cabin so I had to step in the hall to hear them. I was without tv one day and without water one evening.
Ship tip
Go VERY EARLY to dinner at Taste or Manhattan Room or be prepared to wait.
Was a COMPLETE disaster trying to get off this ship. Was an hour and a half wait for us to be able to get off the ship and then not everyone was able to get on the Hop On Hop Off tour was overloaded. They weren't pre-cleared to come to the pier. It would have been easier and faster for us to walk to the gate and get on the bus there/then and saved some time and effort. No forethought or insight for how many people booked this. As for the shuttle buses, heard the ship only booked one big bus and two smaller shuttles to handle the volume of people. Though town was nice, I only did one thing because I was extremely concerned about being able to get back to the ship on time without necessarily having to pay for a taxi. I felt sorry for the staff member trying to sort it out at the beginning and then they called the Group 2 before Group 1 and was a complete fiasco.
*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.
