Overall it was good. They did allow children in some of the adult only areas and were slow to have them removed. I have stated before, but the pool was just bad, food was good. All the complaints about the elevators I just didn't see it as an issue. Same with restaurant service. If you need a fast meal, do the garden cafe but if you want a relaxing dinner, the restaurants are fine.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
It was crowded of course and on the Escape there are a lot of passengers. It felt like we were cattle going through until you got on the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
So, I read a lot of complaints about the main dining. We went with a group of 16 and it was MUCH better than most reviewed. The main dining we had only one issue one night with being slow. They made up for it though. We did three specialty dinings. Bayamo ($15 additional charge if you have dining package), Le Bistro and Cagneys. Bayamo is VERY worth it!! Cagneys was good as well. I would try a different specialty restaurant other than Le Bistro in the future. It was good, but it didn't wow me.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
As stated before the pool is indeed a nightmare. You pretty much can't enjoy it. If this is a deal breaker for you then be warned. We did spend time in H2O spice instead and it was slightly less crowded. We never found the paid for adult section pool. I would not have paid for it as it starts adding up. We did pay for a day pass to the thermal spa one day which was pretty much amazing and totally worth it. I also had a massage, it was pricey for the length of the massage, but it was good.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
After Midnight was not that good. We ended up walking out. The Rat Pack show was utterly amazing though, do not miss! We saw a few of the comedians. Two were good, one was horrible. Did enjoy the music with the DJ in H2O on two nights, did a great job with the 70s and 80s. The band at the pool sounded good, but was way too crowded to say there so didn't really listen. The inside entertainment was loud so if you are trying to eat at the inside pub, it's hard to converse with anyone.
Children's Programs
I had no children with me
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Staff was excellent. I injured myself the first night and our room steward went out of his way to ensure I had ice in my cabin daily. We had great service from all of the wait staff across the board. We did have the one slow night in the Manhattan room, but that was quickly resolved and we were given two bottles of wine with our last night to compensate.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
It was clean, the design of only one pool is pretty horrible. A lot of people complained about the elevators, but we never really had any issues. Unless it was time to get off the ship when it was prime time for most, even then it wasn't bad.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Loved our cabin! The space was just right and was easy to manage around with two people. Having the balcony on the port side of the ship was great as three or the four ports were outside our window giving me some great pictures. Loved having the bed close to the balcony as opposed to bed closer to door.
I was extremely disappointed in this port. I didn't book any excursions because I wanted to explore. This port is basically a cruise island. You can't leave unless you do an excursion. It was a giant pool with a beach that wasn't that great and some shops and restaurants. If that is your cup of tea then it might be good for you, but in the future, I will book an excursion or spend the day on the ship.
So, when you get off the ship it takes you to this Faux Town. There is a giant pool, lots of food and shopping. You can also take a cab out of the area to the real part of town. We were going to do this, but we actually enjoyed the "faux town" as we called it so we stayed there.
We did a snorkeling excursion here and enjoyed it. Others in our group did the swim with the dolphins. They were offered for an additional $30 to also swim with the sea lions and manatees. I wish I had known this because I would have booked this instead. Lots of great things to do in this park.
We took our own bags off the ship to get off earlier. It was pretty quick. Customs was super easy and quick as well. We also didn't purchase any tobacco or alcohol either so that may have been why.
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