Really GREAT deal out of Miami on a 5 star ship with no single supplement ... at least in the month of September. Watched the weather and pulled the trigger. Great ports of call with plenty of time in each. Good food and nice restaurants. First rate entertainment.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very smooth ... lots of waiting at the front end ... give you a time to report but then lots of sitting in Miami before boarding. Efficient once it started.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Main dining rooms were "nice" and "calm" compared to the Grill buffet but food just so-so. Salmon the first night was inedible, but other things good to very good - not excellent … except for the caramel/chocolate torte the second night … that was excellent. Only odd/not so great part of meals is the menu seems nearly identical across all the "free" dining rooms. No variety except for the seating. There are a few things that change nightly but no overall variation … gets a bit monotonous after a week. Didn't try the specialty restaurants.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Pool is way undersized for 4000 passengers. If you can afford a "Haven" it might be great but not for this cruiser. They have a killer water slide but this 67 yo guy was too timid to try it. Library very limited. Lots of DJ stuff going on all day at the pool and atrium.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Both main shows and the major side show were OUTSTANDING. Actually attended each twice. Audience loved them. Howl at the Moon dueling piano group were killers.
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Service can be very slow in the main restaurants. Room service pretty good, friendly, and non-intrusive. Personnel are all very attentive and helpful throughout the ship.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Cabins are not up to Holland America standard but pretty close. Great shower ... really hot water. Standard balcony is very small but nice to have. Paid very little to upgrade to a balcony (just $10/day).
Ship tip
I picked this trip in Sept/Oct due to the availability of "no-single-supplement rates" on it. Really a killer deal compared to other lines. Particularly for a 5 star ship.
Walked off the ship and booked a tour to a Mayan temple that was way cheaper with way fewer people than the ship offered. No conerns with timing. Had a great beach massage ($10/30 minutes).
Tried to do something here that was not associated with the Theme park atmosphere of Harvest Caye. The actual port is beautiful with a huge pool and great beach but I wanted to see Belize. Catching the ferry to Placencia is a $25 RT and highly discouraged ... and once in Placencia there is really no time/availability of anything other than "snorkel" trips. If I had it to do again I'd stay in port on the Caye or book a ship tour on the mainland.
Roatan is known for snorkeling/scuba. I tried a local tour company and it was OK and pretty cheap for all day ... but if I had it to do again I'd book through the ship on the catamaran.
Not easy to navigate and highly discouraged but I walked to the town port and booked a local tour to "Tulum" which was great and way cheaper than the ship tour. Great guide, small group ... but tight schedule. Ferry itself was great, stable, and fast.
They said they had to use a different "dock" but the lines to disembark went the length of the ship and seemingly half way back. Lots of emotions as people cut in from elevators and other avenues ... really a total fubar. You could see it on the faces of the crew as well ... they knew they blew it.
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