Overall we enjoyed this cruise. We had been on the Breakaway twice, so we are familiar with this similar ship’s layout. The best part is the fewer passengers on the ship. I was told it was about 1400+ passengers, instead of the full capacity of 4000. There were no lines, plenty of time slots available for dining. The food in Garden Cafe needs improvement, though. Many of the chicken and pork items were over cooked. They were dry and tough. Came across some soup that was too salty also. We enjoyed the food at Ocean Blue and Le Bistro, however. Dining room meals were decent also. At least for the dishes we ordered. We enjoyed the Great Stirred Up Cay. We wish we could stay longer in Nassau. Cutting the original schedule in Nassau by 4 hour, then adding the pointless stop at Norfolk was disappointing. You couldn’t do anything in Norfolk in the 3 hour stay there. We were going to visit USS Wisconsin. They didn’t open until 10 am. Then we found out the ship changed the departure time from 1 pm to 11 am. That gave us no time to do anything. Guess the sole purpose of stopping at Norfolk was the immigration check. We still enjoyed this cruise. Entertainments were good. We made the best of it, in spite of a few minuses. Oh yes. This was the first cruise we went on without any formal nights.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
The embarkation process was smooth except the Covid testing. It was a very long line getting to the actual test. We were told it would take 10-15 minutes to be notified of the result. My wife and I got tested together. My wife got the result 40 minutes later. My result was announced 20 minutes after my wife’s.
So the whole process from getting tested to getting on the ship was 2 hours.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Since there were only about 1,450 passengers on this trip, there were no lines and no waiting for table at the Garden Cafe. My wife and I were able to get a window table every time we went there.
There were plenty of time slots available for the 3 main dining rooms, as well as the specialty restaurants, as least for the 2 we went, Ocean Blue and Le Bistro.
There were live music in the Tropicana main dining every night between 6-8pm. You can request for a table close to the dance floor or by the window.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
There were a good variety of activities onboard, including games. We did not participate in any.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We enjoyed the Million Dollar Quartet, the comedians, and the Mentalist shows. They were very entertaining, especially the mentalists.
We did not attend the Burn the Floor performance. We had seen them twice on 2 Breakaway cruises several years ago. They were very good.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room steward, Sharon, was excellent. She was very attentive.
The service from the wait staff in the dining rooms and specialty restaurants was excellent.
The wait staff in Garden Cafe was also very efficient. One waiter walked around offering coffee in the morning. He said coffee, on the house today. That made people laugh.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin steward did a great job cleaning and tidying up the room, and cleaning the bathroom. We had a club balcony suite (formerly called the mini suite). The bathroom is bigger, with a double sink, and a bigger shower stall (about 5’ long) with 3 levels of shower jets, plus the main shower head above.
2 bathrobes were included in the room.
A coffee machine was also in the room. We used that for boiling hot water for tea.
I was surprised that there were no USB outlets in the room.
Ship tip
There are only 2 US and 2 European power outlets in the cabin at the room vanity. None on either side of the bed. None in the bathroom either. So, bring your own USB charger and non-surge protected power strip. Surge protectors are dangerous on ship’s power system. Also, if you were charging any devices, leave the card in the switch slot to keep the power on. It turns off power to the whole room, including the outlets, if removed.
We really enjoyed the island. Again, because of the fewer passengers onboard, the tender service ran smoothly.
The beach area we were in had about a dozen people. It was like our own private beach.
Most people settled down at the first beach they encountered. We kept walking past the zip line lighthouse. The beach there was practically empty. It was worth the effort.
We did our own excursion. We bought a day pass to go to the Margaritaville Beach Resort. It was about a 15 minute walk from the ship. The port stop was too short. The ship departed at 2 pm.
Wish we kept the original schedule of the 6 pm departure time, before adding the pointless Norfolk stop. Guest it is for immigration check only.
Since we already had the immigration process done the day before in Norfolk, disembarkation was a breeze.
Also, because of so few people on the ship, the line leaving the ship moved quickly.
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