Overall, the ship was very beautiful and the solo cabin and lounge were well appointed and the coffee machine in the solo lounge was the best part (free lattes!). The itinerary was great and I can't wait to get back to Iceland. I enjoyed all the meal venues that I went to. I did not go to the buffet at all as I was able to utilize all the other venues. Even though it didn't affect my trip I did notice long lines to get into the smaller show venues and the sports areas and go carts weren't my interest so I didn't try to use those areas of the ship.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
I think this was the fastest embarkation I ever experienced.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
I never had a bad meal either in the Complimentary or Specialty restaurants.
Onda By Scarpetta
5 out of 5
I ate at Onda my first night on the ship. The salmon was so good! Light and tasty. The spice on the broccoli was just the right amount of heat. The butterscotch budino dessert was melt in your mouth awesome.
Indulge Food Hall
4 out of 5
I was only able to eat at Indulge Food Hall a couple of times as I had a hard time find seating when I went. The food came fast and hot. The four stars is only because I was able to actually get a seat and eat there a couple of times.
Los Lobos
4 out of 5
Los Lobos is very filling and quality Mexican choices. I only am giving this rating 4 stars because there really wasn't anything that I can't get at home that is just as good. It didn't stand out. I would eat here again because I love Mexican/American dishes, but I just want to let others know.
Palomar
5 out of 5
The lamb was just right, salt/pepper seasoning and cooked to medium was tender and delicious. The french apple tart a la mode was pure American lol apple pie with vanilla ice cream.
The Local Bar & Grill
5 out of 5
Excellent as always. I think all together I ate and local the most as this was the most convenient even if you had to wait a little bit. The food was always hot and well prepared and came quickly. I don't know how they make the carrot cake but OMG with the walnuts and cream cheese frosting - it's the best. The local bar made a great sidecar (tried this for the first time on this cruise and went back for more).
Le Bistro
5 out of 5
I eat at Le Bistro ever since I started eating at the specialty restaurants on my cruises. The steak tartare is yum. I'm not a vegetarian but I really enjoy the vegetarian entree Napoleon de Legumes. I used to like the lamb but a couple of years ago they changed the recipe from a rosemary/thyme seasoning to a Moroccan spice which I don't care for.
Hudson's Main Dining Room
5 out of 5
I enjoyed eating at Husdons's whenever I could for breakfast and lunch. I only ate at Hudson's for dinner two times. All the meals I had were very good and well prepared.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
I went to a couple of the shows in the main theater and attended the art auctions. I didn't really try to get into the smaller venue shows.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The new burn-the-floor that replaced the Donna Summer show was pretty good, a little loud, but I enjoyed The Price is Right Live show better. The magician was so-so, and one of the special talent singers was ok.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All the service staff were personable, professional, and did an awesome job.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The newer ship is very beautiful. It is very clean well maintained. I do understand some of the comments about trying to fit too many large things into smaller spaces.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This was a solo cabin in the solo area with access to the wonderful solo lounge. The room was just the right size. The new bathrooms have plenty of room. The room was well maintained. I will only note that these cabins do not have a cooler/refrigerator so if you have medication that needs to be cold you will need to check with the steward.
We had beautiful weather. My ship excursion went into Bruges itself. Walking for any distance can be hard as it is mostly on cobblestones and uneven pavement. The town seemed clean.
My ship excursion visited a goat farm that made their own cheese so we got to sample some traditional brown cheese. Again we had sunny beautiful weather.
Another sunny day. My longer ship excursion drove along one of the longer fjords, had a wonderful lunch (the buffet was a little crazy as there were two full buses of people basically at the same time) and we stopped at some very scenic photo spots.
We had another sunny day although the temperature had finally dropped and it was in the 40's. We visited a historic manor farm with dugout type housing that was all connected with a small church. Handmade gifts were available in the small souvenir shop. Godafoss waterfall was included and a short stop at a botanical garden. Since we were at the end of the season most of the plants were already passed.
The weather was a little chilly and clouded over. The ship excursion stopped in a small village where we visited a nice little book shop and church and had a snack at the museum/general store/diner/cafe all in one place. We also stopped at another botanical garden and again since it was late in the season you just had to imagine what everything looked like in full bloom.
I did not do any excursions or get off the ship in the day. We were delayed getting into port (3 hours) due to high winds. It was the port itself that would not let the ship dock. I had a late evening 3rd party excursion to see the Northern Lights which was successful, and I did get some great pictures.
Very fluid disembarkation with everyone following the rules with the colored tags and waiting until their color was called. Got off the ship, picked up my luggage and made the ship bus transfer to the airport.
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