This was our family's first cruise and an introduction to the cruise experience. In retrospect, this was too small of a boat (activity wise) and too short of a trip to truly make for a memorable or repeatable family vacation. I would point families with minor children toward some of the larger lines (Royal Carib or Disney) if they are looking to keep the kids active (and off their phones) during the onboard time.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Embarkation was fairly painless. Hardest part was doing circles around the parking area to determine which garage we should park in (e.g. depends on where the ship is docked)
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Buffets were great and we could have eaten off of them the whole time. Main Dining Rooms had great service and could tailor menu items.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Pool area entertainment was annoyingly loud during most of prime sun periods. Live music is great, but the volume prevented a normal-voice conversation, reading a book, or catching a nap in the sun.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Comedy shows were funny; DJs and musicians in and around the pool deck were pretty good, but (see above) WAY too loud for a boat with only one pool area to experience.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
our 9-11 year old had a great time in the youth area. Made lots of friends and she always wanted to stay when it was time to leave for another activity.
On the other hand, our teen had a very poor experience. While there was a teen program offered, there was minimal participation - which left her pretty bored when we were looking for on-ship things for her to do while we (parents) tried to catch an hour in the casino, etc.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Service was friendly and very good.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Ship had clearly been renovated lately. Its a shame that there was an app to accompany the experience, but you had to purchase wifi access (for EVERY device our family wanted to have internet access) to reference the app. So we ended up NOT using the app at all during the cruise. I've head that other cruise lines have methods to use the app offline, or to access the ship internet for that app-use (only) free of charge.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
View of the water was great. But we were surprised that there were only TWO (2) outlets in our entire cabin to plug in anything requiring power. Caused some family juggling of phone chargers, hair dryers, etc. You'd think on a "modern" ship, there would be more electrical outlets to accommodate every day items like multiple phone chargers, hair dryers, curling irons, etc. We never thought we'd need to bring a power bar / surge protector, but if we did this ship again - we would definitely bring a couple.
Ship tip
Bring sound-eliminating headphones if you plan to lay by the pool, AND bring a surge protector to allow for multiple AC/DC outlets in your cabin.
Sea state prevented any passegers from disembarking to Great Stirrup Cay. Instead, the ship left for Nassau that morning - putting us in a place to do shipboard activities (see above on pool area).
Nassau was neat. But the water park did not open until 10am. With a requirement to be back on board ship at 430pm, I don't feel we got our money's worth after having to spend some of that precious time waiting in lines for slides or lunch, and navigating back through the resort, and by bus, to get back to the ship.
Very smooth. We carried all of luggage on and off the boat - which eliminated any need to wait for stewards / porters, luggage collection on shore, etc.
*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.
