Great opportunity to spent time with family. But we found the time on the water too much. We would prefer to just fly to port and stay there for several days. That is just our preference in travel style.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Super crowded. Not sure everyone came at appointed times. But the lines did move. We brought our luggage with us so didn’t have to wait several hours once on board for our stuff. Of course being our first cruise we didn’t know what to expect.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Food selection was good but quality was OK. You could always find something to eat though. And many of the menus changed nightly. Understanding that trying to feed 2500 people is not easy.
What I found odd was some of the ingredient combinations in dishes. For example they had a chocolate lava cake with ice cream but then added a runny strawberry sauce that just didn’t fit the dish. Luckily you can ask them to hold the sauce. That was just one example of many where the combinations were simply odd.
We did try the sushi which was excellent. Didn’t try the other specialty restaurants that cost because they were not the least bit cost effective for a group of 5. For example, the Japanese teppanyaki grill was $30 per person. And besides, with the other food being so so, we didn’t want to spend a lot of money on more so so food.
A few things that were very good were their steaks, including prime rib. The Aqua restaurant had steak available every night and it was very well prepared. Prime rib was available twice which was also very good. I had several dishes with shrimp (linguine for one) and they cook the shrimp well.
Personally didn’t try the little grills. Should be pretty hard to screw up a hotdog or hamburger.
The worst thing I had was a Reuben sandwich from the O’sheehans bar and grill. I think the marble rye was actually made out of marble. No sauce and the meat was way over cooked. I just threw that away and went up to the buffet for a few things.
My wife’s least favorite meal was a seafood bouillabaisse. She said it was Raman soup mix with one oyster in it.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Not much to say. Pools were super crowded with little kids. Fitness center was nice.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
We tried to make it to every show. The shows were good when not inappropriate. We have young kids so we were told the early showing was for families and the later for adult crowds. That held true until a Vegas show with skimpily dressed women and a comedian who couldn’t keep clean. He kept remarking that he was supposed to be kid friendly but would immediate venture off on to some inappropriate topic. We ended up getting up and leaving. We kind of expected it just hoped they would hold to what they said they would do.
Children's Programs
No kids that went so no idea how they were.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
This was by far the highlight. The crew was incredible. Always looking to help, room staff always asking if you need anything or what they can do to make your stay better.
The waiters were less of a highlight. Always had to ask for water, always flagging people down to get status or drinks. Seemed like too many people for a few staff members to watch over.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
No complaints really. Some carpet tear issues where duct tape was applied to prevent further damage and trip hazards. But having several thousand people running around the boat, it is inevitable that things like this will happen.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Clean and comfortable. Crew kept thing in good order.
Ship tip
Make sure you understand what you are going to do for three days prior to reaching first port. One can get bored and a little stir crazy with few activities but eating.
Very smooth since we did self assist. We had booked an 1130 flight out of LAX and were worried we wouldn’t make it. What we didn’t realize was you can take your own luggage and get off the boat pretty early and thru customs. Disembarkment was supposed to start at 0800. We showed up at 0745 and there were probably 100 people in front of us. But the line moved quickly. We were at the airport by 0915. So maybe we were lucky that day, but no need to book afternoon flights unless you want to take your time in the morning and casually get off the boat.
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