First impression - jaw dropping! You would think for the number of passengers that you would feel crowded, but think again! They did amazing job of spreading things out and it didn't feel one bit crowded. Amenities were spectacular, details beautiful and the technology was amazing. Shows were fabulous - you should see every one, all different and unique. The one disappointment in shows was the Headliner person from Vegas - he was so-so. The itinerary was ho-hum, but we didn't cruise for the itinerary - we cruised for the ship and she didn't disappoint!! Check in/out was fast, efficient. Personnel were friendly, attentive but not obnoxious. We had outside stateroom w/balcony - forward stateroom and highly recommend that location. Rooms were spacious enough, but closet space was awkwardly positioned but adequate. Overall it was a great cruise ship and I recommend it for an entirely different type of cruise experience. The sister ship, Allure, will go to Western Caribbean and I think that would be much nicer itinerary ... but if you don't care where you head, either ship is spectacular! We've been on over 10 cruises, so the itinerary was secondary to the ship. We didn't get off to do any excursions - and didn't feel like we missed anything as there was plenty to do on the ship for the entire week! Just amazing.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Let me get the bad one out of the way first. Dining room meal? Not good. Nothing much more to say than that. Ate there only 1 time. Speciality restaurants - AMAZING! Yes, you pay extra for them, and they don't disappoint. 150 & Chops - excellent. Giovanni's - very good. Crab Shack - good if you just want to be bad and eat fried food one night (which we did). It was good though! One thing we loved was Central Park Cafe where you could get a great salad - they had salad bar where they made the salad for you (so behind glass so thousands of people not handling the food!) they mixed what you wanted in large bowl, added dressing then served you in another bowl. Huge salads and very very good. They also did this in the dining rooms for lunch. We didn't eat in any of the buffets but they served the usual burgers, fries, etc. and we didn't eat at Johnny Rockets either - but hey, its a burger joint! Probably good as they come for that.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
See ALL the entertainment. They had something for everyone! Piano bar, jazz bar, dancing lounge, viking lounge with cocktail music or dance music, adult only dancing in solarium, floating bar fun, beer pub always had entertainment. Champagne bar and Vintages wine bar were beautifully done and had adequate wine/champagne selections for every taste and budget. Really well done!!! Casino was laid out with 50% smoking and 50% non-smoking side - totally separated and same tables/games on each side. THAT was really nice to have the non-smoking side. Beautiful bar in casino as well. Comedy lounges really nice, small and intimate. Latin dance bar was always hopping and really nice.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Friendly, efficient & helpful but not obnoxious. If you smiled at them and said HI they were very quick to smile back and offer a "enjoying the ship?" comment or ask you if you were having a great day.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Size? Huge but not crowded even with 6,000+ passengers! Layout? Easy to get around, very well done!!! Didn't take us long to figure out where to go. Public areas? Spectacular - clean, lots of options for lounges, shows, food. Overall experience was exceptional.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Size was good but found closet to be in awkward place - a little hard to access but size-wise, adequate. Decor was typical but nice. Comfort was good, condition of stateroom was nice, our location (forward) was excellent. Easy to get from one end of ship to other and you started at front of boardwalk areas each time - we loved the location.
Pros: Public areas are beautifully detailed. Specialty restaurants very good.
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