Beautiful ship overall, adored Central Park and our balcony room overlooking it, only ship I've seen with it. The Solarium and Windjammer were stunning and had amazing views. The Blaze was the perfect nightclub, great music, fantastic drinks, and bartenders. Liked the TVs so you could see the dance floor if not near it. Fantastic buffet food. Overall a wonderful and relaxing vacation.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Easy and quick, no major lines, no hassles. Except that they confiscated my mini handcuff keychain, of which was only decor and didn't even open!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The dining room and buffets were amazing. The windjammer was superb. The selections were top of the line! Highly impressed with buffet choices. The pizza place was also a good alterative for snacks or quick eats. Never had to wait in lines for long.
The drinks were overpriced. With gratuities two drinks came to $25!! That is ridiculous. The cruiseline could charge half that and still make a very hefty profit!
Also the fact that we could not bring a case of sealed water bottles on the ship (but we could bring wine) was a serious strike for me. I carry water all the time with me. I have a case in my car. If it's about money, that's sad as water is important and we should not have to pay obnoxious pricing for a water package.
Solarium Bar
5 out of 5
Solarium was one of the best spots on the ship. Loved the view and the music venue when the night party was there. We liked the adults only (over 16), as it was quiet and relaxing. The pool was nice, liked the rain like water falling in the pool. The jacuzzi was a life saver after a good long day of awesome but exhausting fun on port. The view of the water from the jacuzzi on the side of the Solarium and the view from the entirety of the Solarium was beautiful.
Windjammer Cafe
5 out of 5
The food selection was always spot on. An excellent selection for whatever you were currently in the mood for. Lines were handled quickly even though it was such a popular place that seating was sometimes hit and miss. Keep up the good work and excellent customer service. I was offered coffee every day and our table was always cleaned quickly. Best place to eat. We much preferred this wide array and selection of food to the main dining hall. Well done!
Blaze
5 out of 5
This venue was amazing! Best place on ship. Great music, bar tenders were fantastic, attentive, and hooked you up. Spent most of our nights here. The DJ was fantastic!
Sorrento's Pizza
5 out of 5
Good food, great place for snacking, lines were covered quickly, and always a clean place to sit. They had coffee and drink choices. A very good place to grab a quick bite.
Boleros Lounge
5 out of 5
Bartenders were extremely helpful and courteous. They remembered us and what we liked every time. Laid back atmosphere, comfortable seating.
Pool Bar
2 out of 5
Was not impressed with the pool bar or pool bartenders. They never looked happy, felt like we were an inconvenience they wanted to deal with quickly. The drinks were thrown together, not mixed, even the frozen drinks we had to mix before drinking.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Trivia was fun. The late night dance parties were excellent, especially in the Blaze. The 80's dance night was amazingly fun. The shows were OK. Most of them were canceled due to weather, of which is understandable, but some days they canceled I didn't understand. The seas were not that bad until the last sea day coming back. The adult comedy show was good, and the Headliners show was the best on the ship. ❤ Overall could have used some more activities for all ages, like bean bag tosses, more interactions with entertainment crew, more themed dance offs and parties, etc.
Solarium
5 out of 5
Beautiful pool, like the over 16 atmosphere as we had a break from all the kids, nice touch with the falling water in the center!
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The shows were OK. Lacking story and plotline in some cases. They were canceled right and left which I get for performers safety, but the only really rough day was the last sea day. Couldn't hear the Cats performance very well, the mics re-verbed or echoed too much. We left at intermission. The Headliner show was amazing! ❤❤The best show on the ship.
Children's Programs
No children
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Bartenders on the pool bar were lacking, didn't seem to enjoy their job, were in a hurry and served weak, and unmixed drinks. I always had to mix my own drinks, even the frozen ones. I asked one of them to mix it once and he looked at me like 'what', gave it a quick shake and handed it back.
Boleros, Blaze, Central Park, and Boardwalk bartenders were great! See above for more details per bar. Our room steward was kind and courteous. We loved the towel animals and appreciate the attentive care and kindness. Deni always remembered our names and always had a friendly and polite attitude. Service overall was excellent.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship was beautiful, loved the Central Park area, with plants and trees, and our balcony overlooking it. Overall good layout, love the Solarium and Windjammer views and locations. Easy to get around with the exception on floors five and six which needed work to get around. Between the spa and the fact that 80% of the time the stairs were closed due to pictures being taking it was tricky to maneuver. Had to go down to 5 in the elevator, just to go back up to six a few feet away. With those exceptions, the overall ship was nice and lounging was relaxing.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Very comfortable, very clean, love the balcony overlooking the Central Park area. We could go out and enjoy the breeze and trees just like having a view of a city park. Perfect for me and my fiance as we love nature and trees, something typically all but obsolete on a ship. I can't emphasize enough how perfect the Central Park addition was to this ship. Perfect room because of it. I haven't seen its likeness on any other ship. The room itself was nice, enough room. The shower was really small. Hard to move around in. Overall great room.
Ship tip
Pack light, mix and match, bring a hanging shower bag or caddy to put on wall in bathroom. Bring something for outside of door (like a sign, cardboard cutout, gel decorations, etc) for a quick and easy find as they all look the same. Put ribbons on luggage, something you will recognize immediately when seeing. (Besides tags) Leave all work, unfinished jobs, and stress at home! The Central Park Balcony Rooms are so worth it if you like nature. Beautiful view! Bon voyage.
Nice port, didn't do an excursion. We enjoyed the beach and appreciated the shuttles. Bar prices and drinks were same as on ship, so pricey and same selection. Nothing new to try.
Port was OK, we did the Caverns and Dunn Falls excursion. Loved it. But on the way back from Dunn Falls we were forced to exit through the market shops which I understand, but the merchants were very pushy! Even rather insulting when you didn't want to buy. I walked through as quickly as I could.
Good port and nice but simple selection of shops right off port without having to go the the marketplace. Shops bargained with you. Weren't pushy. We did the Catamaran and Beach Snorkeling excursion. Loved it! The drinks kept coming! The snorkeling was fun and Beach was beautiful. Loved the fun activities to play on and climb. We were on Catamaran boat #2 and loved it!! Great staff, took good care of us, watched our belongings, kept us heavily stocked with drinks. Great port, loved Senior Frogs on way back.
We did self assist which was fine, and had no issue getting off ship. Loved the easy, carry your own option. The shuttling and buses were a disaster. We walked back and forth numerous times trying to find the Raddison shuttle. We were told numerous different things each time we asked someone. Everytime they always pointed us in the opposite direction so we ended up going in circles. I finally asked for someone that actually knew what they were talking about, and he walked with us to the shuttle and made sure it was the right one. Thanks for him!! He was the only one that seemed to have any clue what was going on.
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