Loved this beautiful ship. Very well designed and very accommodating for mobility challenged. The adult area Solarium is the best of all ships we have sailed aboard. Complete with its own bistro and bar. Perfect!
Be sure to stay a few days in Honolulu before embarking.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
As a mobility challenged person, having cruised on other lines, I was expecting a little more attention and care than what I got. Officials seemed few and far between and somewhat confused. My husband stepped up and began asking questions, enabling me to board. Otherwise, I would have sat waiting, and pretty much ignored. This was one of the most unpleasant embarkation processes.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Food was 5-star. Plenty of variety and in great supply. We loved all the venues from the Solarium bistro to the dining rooms, from the Windjammer buffet to the specialty restaurants. Uzumi and Chops Grille food was off the charts delicious. Worth the extra $$$ spent to eat there.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We spent our time in the Solarium which we loved. We did not participate in any activities.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The average rating is due to the low quality of some shows and the high quality of others. We loved Jimmy Hopper and the Liberace style pianist. But it was downhill from there. Having been part of the entertainment industry for decades, we have live theatre standards that must be met. The in-house productions like Beautiful Dream fell far short. This production was in desperate need of a critical director who hopefully would see the need for a clearly perceived storyline. The show felt like a hodge-Podge of routines only faintly related to the initial plot. As to Pixels, while the million dollar toys were appreciated, a director was needed who could give the show cohesion and a thread of logic that could be followed. Again nothing more than a hodge-Podge of unrelated costumes, dancing, and aerial events. Stick to a theme, an era, a musical style. That would have bern appreciated. I heard other people’s muttering sad we left echoing my thoughts on this hot mess. Decide on a theme!
Solarium
5 out of 5
Brilliantly designed area for adults. Our favourite spot especially for early morning whirlpools.
Children's Programs
No kids.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Some of the best staff we have ever met. Friendly and attentive, we were pleased by ship’s staff at all levels.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Extremely clean and easily accessible, especially for a mobility challenged person. LOVED the elevators, acrylic see—through doors are brilliant. And the handicapped washrooms are among the most comfortable I have ever encountered. Thank you!!!
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Handicapped accessible and very well designed. Or room would have gotten a 5-star rating except for the lack of a small table.
There is a larger moveable table under the mirror, but this is cumbersome to move especially for a handicapped person. A visit to guest services remedied this and a small (way too short) table was provided. Our room steward (clever fellow) propped it with an upturned garbage pail. Not great, but at least I had a spot for my art supplies.
Another issue on the first day was getting used to all the emergency buttons and pressing them by accident. Please have the room steward point these out and explain what happens if pressed. We had three visits from ship security after an inadvertent pressing of buttons. We were semi-lectured each time as though we had some underhanded plan to annoy them. The experience was both unsettling and embarrassing. Not a good start on the first day.
The bathroom is perfect, huge space with a walk-in shower complete with handheld wash wand and pull-down stool. A very important item to me because of my weight, height, and standing issues. Best bathroom ever!
Ship tip
Bring on 12 cans of soda pop for cabin use as well as your two bottles of wine. Drinks are very expensive on-board.
We love Honolulu. Pier 2 is easily located and accessed, but a little difficult for getting dropped off or picked up. A handicapped reserved spot would have been nice.
Another favourite little town. But the tendering process...well let’s just say there is much room for improvement. Logistics of moving thousands of people back and forth need to be addressed. The long wait times on ship and then on land were gruelling. I suspect this will improve with time.
We live here. However, we felt being charged a fee to get off early was not fair. This bothered us quite a bit.
In addition, a call to guest services was next to unhelpful when I explained that as a handicapped person, I needed help getting off the ship. I was pretty much told that it was my problem and that I should try getting help from my room steward. The funny thing is that when we did just that, our room steward said he had to call guest services! What?
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