Any day on a ship is a good day. The cruise was enjoyable with great service, entertainment and food
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Previous post covid embarkation has been a breeze, with no long lines, taking a short time compared to pre- covid.
Unfortunately this was not the case. I later learned that the machines in place to speed up immigration ( like the ones in Miami where you indicated if you had anything to declare, you had a picture taken and you were given a slip of paper to hand to customs officer) had a software glitch. The glitch led to about 80% of the thousands of passengers being declined by those machines. There were only about 2 or 3 agents that now had to deal with this unexpected deluge of passengers- leading to crazy long lines, short tempers and several hour delay in boarding
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
I don’t usually pay extra for specialty dining so cannot comment on them.
I did anytime dining. This dining room was a bit different than my experience in the past. The dining rooms are usually bright and airy but this one was more cozy with a lot of gold and red colors.
The food was good as always and the wait staff very attentive
The windjammer had a good variety of selections
Windjammer Marketplace
4 out of 5
Good good variety
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
I don’t typically do many of the onboard games/activities. But this time we did the North Star which offered a 360 view a few hundred feet above the ship. That was pretty cool
We also did the I-fly which was a great experience as well. Sadly there was no photographer that day to take pictures. I would have loved to have gotten pictures doing that
I also had a wonderful massage in the spa.
Beyond those activities I either slept, or lounged on my balcony or in the solarium, reading
Outdoor Pool
3 out of 5
Not a lot of seating around the pool. More noticeable when it was time movie watching. Sadly the movie screen was on the side of the pool vs over the bars on either side, which prevent loungers on one side from being able to view the movie and limited area on the main pool deck for viewing the movie
RipCord by iFLY
5 out of 5
Loved it. Was very nervous but ended up enjoying it. Unfortunately the photographer was not there when I went so no pic to document doing it
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Great music most nights.
Enjoyed Ana, solo singer at the Amber and Oak pub. ‘Switched on band’ was also very guys.
The ventriloquist, comedian, the Frankie Valle tribute, variety shows. All the shows were great
Royal Theater
4 out of 5
Great venue. Enjoyed the shows
North Star
5 out of 5
Great experience. Awesome views
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
I found the ship well maintained, constantly being cleaned.
It was a big ship with a small ship feel.
It, however, did not have a big impressive centrum- which I missed, nor a big esplanade. I found it easy to navigate and didn’t get lost very much. I liked that you didn’t have to constantly go through the casino to get to main attractions
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Good sized cabin with the most storage space I’ve ever had in a cabin. There was even storage space over the headboard that was large enough to easily store a 24” suitcase, with a 28” case peeping out a bit.
The room was on a bump out so had a slightly larger balcony. The shower was large enough that I could turn or move around in the shower and not touch the walls
The refrigerator area had what looked like a fridge, but labeled a ‘cooler’. Despite that it met our needs for the cruise
I was excited that there was an electrical outlet on both sides of the bed
The cabin and bathroom were clean and kept clean throughout the cruise . Cabin attendant was attentive and thoughtful
Ship tip
Book your times for dining ( if doing flexible dining) and specialty activities, like the ifly and North Star, as soon as you board
I’m used to cruising in the Caribbean and being able to take a tour of an island for reasonably cheap price. Not so in Hawaii.
Maui was a 2 day stop. It is a tender port. But it went smoothly coming and going.
The first day we just toured the shops near the port. Had a delicious dole pineapple float, I think it’s called, and then the famous shaved ice. Honestly I enjoyed the pineapple float more. It was delicious.
The second day we decided to look for a private taxi to do the island tour, which turned out to be as expensive as if we’d done a cruise sponsored excursion. Taxis all gave a going rate of at least $75/hr . Another cruiser said they were taken for 100/hr 😬.
Anyway. Did a tour of Maui tropical plantation and saw turtles at Hookipa beach park
As others have mentioned there are a lot of un-housed people along the streets. But there is still beauty to be seen in Seattle.
We did the space needle and the chihuly garden and glass exhibit next door to the space needle. The Chihuly garden was an exhibit of beautiful sculptured glass- stunning.
But was about a 20-25 min walk from the shuttle drop off
Stayed an additional 2 days. Didn’t do a sponsored excursion because they all seem to end with airport drop off.
Dropped luggage off at hotel and took an Uber to north shore area to Waimea bay beach then hiked to the Waimea valley waterfalls across the street.
Then Ubered to Haleiwa Joe’s restaurant which was highly recommended and delicious.
The 2nd day we did Pearl Harbor- which could easily take all day, then did the Nutridge experience luau
Wish we had one more day but we were glad for the time we spent
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