We enjoyed it. We overlooked some of the shortcomings, and made the best of it. Ice skating show was the best entertainment.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
It was quite easy. Porter took our luggage right before we got inside the terminal. Line was long, but expected. The line was moving along. Cabins were ready by 1pm.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Main dining room foods were decent, depending on what you order. Desserts were good.
Breakfasts in Windjammer were very good with lots of choices. Lunch is a different story. Salad was good. Some meat dishes were a bit dry and tough. Some soups were so salty.
We loved Izumi so much, we went there twice. Giovanni’s Table foods were fine if they were light on salt. The homemade pasta was excellent.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
There were a lot going on on the ship. We enjoyed watching people participating in some of the activities, such as the flow rider, rock climbing and pickleball, etc. we also enjoyed the live music around the ship.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Besides the live music around the ship, we enjoyed the shows in the Royal Theater. The ice skating show was the best entertainment on the ship.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Service through out the ship was excellent. The staff were very friendly. We had great service in the dining room, Windjammer, specialty restaurants, and at the Promenade Cafe. Our room steward was very attentive. We had no complaints whatsoever with the service.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
It is a 22 year old ship, renovated a couple of year ago. However, the ship is well maintained and clean. There are no USB outlets at the vanity or bedsides in the cabin. No electrical outlets bedsides either. There are 2 US and one European electrical outlets at the vanity. This is one of the few ships you can go out to the helipad. Just walk on deck 4 all the way to the front, go up the stairs. That will bring you out to the helipad.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was very comfortable. The size of the balcony is decent. It is twice as deep as that on the NCL Breakaway class balcony, even for the mini-suite cabins. Our friendly cabin attendant, Bagus, did a great job keeping the cabin clean and comfy for us. We also appreciated the cute towel animals he made.
Ship tip
Main dining room was open for breakfast and sometimes for lunch as well, if you want to avoid the crowd at Windjammer. Check the Cruise Compass for the schedule.
We took the Peggy’s Cove excursion. It was raining the whole day. It was a 1 hour ride to Peggy’s Cove, and 1 hour back to the ship. The tour guide was also very good. We learned a lot about Halifax and Nova Scotia. We had an hour at Peggy’s Cove.
There were many tour buses there everyone just lined up to go to the public restroom there. Just go into the gift shop. There were no lines going to the restroom in there.
Our excursion we booked through RC to Bay of Fundy was canceled a week before the cruise by the operator. We just walked to Reversing Falls Rapids observation point. It was about 2 miles from where the ship docked. It was a easy walk, except there was a long uphill walk crossing the bridge.
Be aware there are no Uber or Lyft services in St. John.
We took the excursion to go to the Acadia Park and to the top of the Cadillac Mountain. The tour guide was excellent. We also stopped at the Thunder Hole.
This was the easiest disembarkation we ever experienced. Our assigned time was 9 am. We had breakfast first. They were ahead of schedule. Announcement came, We just walked right out with no lines. Our suitcases were waiting for us in the luggage collection area. It was such a smooth process.
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