Some good locations by
Phil R from Hartford, CT
Sailing date: Sep 2008 Pros:
Rome, Venice, Food, Waiters, Room Attendants
Cons:
Naples, Palermo, Bathroom in the stateroom, Guest Services
The ship itself was nice. They needed to carry a few more television networks, as ESPN2 does not carry any good football games and replays of the same CBS shows got really taxing. We wanted to relax, so, yes, we spent some time in our stateroom, but that should be as viable an option to us as their activities.
Ship Quality The bathrooms had hot water and scalding water. The shower was uncomfortably small and had a shower curtain so, every time the ship moved, the curtain clung to you. The interactive ordering on the TV never let us order breakfast and when we ordered an excursion,. booked two of them. The ship needs some upgrades.
Dining/Food The food was excellent and the dining staff was extremely friendly and professional. The buffet left some room for quality improvements, but overall was sufficient.
Stateroom Quality Again, the bathroom and no cool water.
Ship Staff Quality Waiters, Room attendant were great. Guest services was marginal at best. Answers to the same question ranged from: "We can look into that" to "You have to call someone else" to "Oh, we're new and don't know how to do that"
Entertainment & Activities Nothing particularly interesting to us on this cruise. Days at see we spent at the pool.
Collapse List of Ports
Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy
Naples, Italy
Split, Croatia
Venice, Italy
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A Great Experience by
Miller K from Boston MA
Sailing date: Mar 2008 Pros:
Panama Canal
Cons:
Cartagena
Boat is a little tired and will soon be rehabbed, but was a great cruise.
Ship Quality
Dining/Food Great beef, the seafood was not what we are used to being from New England
Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
Collapse List of Ports
Oranjestad, Aruba
Cristobal, Panama Don't Miss: The coast to coast train excursion.
Cartagena, Colombia
Labadee (Cruiseline Private Island)
Curacao
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Great Experience by
Christina V. from Miami, FL
Sailing date: Jan 2008 Pros:
My Balcony and Suite, buffets, shows, Bingo, freindly staff
Cons:
Not very kid friendly although all the staff seemed to like kids very much
The ship was beautiful, plenty of activities, very nice staff, good buffets, many different places to dine. They had children's programs on board for kids 3+, but we did not utilize this program (you had to drop them off there for the day, like a daycare). Our kids (2 and 4) enjoyed doing all of the things we did. They had a mini golf course, a kiddie pool (which kids have to be potty trained to use, no swim pampers) and a basketball court. I did not feel comfortable taking my kids to the main pool, it seemed too adult oriented. They have three pools, the kiddie, the main and the adults only pool (very nice). They have two specialty restaurants on board, but kids under 13 are not allowed. There were not many kids at all on our cruise, most of the people on board were retired couples. I was always worried about my kids making too much noise or running around since everything was adult oriented. Aside from that aspect of kid unfriendliness, all of the staff and other cruisers seemed to like my kids which made me feel a lot better. We did attend the shows every night with the kids and listen to the nightly live entertainment in the main lobby, we all enjoyed that. All in all, we all had a wonderful time and I would do this cruise again, with the kids :)
Ship Quality The ship was beautiful, very big, clean.
Dining/Food We did not dine in the main dining room since we prefered to eat at our leisure at the Windjammer buffet. We had a 2 and a 4 year old with us so the more casual dining of the Windjammer was best for us. The food at the Windjammer was good, some things were mediocre and others were very good. You could not beat the selection of food there and the staff was always very friendly and eager to help. We got to know a lot of the staff in the Windjammer, they were a very nice group of people. They have two specialty restaurants on board, but kids under 13 are not allowed, so we did not get to try those. As for attire, we brought a lot of dressy clothes for dinner, but did not use any of them since we ate at the Windjammer every night. If you plan to eat at the buffets, it is always casual, but the main dining and specialty are dressy.
Stateroom Quality We stayed in a grand suite and it was wonderful, I highly recommend it, especially for a family. It was nicely kept, very spacious and had a large bathroom. I especially enjoyed having a balcony.
Ship Staff Quality The staff was always very friendly and eager to help, a very nice bunch.
Entertainment & Activities I enjoyed the Bingo and the shows after dinner. I also liked the dance lessons.
Collapse List of Ports
Oranjestad, Aruba I liked Aruba, especially the coast. Do not miss the Lighthouse (the view is spectacular), the natural bridge or the 7 mile stretch of beach!!
Don't Miss: Lighthouse, Natural Bridge, Beach where all the hotels are
George Town, Grand Cayman We went to the beach here, it was nice. After we ate at Margaritaville, nice too. I wanted to visit the turtle farm (10 miles north from port) but the kids needed naps after the beach.
Puerto Limon, Costa Rica We did the Pontoon Boat Ride, I do not recommend it, not too exciting. I heard that the Sloth farm was good though.
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