I really looked forward to sailing on this newer mega liner. Had sailed previously on the Gem and it was an outstanding experience. The ship, although beautiful and well appointed just seemed awkward in it's overall layout/design. With the exception of LeBistro, all the specialty restaurants were "open" to the common areas. If you are paying a "cover charge" to enjoy the specialty dining experience, you would expect a bit of privacy and no intrusion of the constant noise in the common areas. For this reason, we only opted for 1 specialty venue on this cruise. Same with the bars/lounges. They were all open to the constant flow of everyone on the ship. If you enjoy a private, quiet piano bar experience to escape the noise and "people traffic" this is not your ship. Those venues do not exist. The dining was awesome....food was incredible in the main dining rooms. We dined in Savor and The Manhattan Room. Both were top notch. Really enjoyed the Manhattan Room. The entertainment on board is nothing short of amazing! Rock of Ages and Burn The Floor.....not to be missed!!! Really wanted to dine in the Spiegel Tent but the week was gone too soon!

We enjoyed the casino and even made some money. Unfortunately the casino is right by the main "foyer" which is open from deck 6 to deck 8. The constant smell and intrusion of non stop smoke was always evident and foul in the other venues centered around this area. I'm a smoker and I even found it a bit offensive. Other people in our party didn't seem to mind though.

We had the ultimate beverage package and certainly put it to good use. My biggest complaint (and many other people commented about this all week as well) was the lack of "service" at almost every bar. Bartenders would just walk right by you and not even acknowledge you were waiting for a drink. This was by far the worst "bar/lounge" service I have ever experienced. Read more