We got to the Port of Bayonne, after waiting for 45 minutes at the Parking Terminal for a bus to take us to the Embarkation terminal. It was Delta parking, so it had NOTHING to do withthe cruise. We waited on an extraordinary long line to check into the ship. We had previously been on the Quantum leaving from this terminal and we had the same issue. Check in took too long, as we are Emerald members, we expected to be checked in at a quicker pace. Once aboard, the cabin was ready and we were pleased with the cabin. When booking a cruise you get what you pay for. We had a balcony cabin, and there were no complaints. The ship though needs a refreshing, there were scuff marks int he cabin and there were chips in the paint, however, none of that had an effect on the quality of services in the room.
The entertainment was FANTASTIC. The shows were great and the comedians were great. The food in the buffet was very MEDIOCRE. The choices were few, and the quality of the food should have been better. A cruise coming out of New York should have Lox on the breakfast buffet, and this ship did not have the Lox out, you needed to ask for it. The omelette station lines were shorter than on most cruise ships. There were several occasions where the buffet ran out of morning coffee. We ate most breakfasts at the buffet because the hours of service at the dinging room were short. In the afternoon at lunchtime, pasta was served on deck by the pool, to us that seems like a cost saving effort. It was difficult to get deck chairs, if you did not have your towel out by 6:30 am. The service and the dining room food was good, not great but very good.
Overall, the staff on board were on that friendly. When you spoke to individual staff members, they were friendly 1 on 1 but as an overall crew they were not that friendly. We went on a holiday week (July 4) and were happy to pay the premium price for that week, but we did not receive premium service.
We took the ferry into Hamilton, we love the ferry ride!
We took the water ferry to he main beach and rented chairs. there was a breeze and we had a great day.
Great beach day!