Our group of 20 family members did a cruise and the majority of us this was our first cruise. Some in the group really enjoyed it and while my family of 5 had fun I don't think cruising is our thing. I would consider an Alaskan cruise on a small ship or maybe a river cruise on a barge in Europe but that is about it. It is just too crowded and communicating with the family we found very difficult since our phones did not work and I heard radios don't really work either. The activities were always very busy and while we enjoyed the wave rider we only rode once as the lines were always too long. The buffet food is just ok while the dinners were our favorite part as we could sit and talk to people in our group, we were not rushed. The service as very good and the food was excellent. Everything I had at dinner was wonderful and reasonably portioned so you did not over eat.

We did like our two stops (Belize and Cozumel) and the trips we booked on our own were very good. We felt very rushed in Belize due to the tender process while Cozumel was better since we docked at a pier. Multiple times on the cruise we were separated from members of our family and while we could have arranged meeting times and schedules that seems counter to a vacation. We would prefer to be more in control of what we do and when we do it but felt restricted with a cruise. The entertainment on board was good and we did a bunch of the events as well such as bingo (expensive) and the team trivia games. The ice show was really good as were the evening shows as we did all of them. The cruise director, Leigh from Australia, was fantastic and very funny/talented. He really was a positive for the cruise experience.

The ship is pretty large and there is a lot to do so make sure to participate in the events and the shows as this will make your experience better. The service at all locations on the ship was very good. Activities you could do included rock climbing, basketball, volleyball, soccer, dodge ball, wave rider, swimming pools, hot tub, play area for kids, ice skating, gambling, bingo, trivia games, game shows (very funny), evening shows, ice skating show, spa stuff (expensive), Internet access (expensive), mini golf, gym, walking/running areas, seminars, how to events (towel animals, napkin folding, healthy living, etc), virtual golf (expensive) and lots of other things. Read more