Having sailed 9 times on 4 other cruise lines, I had high expectations of my experience on what was billed as a premiere ship. It is a gorgeous vessel...the theater shows are outstanding and the entertainment team was top-notch. However there were many issues we encountered that dampened the experience.

We had booked our cruise with a Travel Agent and specified a Balcony Cabin. What our Agent neglected to tell us is that the "Bella" Experience we booked did not guarantee an unobstructed view from our balcony...and we got one of the worst views on the ship. Not only do the lifeboats obstruct the view of nearly every cabin on the 8th deck, but there was also very large steel beam above the lifeboat outside of our cabin (#8138) that made it impossible to see anything unless you're standing up and even then you can't see directly down to the ocean but just across to the horizon. I discussed my disappointment with Guest Services on board the ship and they advised that there was nothing they could do. They could have appeased me with an onboard credit but that was never offered. Another observation in the cabin was the vent below the refrigerator had a large accumulation of dust. This is not necessarily something that needs to be cleaned after every voyage, but it looked like it had never been addressed.

Despite our boarding documents specifying 2pm as Embarkation time, being seasoned cruisers we knew better and arrived at the Port Terminal around noon. The process inside the terminal was very fast and efficient, we were on the ship less than 15 minutes after arrival. That was partly due to the fact that they do not associate your credit card to your account inside the terminal like every other cruise line we've sailed with does. We had to go through a tedious process at a kiosk inside the ship to accomplish this. In addition to that, we had to go to the casino to pick up our prepaid drink vouchers. All of this should have been handled inside the terminal. Read more