We chose this cruise to join my daughter and her husband for a family outing. After the cruise was booked she learned she was pregnant and could not go to the Caribbean (potential Zika exposure). So.... my husband I and went anyway. Overall - pleasant cruise. Our steward was amazingly helpful - always there to offer assistance, clean towels, whatever we needed. Our stateroom exceeded expectations. It was clean, roomy, and the balcony was wonderful. The food at every restaurant was exceptional. The entertainment was really good - the "After Midnight" show was incredible.

There were some negatives which won't keep me from returning, but will encourage me to look at other cruise lines before we do. The biggest drawback - the location of the casino, which was a smoking area. The casino was near an atrium area on deck 7, which opened up to decks 6 and 8 as well. Anything within 200 feet of the area, on all three decks, was nearly impossible to walk through. The smoke smell permeated the decks, especially during evening hours, but even while at port and no one was there. The smell kept me from participating in the casino games, from eating at a couple of the restaurants, out of the art gallery, and from shopping at a few of the stores. I even heard another couple say the same thing when offered a seat at the French restaurant, on the inside "patio" area.

Another big negative was the "adult" only pool. There were up to five kids at a time in the pool and pool area, and no one every said anything to them. I mentioned this to some of the staff mid-way through the cruise, and this got better, but at no time was I ever at the adult pool (and I went daily) and didn't see children with their parents in the pool. As a career teacher I want a place to go where I don't feel like I'm at work or on duty. I expect children in other areas, but not in the adult pool. I didn't see any staff at any time ask parents to take their children to the children's area. Read more