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5 day cruise to Eastern Caribbean with stops in Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau. Day one was "at sea," so we checked out the ship and took in a couple of presentations. It was actually quite entertaining. We learned where to shop for specific items, who to talk to at the shops, and how to get great deals.
The ship layout can be a bit confusing. The best practice may be to use elevators toward either end of the ship, then walk toward the center. There are some decks where you cannot get from bow to stern without going up/down a few decks; the navigation can be confusing.
The on-board shops were nice, with many items fairly reasonably priced. The photo gallery was fun for perusing photos; we found if you don't want your picture taken, just dodge the photographer and they won't bother you. I never felt 'harassed' in that regard. The Library left a lot to be desired; the interior looks just like the photo, except the book shelves are not nearly that full. I had counted on the Library for my reading needs, and I was sorely disappointed.
Dining - well, there's good news and bad news. We had anytime dining, and we never really had any trouble there. The dining rooms were excellent. We ate in the Galaxy Dining Room usually; it was less crowded, more quiet, and more relaxing than the buffet. The staff even performed on occasion. :) The buffet had a very disappointing layout. It was always crowded, and the lines often intermingled, causing great delays. The food was very good, service was great, everything was clean. But with the various "specialty" lines intermixing, it was very confusing. Once, I was in line for the grille without knowing it!
We didn't take in any shows on-board, so I can't speak to that; nor did we visit the casino. I found it odd that we never saw our cruise director (Gary), although we heard from him several times a day via loudspeaker.
I have to brag a little on our room stewards. Nelson and his cohort (never got his name, sorry!) made sure everything was in tip-top shape. I loved our towel critters, and they made sure we got to keep our "zoo" going for the duration of our cruise (I loved the monkey hanging from the ceiling). My only complaint was the room temp; it was always cold. There was no real thermostat, only airflow control. I was very glad for the down comforter (the down pillows were nice too)! They even made sure I had plenty of beach towels to take on the excursions.
Boarding was quick, and our bags were in our room within an hour. Debark time was VERY quick - it seemed we would be much later getting off given our slot (#11), but by 9:30 we were off ship. Another reviewer recommend to carefully time your flight, and I agree. Our flight out wasn't scheduled until 1:30, so we had LOTS of downtime at the airport.
Overall - great cruise, decent ship, would do it again. Just better management of expectations would be advisable.
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