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You will love this ship for everything it's not.
We had a PH3 unit (deck 10 port side) and it was days before the admiral stopped purring about the makeup table, walk-in closet, endless storage, crisp linens, and even the shorter height chaise for under-tall people LOL. This suite was a big factor in our onboard booking of a 2013 cruise on this same ship.
The ship has an elegant modern 'Park Avenue' decor ...tasteful and understated (except for the outrageous 'Martini Bar'.).
You will love this ship for everything it's not. There is no 'photo hall' , no lurking photographers; no charge soft drinks and coffee; no bargain sales events, no art auctions, finally no hogging chairs on the pool deck as 'placeholders' get removed!..there is no tipping so serving staff are not running popularity contests..and finally there are no crowds or lineups. Almost.
AVOID the main dining room the first night by eating at a specialty restaurant or the buffet. We had no trouble with 'anytime' dining with the longest wait being 3-4 minutes.
The food quality and service is exceptional even at the Waves Grill on deck 12.
The excellent musical shows had a small but talented cast. The other entertainment offerings were just OK. Marina has the only cooking school in the cruise industry where you can participate (vs watching). It gets better...One of our favorite Toronto chefs -Massimo (Mitsura restaurant) will be a guest chef on this same cruise in early Feb. Wow!
Things you need to watch for:
- there is an 18% service charge embedded in everything including the spa but it is kept like a quiet secret... so be sure to ask to avoid double tipping. I'm ok with the policy... just that it should be stated up front and on the chits.
- every boat has a bit of smoke/ soot but I would not take a cabin aft of the exhaust stacks until they wake up and fix this easy to repair problem.
-if you are tendering in you may be entertained by a less than expert tender skipper. The guy running tender #7 on our trip has line handlers shaking their heads and passengers chuckling about the water ballet as he's trying to park Lol
- Piano bar service is spotty at times so head to the bar to place you order.
You will like this ship!
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