We love cruising and have cruised 4 times in the past 3 years! This was my first time on the Mariner of the seas and I was excited for my small children to experience the Perfect Day at CocoCay. This cruise fell short of my expectations and truly left a lot to be desired. Boarding was easy and painless. It only took about 20 minutes from the parking lot to the ship. For this review, I will begin with the pools. There are 2 pools on the main deck surrounded by 4 large hot tubs. There is not a designated pool/water play area for children on this ship as opposed to some of their other ships. Children bombarded the hot tubs and made them nearly impossible to enjoy. Drunk adults were in the hot tubs with the children and it was cringeworthy. The boat has a solarium for adults with 2 hot tubs and 1 pool but children were consistently passing through this area running, yelling etc. to reach the main pool via the aft elevators. On prior cruises, the lifeguard would ask that they leave the area but the people on this boat could care less. Lunch in the windjammer was a madhouse on the first day. People were touching the food and putting it back. There was hair on my food and to be fair, it could have come from the patrons or the staff. I lost my appetite and did not eat there again. The sky pad was fun when it was open. It did close quite a few times even though the app said it was open during the cruise and I’m not sure why. The slides are okay for kids 48 inches or taller. Also, there is a small climbing apparatus for kids that should be replaced for a wade pool or some sort to keep them entertained and away from vacationing adults. The rooms were well taken care of by the staff and they entered 3 times a day to replace towels, make the beds, replace used water glasses etc. The dining room staff is amazing! They make us feel special and remembered little things about us. Ours called us by name and that is very nice. The shows they prepared for us were boring to me. It reminded me of a high school talent show. It was not entertaining. The cruise director really tried his hardest but neither he or the comedians were funny. The kids fell asleep and we left early. The most fun they had were in adventure ocean. Otherwise, the itinerary missed the mark. The ice skating show began but stopped abruptly. They took an intermission and then began again. The boat also had Bingo, a casino, NFL games on the big tv outside, and Laser tag while the ship docked in Nassau. I wish they had laser tag again during the forced sea day. This ship was scheduled to dock in Nassau, Bahamas and then dock again on Royal Caribbean’s private island, CocoCay. The “Perfect Day at CocoCay” was cancelled. The announcement that we heard said that the Ship failed to dock but the staff said that it does happen sometimes and the ship just doesn’t go there. Hundreds of passengers were upset and asking if they will receive compensation and were told that they would not. The sea day was boring, cold, and quiet. Royal Caribbean has to do a better job entertaining the guests in the event that the ship cannot dock. It took more than 2 hours to revamp the itinerary and the first activity wasn’t scheduled until after 1pm. We learned that the second port was cancelled before 8am. The guest services crew was rude, even when I asked them a question unrelated to the itinerary (I was changing credit cards for shopping). The lady took a deep breath and mumbles under her breath. Future cruising on this ship or any other Royal Caribbean ship is a no go for us. I had no idea that they sometimes do not go where they promise to and in the future, we will steer clear!! Read Less

We traveled in a group of 4 on the Carnival Liberty back-to-back cruise. Doing both the 3-day overnight Nassau itinerary and the 4 day Nassau and Princess Cay itinerary. The Carnival Liberty is not the newest ship in the fleet but is very well kept and has many of the Carnival signature bars. The Liberty makes a great getaway cruise and seems to be affordably prices compared to some of the other 3 and 4 day cruises. Embarktion/Debarktion: The Liberty sails of out Port Canaveral where in my experience has always been very organized compared to some other ports. We had a suite (more to come) but decided to board with our friends in a general zone. We arrived as soon as the port opened and did not wait more than 30 mins to get on the ship. Boarding started at 1100 and was a fast process. Debarktion was the same as every Carnival cruise. We chose to do the self-assist option where you are called by floor to disembark. We were on deck 7 and was not called until the lower decks were off the ship. We were required to be out of the cabin by 830 and our deck was called at 815 to disembark. When speaking to one of the workers they said the ship is usually at zero count (everyone is off) by 930. Again, a fast and well-organized process. Staff service: I have sailed on over 15 Carnival cruises and the staff on the Liberty by far has been the best I have ever had! We frequented the Alchemy bar and the bar staff was always excited to see us and knew what we wanted to drink before ordering it. If we were running late, they made sure to check in with us to ensure everything was ok. The dining room host and wait staff knew our party and when to expect us at dinner every night. One night we chose to do the Chef’s Table (more to come). The host went out of her way to check in on us during the experience knowing we was not going to be at dinner that night. When walking around the ship many of the staff would stop and talk with us and would go out of their way to make us comfortable. Public Areas: To be an older ship it is well maintained. The Liberty has many of the same public areas as the bigger Carnival ships. The Casino was always a busy area and one of the only smoking areas aside from the night club. On some of the ships smoke can be smelled on the entire casino deck. This is not the case with the Liberty. They do a great job isolating the smoke to the casino area. The lobby and casino had live music nightly including steel drum players. The Liberty has 2 pools but does not have an adult only pool. The pool at the aft of the ship seemed to be more laid back and less children throughout the cruise. The aft pool also has a retractable roof that covers the pool at night. When in the warmer climate it can get very warm when the roof is not open. Chefs Table: The Chefs table is a great experience if you are seeking to do something special. Be prepared it is limited space and should be booked prior to your sailing. It is also A LOT of food. The menu consists of almost 13 FULLSIZE courses. The chef meets us in the lobby bar. There was a group of 8. They take a complimentary chef table group photo that they give the guests at the end of the dinner. You then get a tour of the galley during busy dinner time and they talk about the amount of food they serve and how it is prepared. A pastry chef gives a demonstration on how to make the signature melting cake along with a recipe. Following the tour, you are taken into a private dining room and each course is served with wine pairing and description of the food. The chef did say the Chef Table is the same on every ship. The best advice would be to eat a small breakfast and skip lunch before the Chef Table. Read Less

My family and I wanted to take a end of the summer vacation together. We cruised August 16-19th. We honestly decided to cruise Norwegian because of the open bar, because we normally cruise Royal Caribbean but drink packages for 20 is a tad expensive. Norwegian open bar was really not worth it the staff was so rude and made the guest feel unwelcome like we were annoying them. The food on the ship was disappointing. A lot of the food was like hospital food with little flavor. The service from the staff was horrible. The majority of the staff including the bartenders and waiters was that they appeared to be annoyed by the guests and seem to have a careless attitude about providing good service. I have travelled on other cruise lines so I understand what quality customer service is and it was not there on this trip. When I would approach a staff member with a simple question no one ever seem to have an answer and the majority of the staff was not able to communicate basic english to answer questions like “where is the bathroom”? Or “what time are we scheduled to be at our next destination?” We upgraded one of our rooms to a balcony and it wasn’t worth it. The room was so tight that you literally had to jump over one bed to get in the room. I really wish I had a picture of that mess. Also, before cruising I was told I had to put a $300 hold per room. I did not have to do that my room key was disabled from making purchases which was fine I did not want to make any purchases. So if your wondering I set my payment to cash on checkin and never went to the service desk to change it. No $300 hold and cards disabled. For smokers they don’t sell Newport’s so don’t run out. Based on this experience this will most likely be our last cruise with Norwegian. Read Less

Royal Seas. Let me first say that there is nothing Royal about this. Don’t let the pictures of the brand new cruise ships fool you. The ship we got on was rusted and corroding away. They called us with an all inclusive package that in reality, was nothing inclusive about. We gave them a credit card number that we knew did not have enough to cover the initial $1,000 so that it would be declined and they could leave us alone. Well they had a way around that and charged it anyways so that we were way over our limit. After 6 months we decided that this was not something we were interested in. After trying to get a refund, we were refused and told basically that we either take it, give it to a friend, or forfeit the money. After some deliberation we decide to just go ahead and take it. We should have just forfeited the money. There was a bunch of taxes and hidden fees that were not included in our all inclusive package. We also paid $300 to upgrade our resort on the island so that our food and beverages were included. We set our date, book our flights ($400 extra), and arrive in FT. Lauderdale. After also upgrading the rental car (because we aren’t fitting comfortably into a Kia Rio $170 extra), we get to our hotel that Royal Seas booked us claiming to be a Ramada....yeah like 10 years ago. Let’s talk about false advertising here folks. The room itself was spacious, beds were not terribly uncomfortable, but the AC only cooled to about 78 degrees. Top that with only 4 tv stations, and the late night drug deals in the parking lot....we were not happy. Then we find out the next day our “orientation” was actually a Time Share tour. Living in a tourist town we know what a waste of time that was about to be...but they hold our Cruise tickets hostage until you endure 2 hours of “OMG it wont even cost you that much and you get this and this and this” better known as we cost more then a car payment and will bankrupt you into a contract you cant get out of. Come on Wyndham, you could have at least put us up in your “resort” to sell us a time share. After leaving 2 hours of our life that we will never get back, we call Royal Seas to complain about the accommodations, at first we get a rude little girl who very unprofessionally hangs up on us. As business owners, rule 1, never be the first to hang up. After calling back and speaking to management, they acted like they were gonna put us through to HR to put a formal complaint against that person, but we were hung up again, and only after saying they didnt have anything else available. Needless to say, we packed our bags, found the best little AirB&B 1 hour away and hightailed it out of there with our cruise tickets. Honestly, the AirB&B was the highlight of our trip. On day 3 we make our way to the port to board the ship. We get there at 11, stand in line for 1.5 hours, get charged $150 (taxes, fees, taxis, etc) and board the ship. Only to not have our rooms ready so we are forced to be around a bunch of strangers while hoarding our stuff because, well, they let anyone aboard. After barely eating a down right terrible lunch buffet, we sweat our butts off on the outside deck so the claustrophobia isn’t as bad before finally getting to go to our room...Where we promptly tried to hide in for 3 hours until the dang boat finally set sail. Let me say this right here if nothing else, they do not tell you what’s included, help you out at all, or care if you are getting everything you want out of the amenities included. We were afraid to leave the room for fear of having to be charged anything extra and at 18% gratuity alone, no thanks. Skipping ahead to the next morning (because there are just some stresses that needn’t be said) at 830 we all but ran off the ship to the hot island Bahamian air where we had to wait on a taxi to our resort. There’s our first indication that Islanders are not very friendly, especially when you’re a different skin color then them. We were ignored and left waiting for the next taxi because one female driver decided we weren’t her people. The next taxi held 12 people in it, 12 hot sweaty people, barely working AC, and a 20 year old van in desperate need of shocks. 20 grueling minutes later we arrive at the “all inclusive resort” where we were told to make sure we have a day bag packed because for 6 hot miserable hours, we would not be allowed to check into our room. At first we were excited. there was music, white (ish) beaches, and clear blue water. We found our own spot along the beach and took turns in the water (after all, trust no one, especially islanders haggling with you on the beach for Conch shells, marijuana, and Cocaine...yes, cocaine which we were offered 10 minutes after stepping foot on the beach.) 2 miserable hours later we get our buffet lunch (mediocre) and proceed to sit around for 4 more miserable hot sweaty hours before standing in line for 45 mins to get room keys. After walking to the absolute furthest room on the island we are met with a nice cool ACed room, but missing towels which an employee gave to us about 20minutes after getting in there. 7 hours in and we were already dead sick of being trapped in this resort. After looking into tours, excursions, and tourists traps (dont even ask about them unless you got money coming out of your ass because thats honestly the only way you’ll afford anything) the next day we purchased a rental car. $85 with taxes, we set off on day 2 with the resort in the rear view. While we found our own private beaches, coral rehabilitations, and deserted roads, the island is dirty, poor, and literally a living garbage can. Trash everywhere, run down buildings everywhere, abandoned hotels. It was downright sad at the state of what could have been a beautiful island. Day 3 we return the rental to an extremely rude owner who decided overnight that we were no longer worth mannerisms and check out of our hotel to get back on the dreaded cruise ship. I will say the return home was not nearly as bad now that we knew what was included but still, Royal Seas isn’t even comparable to one of those little rescue boats hanging off of a Carnival cruise ship. Before they con you into spending your hard earned money, think twice and read reviews. Splurge for Carnival, or stay away from floating death traps that hold a thousand people who would shove you overboard to save themselves and make your own way. AirB&Bs include house boats if you wanna be on the waters. Just saying. Read Less

I got off the Norwegian Sun today after a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas with my mom. Are you ready for this tale? After boarding on the first day, nothing was open and the rooms weren't ready. When we went to the room, we were given a single bed even though we booked a double beds. We feared my mother's luggage was lost, since it was several hours without it at the room. I spoke with another guest who said that his luggage was put on the wrong ship. We tried to call our room attendant "Brianna", but the number was a busy signal. We called Guest Services, but the number was also busy. The luggage finally arrived around 9 PM while we were eating what tasted like frozen food or bad airplane food in the main dining hall. We then met our real room attendant who explained that the number didn't work because "she went home today on vacation." Not sure why they couldn't replace the card with the correct attendant's name and number? Shortly after eating/drinking on the ship, we would get horrible cramps. We did not know the cause until after looking up the symptoms on the internet today (the cruise charged $35 per device each day for WiFi) that we had contracted THE NOROVIRUS! Why did we contract the Norovirus? "Washy Washy" was not everywhere on the ship and we watched the workers clean the tables without gloves and without disinfectant. The ship was dirty and we saw crumbs on the floor and on the tables everywhere. The tables were cleaned with wet rags and food everywhere was not bussed. So much so, that seagulls would have feasts on the deck outside on the questionable food no one seemed to enjoy. Comfortable sleep did not happen because we didn't have working AC the entire trip. We called maintenance the first night to fix the AC, but there still was no cold air circulating in our room. We would feel cold air while passing other guests' rooms and in other parts of the ship. The repair man explained that the coldest our room was allowed to get is 73 degrees and the ship utilizes "chilled recycled ocean water." However, 73 degrees would have been tolerable unlike the 80 degree room that we had. We were sweating laying on top of the covers every night tossing and turning. Everytime we reached out to Guest Services, a person who could not understand English very well would get confused and tell us everything was fine. To make matters worse, our toliet would not flush and the sink constantly made a loud gurgling sound. The toliet was fixed a total of 4 times and the AC was "fixed" about the same amount if not more. The bathroom smelled of rank sewage, so we had to constantly spray hair spray in there to not gag every time we had to enter. The shower was also repaired twice, since only scalding hot water came out. We spoke with 4 other guests that claimed their room FLOODED! The toliet and shower eventually worked on the last day of the trip, but the AC never worked. We are leaving the trip completely exausted (and sick). The entertainment on the ship was beyond cheesy and usually involved the ship begging for more money. The ship's shops were desperate money grabs, much like the $5.50 bottle of Aquafina placed in our room to "tempt" us. The food was subpar and every meal oredered was taking a chance. During one dinner, I ordered French Onion soup because I thought how can you mess that up? Much to my suprise, that was bad too. The soup tasted like only beef stock and had no flavors of onion, salt, or bouillon. The ship also kept trying to pass off certain foods as gourmet. For example, one appetizer on the menu was "cream cheese and crab stuffed wonton with a sweet chilli sauce". Isn't that called, "crab rangoon"? We noticed a lot of interesting menu items that we believed to be recycled leftovers from other meals like adding bacon to sauerkraut. We picked snorkeling/beach day for our excursion in Freeport, Bahamas which came be to around $150. When we arrived to get on the bus for the excursion, we were informed that the snorkeling was canceled due to weather. The ship did not inform us earlier of this and instead loaded up a tour bus full of guests whom we suspect were charged the full amount for a 15 minute shuttle to the beach. Instead, we went back to the ship and asked for a refund. We then caught a taxi which only came to $14 for both of us. The White Party/Glow Party was held from 10:30 PM-12:00 AM the night before a port of call was 7 AM. The party took place by the pool deck and it was raining. The workers were squeegeeing the deck and the DJ was trying to get the crowd to come out from hiding from the rain. After the rain stopped, the crowd came out to dance and consisted mainly of small children. The DJ played EDM music for a bit, then switched to explicit rap much to the horror of the parents in attendance. They had a twerk contest on the stage and parents were taking their children to leave. A woman with a see through dress and a thong on got in the splits and began dancing like a stripper on the stage for everyone to see, kids and adults alike. There were other people on stage dancing that kept it clean, but she had to be pulled off stage because she was showing her buttcrack/vagina. There looked to be children watching as young as 5-12 years old. The DJ was blasting Cardi B songs and asked the crowd of kids to sing along to the explicitly laced lyrics. I left after that, since I had no interest in twerking around little kids. Small things such as crew members not knowing guests' names, no towel animals, and no drinks being served by the beach chairs were also a disappointment. We cruised with NCL in 2015 and had a fantastic time, so we suspect there must have been a restructuring within management. The cruise reaked of budget cuts and corporate greed. We suspect that the workers were paid very little and we were told that they rarely get to go home to their families in their home countries. Sorry if this was too much to read, but I did not want to spare any of the details. I posted this on NCL's Facebook page, but it was taken down by the moderators (suprise). Read Less

The cruise ship was very smoky. The food was ok. The ship layout caused lots of traffic issues and had no where to relax quietly. And the service... While I don’t regret this cruise, I don’t think I’ll ever go on a Norwegian Cruise again. The service was awful including changes in our stateroom attendant, catching a bartender in a lie (cause he didn’t want to make the drink I asked for), interrupting several meals by management to question me why I didn’t like my service (not after the meal, while I had an entree on my fork), and then when I did complain i was handed a paper to write my greivances and then ignored. I didn’t feel heard at all. But... the hardest pill to swallow, I felt that several crew members went out of their way to ignore that fact that we are a gay couple. From pulling out chairs across from eachother (all the other couples around us were diagonal), asking questions when I asked to put the beds together, and ignoring our anniversary. The entertainment was as expected. Not fantastic but entertaining certainly. The howl at the moon dueling pianos was by far my favorite entertainment. Water slides and ropes course was fun but not open much. We only dined at the complementary restaurants which were good but rarely remarkable and the food was never served hot. Bread was stale the whole week. The private island far exceeded my expectations (though the food was terrible). Super clean and plenty of chairs for us early birds. The rendering process was incredibly frustrating especially as we had to sit in the theatre for over and hour and then several people were allowed to jump the line without the wait. Makes no sense. Nassau was disappointing. We went on the seahorse catamaran and snorkel which was fun. Very cheap snorkels that didn’t work but after we decided to just ditch the equipment we did enjoy our swim in the clear blue water. The town part was super shady. I was offered drugs twice in the first ten minutes on the island, had two separate instances of attempted cons, was totally ripped off by the lunch spot, and the shops were full of scammers and over aggressive salespeople. Read Less

My 60th BDay cruise and I had a blast. This was a last minute decision and I'm so so glad I did. The price was right, I live in New York so its convenient. The Entertainment was great. They also have Celebrities on the ship. I went to a show to see the fabulous Sharon Wilkins. Matter of fact it was Dinner and a show, A 5 course dinner and a show for a very small fee. I absolutely loved it had a great time watching her singing and mingle in the audience it was up close and personal. I visited all the Specialty restaurants on the ship and enjoyed each and every one. My cabin steward Charlie was great he catered to my every want and need . What I want people to know is fill out those comment cards let the higher ups know you appreciate when all goes right on your vacation. I Did. Read Less

This was a great vacation for my husband and I! Lots to do delicious food, fabulous entertainment, and a great room. We did do a lot of the upgraded dining, we started with chops and then wonderland the next day because we had the buy one get one deal. They were both fantastic. We also did Jamies and Chef's table I would recommend both. The lunches an dinners we had in the Main Dining room were also solid. Really enjoyed the cruise director and director of activities. The shows were just as good as the last time we saw them. We booked Anthem again for next February. They were also very good this cruise of keeping kids out of the solarium. Overall we had a great time and great service. Also very much appreciated that Royal Caribbean had an LGBT mixer every night. Great to meet everyone and enjoy a glass of wine. We even banded together to win Madonna trivia! Would very much recommend this ship. Read Less

This cruise was basically the third change we had to make to our vacation plans thanks to work schedule. We originally booked our cruise with Allure of the Seas, but watching too many videos of that ship I had the impression that the Oasis-class ships are nothing but mere floating malls in the ocean - no theme, no character. We wanted a cruise that was going to be memorable before I head to a long deployment. After much deliberation, we went back to the Dream as our last cruise with them three years was exactly just that - it was magical. This cruise went out exactly the same way as we had it three years ago. We got our transportation arranged from the airport, and the whole embarkation process was smooth like before. Once on the ship, we had our cabin on the tenth deck, middle, just below the pool deck. I found our location to be very convenient to wherever we needed to go. We had access to two nearby elevators, and the pool deck are just a deck up. We also noted that our balcony is directly below the pool deck, so like an awning, it was well protected from the elements which I found nice. The room itself had shown some age to it. I'm not sure when and if the ship have ever been refurbished, but with my OCD, I quickly found scuff and wear marks on the light switches and fixture parts that have been heavily touched through the years. Expecting a premium product for this price, it was hard for me to see past that glare of the wear. Our embarkation lunch at Cabanas were not too pleasant. It was way too crowded, open tables were hard to find, and I found some of the servers unwelcoming. Once we got our seats, we did find the food less desirable than the last time we were on the ship. We brought these issues to management and were given immediate answers to our concerns. Over the following days, we experienced the same magical moments that we had the first time we cruised with these ship. Public spaces were clean and looked just as ornate as before. For those that haven't cruised on this ship, Disney did not spare on the small details in creating their theme on the ship. Their shows were of Broadway caliber, especially beauty and the beast. Their character meet and greets were always a hit with the kids, if you don't mind waiting up to a half hour. And because this was a holiday themed cruise, they went over the top for showcasing Santa. As well, their pirate show fireworks on the top deck was an extravaganza. Hands down it was the coolest experience I've ever had at Sea. Our day at Castaway Cay was just Divine. I still can't forget how beautiful and perfect the island looked. It didn't feel over crowded and there were ample opportunities to just unwind and take it all in. Buffet services followed us there and it was great. No complaints. Food was something that this ship have to at least revamp. It was almost the same menu we had three years ago, so we were not as excited this time. Also, we were not served lobster on this cruise, not one time, which I found surprising. On the other hand, we were able to enjoy our previous favorites instead. I was about to write off Disney from our future cruise consideration after this trip, but what made us book another future cruise with them is the fact that our daughter had the best time of her life at their Kids club while the peace of mind it gave us allowed us parents to enjoy our own time at Sea. I don't think we even want to risk trying that out with other cruise lines and be disappointed. Another biggest factor that made us decide to book another future cruise with them is their customer service. They truly went above and beyond to ensure that, despite the issues we raised, we had a magical experience on this ship. Our guest manager was exemplary, and nothing short of commendable. When we disembarked, we felt highly satisfied that the cruise fulfilled our expectations. So much that we ended up cancelling our Royal Caribbean cruise for next year, and ended up prebooking our next Disney cruise with an even bigger family in tow. Disney cruises are not the cheapest out there, but the many repeat cruisers we had on board can't be wrong on going again for the Disney experience. With the amount of people already prebooking their cruise, we can't be wrong on making that decision either. It's simply the best cruise experience for families, and definitely something to strongly consider if you've never cruised with Disney cruises before. Read Less

Cheap and very good cruise, the buffet is very varied and in general cleanliness I give a 10. good attention to the customers. Comfortable beds and quite fun. recommended. I want to go back next year. My wife and I were an ocenview room. the theater show was phenomenal, tremendous dancers. Live music for all tastes willing to please you. I really want to go back next year. I took the excursion to Grand Lucaya. its a Beautiful place. Exceptional The saxophone show in the encore salon. the Game for couples stole laughter from everyone present. If you love to play, the casino is very well suited. Yellow Elder restaurant has excellent entrees included in the price and likewise additional dishes at a moderate price. the cleanliness is spectacular. the staff is concerned about constantly keeping everything clean and very organized. The area for jogging is excellent. I recommend this cruise 100%! ! ! Read Less

The cruise is great, should be perfect if we spend 2 days at Nassau instead one! The Great Stirrup Cay Island is gorgeous, we love it... BUT the swimming with the pigs tour was ridiculous! You pay $109 per person to feed the pigs, they are NOT at the beach at all! They made a gate and space for them but it’s very commercial, they are not free... You don’t swim with them at all, this is fake add! You see them, you feed them, pad them and that’s it! Very expensive for what they offer! Beside that we like it everything else! Just wish to spend more time in Bahamas... for me FL stop wasn’t worth at all... We are there for Bahamas, and Florida was just a waste of time! ;/ It’s a great Cruise, they just have to improve somethings... How about a partnership with Atlantis as well? Could be great.... Read Less

My fiancé and I chose this cruise and booked about 5 months prior to our sailing date as I simply could not pass on the price for this 4 night cruise on a ship of this caliber. I booked us a balcony 'hump' cabin on deck 7 for roughly $600 for the two of us. I know from being an avid RC cruiser that this ship was special and had just underwent a large refurb this year. I will highlight some of the pros and cons of our trip to simplify the review from a 24 year olds perspective. Pros * Large mix of crowd including families, middle aged couples, few elderly, lots of young couples, lots of honeymooners, bachelor parties and overall VERY friendly people aboard. (We made 6 friends on our ship that we still are in contact with.) * Ship was beautifully refurbished and felt as though half of the ship was brand new. * Complete refurb of the promenade area with brand new bars that were appointed well. * The ability to easily get a drink on board and almost never a wait depending on which bar you go to for your cocktail. * The "Bamboo Room" bar was phenomenal, never crowded, never a wait, and easily had the best drinks on the ship. * The check in process was remarkably fast for even a sold out ship. * Size and furniture on our balcony. * The stateroom size including the bathroom (balcony hump room) - side note I loved our location on deck 7 as we were only two decks from the promenade and four decks below the buffet area/pool we felt as though we were right in the middle and our stateroom was right by the stairway but had no noise from the elevators. * Nice and modern hand washing stations in the public areas where there was food. * The staff that we ran into including our waiters and cabin attendants were all very nice however you could almost sense that they had a lot going on with the tasks they may have to compensate for a lack of crew. * Late night nightclub in the viking crown lounge would stay live and upbeat until 2am or so with drinks, dancing, and music. This gave something to do for us in the younger crowd that liked to stay up late and utilize our drink packages. * Discounts that would appear on the cruise compass for special packages in the spa seemed to have a much better price than anything comparable to what you would order before your cruise (such as $175 spa packages) that seemed to be a great deal. Cons * Elevators often appeared to never come or would simply glide by your floor with nobody on them, we even saw crew members working on them regularly. * Although stateroom was a nice size it did appear dirty and we even had things like rubber hosing hanging from our balcony door. * It appeared to me that there was definitely a shortage of crew given the size of the ship the ship sometimes late at night felt as though you were on a ghost ship with nobody around. * The food quality was frightful even in the main dining room... My theory being they have decreased the quality of food as compared to how it used to be to push the specialty dining on board for an additional cost. This ship has numerous 'add on' specialty restaurants however I did hear from friends I made on board that the food in those restaurants was indeed divine. What was most frightful to me was that my crab cake appetizer in the dining room had the taste of freezer burn to it. * The seating in the Windjammer buffet was TERRIBLE despite this area being entirely renovated. Most times there was no seating as there would be giant waves of people in there. * Late night food options. The Windjammer opened for late night snacks and was the only area to get food after dinner aside from the pizza cafe on the promenade level. However the the only area they had that had random pieces of food on it is used as just a bread area during the day if that puts into perspective how small of an area there was for late night food. * Being just two of us we were sat at a six person table in the dining room with no other table mates and noticed other tables set up similarly we would of preferred either table mates or being sat at a two person table. * Activities on board the ship often ran into each other including the best things to do such as shows and dinner times. * The price for on board services such as any spa treatments and even dining options. Overall for the price we paid I was only slightly disappointed however the food simply is not up to RCCL standards which was the biggest disappointment for me. I will be sailing on the Enchantment for the 3rd time next month and will be very interested in seeing how the food quality is on that ship to see if the issue was just an isolated incident for the Mariner or if it is fleet wide. With the status matching on MSC cruise lines we tried a week long cruise and was by no means disappointed with that cruise line I would almost even give that trip 5 stars and I was even bumped up to Gold level privileges on their cruise line which would almost be equivalent to diamond I believe on RCCL. I am however a loyal royal sailer and hope that my love for the cruise line will continue to stay strong! Read Less

This cruise matched perfectly my kids fall break and it was the reason we chose it. We got the extended balcony Grand Suite and had priority embarkation and debarkation. We are not heavy drinkers so we did not get any drink package and actually brought some wine in the boat. All the restaurants were really good and we did not have to wait long in line at the buffet or to be seated. There had so many activities to do that overwhelms. The evening shows were amazing as well as the comedy club. My favorites were Cam the cruise director, Neil the guitar player and Mow Mow (butchering the name) who had great voices and were able to entertain all day long. My kids love the mini golf and the water slides. They also enjoyed the kids Camp Ocean so much they wanted to go there every day (not the case when we travel to all inclusive hotels in the Caribbean). Overall it was a great first cruise for some of us and a way better cruise for one of us who had cruise before. There were great deals at the shop, the spa, the art gallery, etc, but not that much time to enjoy it all. The crew were so kind and helpful, Wayan the steward would leave nice notes with the fun towels everyday. Anatoliy performed 2 magic tricks for my kids in the dining room. Magali was so sweet and kind to my kids and family. I mean, I could go on, but they really made us feel like family and appreciated. Looking forward to our next cruise. Read Less

We chose this cruise on the Norwegian Sky because it was scheduled during our vacation to Florida and thought it would be a great idea to try a new cruise line. We usually sail on Carnival and Royal Caribbean. We were very impressed from the start. Embarkation was very smooth. The staff and crew were very friendly and welcoming. We opted for a Guarantee Ocean view cabin and ended up on Deck 8 Cabin 8247. When we arrived at our cabin and opened the door it wreaked of a HORRIBLE curry smell. I immediately went up to Deck 5 Guest services and complained of the smell. Twenty minutes later a supervisor and a cabin steward arrived in our cabin witnessed the smell and asked us to leave while they re clean our cabin. After returning for approximately a half hour room was very clean and smelled great. No traces of curry and they also fixed the air conditioning as well. There are several dining options on the ship. We did not do the specialty dining but heard that the food was just OK. The buffets and dinner in the main dining room were very good. Service was great and plenty of food options. Entertainment on the ship was plentiful. Every bar had live musical entertainment. Pool areas were full but there were plenty of lounge chairs for everyone, The ports of call were Nassau and Stirrup Cay. We were already in Nassau a couple of months ago so we didn't get off the ship. Enjoyed the peace and quiet. Stirrup Cay was gorgeous. A buffet was offered and free drinks. Shops sold all of the same touristy stuff same prices. Overall it was a lot of fun and worth the price. Free top shelf alcohol was served and plentiful. Loved it so much that we booked another cruise with Norwegian in May 2019. Read Less

1st cruise ever, we chose a short one. We will be back...longer! Room with balcony of sits and table. Excellent service room care. Dining service of care, especially Gluten Free issues for us, was passionate and delicious. So many eating areas available; main dinning room, Windjamer buffet just two of the many we loved. Outside and inside pools, decks and decks outside sitting. So many shows in theatre and bars/lounges. Casino and fun games in bars/lounges. Honestly if you couldn't find it...just ask. Need assistance, just ask...doctor and three nurses. Transfer to islands so easy. Options for the islands are there. Walk, ride via carriage, bus, taxi, tours...pick what you want. Food, beaches, souvenirs. How about ride to the ocean and ride submarine to see the fish, turtles and corals. Ask Bahama people where THEY go to eat out. Anyone can eat McDonald's...you should eat Conch food or local fish, the local way. You will be thrilled. Not an activity person? Enjoy relaxation and food, you will be thrilled. Read Less

Not all impressions are lasting but Canival Elation Cruise Staff/crew members made sure that my first ever cruise will be memorable. Food was limitless, amazing. The staff went above and beyond to make the cruise welcoming, friendly, and enjoyable. T’was a blast. Time spent well. Allow me to mention staff/crew members who went above and beyond their services. 1) Bryan Venecero: house keeping, who kept our room spotless at our most convenient time 2) Luna Hugo Jr: Restaurant, the “good morning good morning” gentleman who in some way or another made the ambience of the dining area more homely 3) Febie Jane Quero: hotel stewardess who was all the time ready to assist us in the pool area esp with kids, very pleasant. 4) To the 3 gentlemen in the Imagination Dining Area, Richard, Gener, and Alvaro were always there to make our experience incomparable, i salute to these guys, 10 out of 10, excellent service. Keep it up guys. 4) and last but not the least, Jaymar Sandoval: housekeeping/restaurant, this guy is exceptional, providing service at its best. He greeted us with a welcoming smile and managed to have a chat with me. Jaymar is very professional, thumbs up to this new friend of mine, he will go far, he deserves excellent recognition of his hardwork/professionalism. To the Captain and the rest of the crew members, soar high... excuse some of the misspelled words. elmer_aranas@yahoo.com Read Less

We have cruised 4 times in the past 6 years. This was our first Royal Caribbean cruise. We chose this cruise because it was inexpensive -- we weren't looking for anything fancy, just a fun getaway. We were not disappointed in our choice! The Enchantment is definitely showing its age, with some rust visible around the ship. However, that was overshadowed by the top notch entertainment and activities on board. The staff, from the cleaning crew to the activities crew, bartenders, food services, everyone, was friendly, polite and made sure that our trip was easy, carefree and fun! As an adult couple without children, we were happy to have the Solarium as our pool destination. It was quiet and not too crowded. The Centrum was a great feature - we loved being able to enjoy the evening entertainment in such a large, open venue. We enjoyed the headliner shows in the Orpheum every night. The food in the Windjammer was delicious and the variety gave us plenty to choose from. The other passengers were all very friendly, too. What a great trip! We plan to cruise with Royal Caribbean again! Read Less

I just came back from Adventure Of The Seas ... It was my first cruise and it was amazing from the beginning to end ! ... Getting on the ship in Cape liberty was quick ... We got on the ship at 11 by 1 our bags were at the rooms already .. I had a balcony room it was a nice size for two people it had a little couch also and a makeup area. The balcony was my favorite I would deff recommend to get one ... The pool area was beautiful plenty of bars the drinks were excellent!! I don’t drink a lot so I only got the refreshment package but I will deff be getting the alcohol next time .. coco cay is so nice there’s everything on it ... chairs everywhere to sit or u can upgrade and spend money on a cabana .. We did the jet ski tour it was well worth !! The boat brings ur lunch on the beach which was cool and that’s Royal Caribbean’s island so all the drinks were free if u had the package there’s all little huts and hair braiding there’s even a bar in the water ... Florida we went went to the beach with the shuttle it brought us right there and right back bet relaxing... Nassau we did the Belmont island and that was gorgeous!!! It rained on an off but it was still insanely nice the only water you can see crystal clear there was two pools optional swim with dolphins ... the only thing is the food and drinks where a little expensive but we got a few drinks and went back to the boat to eat when we were done ...The main dining room was delicious the waiter Ramil and he’s helper Pablo was the best and the room cleaner edy was great to ...The food was great every day and we did the buffet at the windjammer which had everything... I went with a group of people I am 24 and the ages were 24 to 70 andWe all had a great time it’s a family boat , single people will have a good time and a lot for kids everyone there is something for .... the shows and game shows are awesome ... !I already booked my second one !!! I deff reccomend this ship Read Less

First, the embarkation on the ship went very quick. We had an embarkation appointment at 1:00 p.m, but we were with a group and your company called Jett Tours. We arrived early at around lunch time so 12:00 p.m. The embarkation was quick went straight in got through the metal detectors, went and added cash money in my Sail & Sign account. Then after about 15 minuets we were on the boat by 12:15 p.m. upon getting on the ship R41 me and my sisters room was ready by 1:30 p.m. Now, exactly at 4:00 p.m. we left Charleston, South Carolina for a fun sea day. The sea day was just going and basically eating, laying out, looking at Duty - Free Shops, and other miscellaneous things. It was the same for both sea days. I did an excursion on each of the islands we went to which we went to first Eleuthera, Princess Cays, Bahamas. On the first island me and my party went for a Adult Santuary Bungalow. The bungalow did come with food and everything and was really good. Even had soda. The bad part is with the rocks. Princess Cays is such a rocky place and I got cutband hurt many times and I was looking for rocks but they still scraped. The second island was New Providence, Nassau, Bahamas. It was so much better and we went to Atlantis. Other than being attacked by a seagull Atlantis was wonderful and the best and so fun. We had the water park and aquarium for Atlantis. To add they also did have mixers for LGBT guests to meet and mingle each day which was nice and felt very comfortable and inclusive of everyone. The debarktion process was good as well. Very quick and efficient. I was off the ship in like at 8:30 a.m. and by 9:00 was on the Charter Bus. They were no issues at all and all I needed was my License and my declaration sheet for the cigarettes for my mother. Then we were on our way. All in all it was a nice experience and I would definitely sail on the Ecstasy again. Even though it’s a older ship, a little dated, and a little more moving. It was still nice. It didn’t bother me and the staff is always nice. Gabriela at guest services even game me a free drink because I just looked like I needed one. They are nice and everything. I have no complaints really. Would 100% recommend it. Read Less

Chosen for port of Embarkation and cost. Unfortunately, with everyone telling me how great cruises are, etc. It set a level of expectation that I didn't feel was met. The soups were too salty, the Omelette station was too slow, worse since there were two people preparing them and then oiling the pan AND spraying it. The Cafe Promenade which catered to the out of hours dining rooms featured pizza, tea sandwiches and salads. But Ni's winning smile was worth the trip. The schedule should have been given for the entire length of the cruise instead of daily. It would help you plan your itinerary better when there was an overlap, which forced you to sometimes make the wrong decision if you didn't think you'd get a second opportunity, It seemed kind of silly that the photography gallery was inaccessible when the cash registers weren't open. It's obviously for upselling purposes but if I could have the opportunity to review my images on MY time I might have purchased more, I hate being rushed. The drink and wi-fi sales the last two days were last minute marketing gimmicks which was a waste of time. It might help those of us who don't drink enough to justify a drink package, especially if your partner doesn't drink. Read Less

I found a great deal online and want to try the cruise so I booked this one. I’m from Bangkok and live in the States for a year so this is the chance! The food, really awesome. Almost everything was super delicious! Love them so much, especially Seafood!!!!!! I got the excursion at Atlantis, it was amazing! All the slides and water rides. So much fun! Another excursion is stingray cay, love the sting rays! We learnt about sting rays and gotta touch them gently, feed them as well! The water was so clear, a bit cold but it’s okay. It’s not deep as well about 4-5 ft. Lifejacket for kids are provided plus snorkeling gear, would be better to bring your own too in my opinion. They did not fit me. Lastly, I love Champaign, Wine, Activities, Foods, and the Services/Activities here so much. I dont want to leave the ship!! Can’t wait to be back!! Read Less

We were encouraged to accompany a friend on the cruise--a milestone birthday celebration. And one member in our party also ran into a former work colleague. As such, we always enjoyed great company during our cruise, falling into a regular schedule to meet for meals, sunbathing, happy hours, and evening entertainment. Having previously cruised on other lines, we really enjoyed NCL's variety of meals (package-deal buffets, readily available thru the day, package-deal restaurants, etc.) and especially the flexible timing for dining (no assigned "early vs. late" shifts). We also opted for the drink package, again enjoying the variety offered (especially as the rougher Nor'easter seas nixed our island stop and delayed our Nassau day-in-port). As such, the variety of beverages and locations of bars made our days at sea quite relaxing. Speaking of the drink package, we found our mixologist, Vladimir, to be a most cordial and talented server thruout the cruise. Also adding entertainment to our review, guitarist/vocalist Ben was a nightly treat for us (especially his tributes to Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones). I regret I didn't get the names of our servers in that centrally-located bar, but they also were first-rate, especially in so promptly serving the many patrons who likewise were there for Ben's sets. And per the reports it spawned, the ship's Captain and crew are to be highly commended for their handling of the final evening's challenging recovery at sea. In short, we definitely recommend NCL and look forward to return cruises with the line, thanks. Read Less

My husband and I booked a quick 4 night cruise without the kids and had a wonderful time on the Carnival Liberty. Embarkation was smooth and the personnel at the terminal were friendly. We were on board within an hour of arriving. Our room was ready when we arrived. Our cabin steward was unobtrusive, but always around if we needed him. We were in cabin 2473. It is in the aft of the ship and was always quiet and peaceful. No one was ever in the hallway near our cabin. We have been on about 12 different Carnival ships and this was one of our favorites. It didn't look like a circus threw up! The colors were muted pastels and everything was actually coordinated nicely. The ship was in good repair and well maintained. Every employee we encountered was polite and seemed genuinely happy to be there. We have never been on a cruise with such a wonderful, happy atmosphere. The food seems to improve every time we cruise with Carnival. They are really stepping up their game. Overall, we were very pleased with our experience on the Liberty. The only complaints we had was the temperature in our room was warm the whole time. If it were summertime it would have been miserable. Also, there was a horrible smell of raw sewage in a couple of the hallways. I mean HORRIBLE smell. I hope it was due to a temporary problem and not a permanent one! Read Less

I'm sure that there are many cruise lines that are willing to offer more at a little higher rate. For a first timer this was an opportunity to get my "feet wet". The value was good for the services received. The breakaway was clean. The cabin was clean and all surrounding public area such a bathrooms, stairs, hallways etc. The vocal entertainment was spot on. The bar tendering staff on decks 15, 16 & 17 where the best. The dining staff that i dealt with where also pleasant. Shore excursions i personally give 2thumbs down or 2 stars. #1. I wasn't sure if it was choppy waters or a poison sea snake in the beach water to norwegian's private islands. (Funds where refunded) #2.coco beach not quit a day at the beach. Too windy and dirty. #3.bahamas the weather was warm but only 1 day at dock. Even though ship docked the night b4. Food was decent and pretty much the same in most compliment dining rooms and buffet, unless you go asian or specialty dining. These spots served quality food and service. I'm a person who can find enjoyment in the worst possible case. I did just that. What others found unpleasant i made pleasant. Even a few racist. I met amazing and interesting people. I would advise all first timers and vets cruiser to never gave up the credit cards to load your ship payment card. I received $150 on board spending and added cash as needed. Carry only 1 card and use it for emergencies only. And cash out your card the final night and get back or clear up your account in cash. Who want to wait for a surprise bill in the mail.? Read Less

The ship, crew and food were first rate. Million Dollar Quartet was one of the best shows I have seen in a long time. Definitely will see again. The comedians were awful. Attended the 18+ show and expected to be in tears laughing so hard from the wealth of material available. Barely broke a smile.. Very unfortunate, Shore excursions overpriced and not very good value. Harvest Key, Norwegian's own island was a waste of time. You can get a tan on the boat just as easy and use your drink package as well. Every stop you would see the same watches, cheap jewelry, bamboo sheets for sale. Annoying the third and fourth port of call as you have to walk right thru the stores every time you get on and off the ship. What upset me the most was the amount of money the casino was taking from the passengers. I do understand that the boat is a business that is supposed to make money. However there is a limit between making money and gouging your customers. Eg 1. Blackjack tournament with a $500 prize. The boat took over $1800 in entries. $1300 profit is really greedy. Eg 2. Texas Hold-em Tournament. Over $2800 in entries, 3 prizes totaling just over $2100 were given out. $700 profit for a 3 hour tourney. Eg 3. The hold-em poker table took a 10% rake of every hand. That amounted to $250-400/hour depending on the size of the hands. The boat was the only winner. As I said the boat is a business to make money, but greed and gouging of your passengers is not the way to do business. I hope they change their ways. Finally, paying for water. $6.75 for a 2 litre bottle. 1/2 gallon in the US. More greed. If you didn't buy their water package and you went to a drink station to fill up a water container you were made to feel guilty like you were stealing. Read Less