I chose this line because of the great photos, seemingly thoughtful shore excursion itinerary, supposed comprehensive packages with enticing pricing, and plenty of perk inclusions. I was so very wrong. This was my first cruise and my fiance's birthday gift. I was completely underwhelmed in regards to my own experience and more importantly, extremely embarrassed this ended up being a gift full of disappointments for my fiance. After a long drive to reach the port we were greeted by cold showers before dinner. The dining facility- Stellar Prime which was to be our planned dinner was closed both days. We only found out of the second night the Admiral Club was to be the alternative option. We were not looking forward to a buffet or poolside grill items for our first meal. I know weather cannot be controlled by the cruise line but trust me the heavy rocking and rolling was insane. We watched several people throw up in the dining area. Even those who said they had been on many cruises on other liners said this was by far the worst rocking they had experienced. You honestly had to hold on to the walls and railings struggle to stand upright. This went on the entire night. Upon waking on day 2, cold showers again, and we found a notice outside of our door stating my card was declined for on board purchases. We quickly scarfed down a breakfast bite and made our way to customer service to attend to the matter before the departure of our shore excursion. There was a long line of others in front of us who also has card issues. Once we finally made it to the desk the representative stated to me in a very rude manner and without taking 30 seconds to really look into it, there must be a problem with my funds and I find another card to use. Of course I knew this was not the issue, and asked to use the phone to phone my financial institution. I was advised by my bank that the issue was the cruise line was submitting all of the charges with an incorrect expiration date. I hung up presented my card again to the representative. She typed something on her screen, advised me it was all taken care of now and I was free to go. We went upstairs and waited over 15 min for a young man at the Grand Cafe who said he was in training and working alone to figure out how to make a simple espresso. Once I gave my room card again he said it was declined. I said I just left your front desk and everything should be fine. I offered cash or another card just to get it done until we got back from the excursion. The answer was no. So now I am at the counter with what is a long line and audience behind me, totally embarrassed and now have to go back down 4 flights to the front desk again and we are running very close to departure. I go back down, speak to the same woman who tells me that she absolutely did not make a mistake and I need to contact my bank to figure it out. I used the desk phone again and was advised they were still using the wrong expiration date and in that 15 minutes we were upstairs, they had run my card 14 times!!!!!! so they blocked it for my safety. I asked them to stay on the line, handed my card to her again and said my bank is on the phone they can see the transactions you submit in real time and asked her to please check her work, update the info and rerun the card again... She finally did and the first attempt, IT WAS STILL THE WRONG expiration date she had in the system. I told her the bank is seeing this in real time and telling me it's still the wrong expiration date they are submitting. She finally actually looked at the card in her hand, changed the date, and it went through just fine. When it was all said and done we ran back up 4 flights with just 2 MIN before our group departed. We went on the Grand Bahama get away which ended at the beach It was a sad sight. Everyone is forced to sit on hard plastic straight back chairs. No umbrellas because of the wind and no lounge chair to actually relax or tan because they hadn't been replaced after the last hurricane. We can see the next activity center a little further down the beach, Guess what they had... lounge chairs.. We make it back and opt for a massage to relax. I was excited because I purchased the roaring twenties package and should get 20% off the massage only to be advised no, we cannot use any of those discounts because the packages are low prices already! To top it off, as I said it was my fiances birthday and was advised and it was on my ticket, we would get a birthday cake for him. It never materialized. In a nutshell, This was an AWFUL experience!!! I would definitely not recommend this cruise line to a friend or family member or foe! Read Less

My family and I are ship explorers and this would be our 4th cruise with Celebrity. This time it was only my husband and I and it was a relaxing trip. Celebrity is really not for kids especially the Equinox. If you're looking to have fun and party this is not the ship for you. Besides the silent disco there was absolutely nothing fun to do. Yes this was a short cruise but it should have had more entertainment. Only 1 comedy show at 11. Two repeat shows on the same day. The Buffett was the smallest that I've seen on any ship so far and we've been on many ships. The buffet flow was weird and not too many options. Both sides had the same stuff. This buffet sucked. 90% of the passengers were 70 plus with the majority of them staring at the young crowd as if you didn't belong. The lawn club offers a movie with nowhere to sit because you weren't even allowed on the grass and it had no seating options like really why would you show a movie if you have nowhere to sit. The second day it was very choppy the entire night, glad we had medication. The gym was great not too crowded. The Elysium show was great. The arcade...well it is what it is like I said this cruise line does not catet to kids. The casino is smoke free so that was a huge plus. Room steward was friendly and super fast. The staff was very friendly. The ship is beautiful and clean I just wish this ship catered to all ages. Not everyone wants to see rock and roll shows, the schedule needs to have a variety of music and shows. Defenitely not sailing on this ship again but will try other Celebrity ships. Read Less

5 Day cruise for my husband's 50th birthday. Thought we would try NCL because of the cost and dates we wanted to cruise. Itinerary wasn't a concern because we had to been to all the stops except NCL's private island. We have sailed on Carnival, RC, Princesses and Celebrity so we have experienced several different lines. Arrived at the port a hour later than boarding time and had no issues boarding the ship. It was an older ship that had been refurbished, but still showing some age. Carpet and those type items looked nice but doors, closets and the original items need some TLC. We had an ocean view and it was small compared to other ships we had been on. Not too much room for clothing, we talked to one couple that said they were just going to work out of their suitcases. We were in room 4211 and something made noise all night when the ship was rocking and when we docked we had terrible noises. If you are a light sleeper avoid that room. Seemed to have some plumbing. One day the smell was terrible and a couple days had a fan drying the carpet, but it never gave us any problems in the cabin. Food was just ok, Never had anything that I thought was so good I wanted another. Public areas seemed crowded with furniture. Like they tried to seat more people that the area was designed for initially. The main purpose for our cruise was just spending time together so all the other things were not a deal breaker. As the saying goes "I've never been on a bad cruise, just some are better than others". Debarking was a breeze. But avoid the Hop on Hop Off tour in Miami. It was very unorganized. Read Less

Reasons why I loved this cruise: - amazing entertainment! - exceptional service! You cannot beat the Disney service- they always go out of their way to make your cruise magical. - beautiful ship - Castaway Cay is a stunning island...gorgeous adults only beach with a great BBQ lunch. - adults only areas on the ship are lovely and there was plenty of adult only entertainment! - Beauty and the Beast was a high quality production! It was better than many professional productions I have seen. - Trivia was offered ever day- super fun! -Bingo was very entertaining! - We loved seeing first run movies on the ship! Star Wars was great! - plenty of chairs in the adults only section of the ship - our dinner service staff was phenomenal- Richard and Miguel were the best servers we have had on a cruise! - Good food! And the theming is each restaurant is adorable! Read Less

Almost everything about this cruise was better than expected. We arrived 15 minutes prior to our 11:30 appointment to board and were ushered straight though the line and were onboard within 10minutes! We went straight to Guy's Burgers and started gaining weight! We were told we couldn't get to our rooms until 1:30 but then at about 1:05 a staff member came up to us by the aft pool and told us the rooms were ready and we proceeded to find our sail and sign cards in the slot next to our door and we were in. Our checked luggage arrived outside the room about 3:30. Muster drill was very orderly and lasted only about 20 minutes and we were off. The entertainment was good but could have been better. The welcome aboard show was nothing special. Flick had great special effects but not all the performers were the best. America Rocks was the best of the 3 shows with additional cast as band members. The comedians in the comedy club were the best and we made it to almost every show. My only suggestion here is to do it in the Venetian theater to seat more of the audience. The Victoria lounge is too small for the comedians which are the best show on board. The buffet was always great with lots of choices and great deserts. Guys was awesome, the deli was good and so was the late night pizza. We did not try the Blue Iguana nor the Seafood Shack. Nassau was beautiful and we originally booked the Sea Turtle and Snorkel excursion but it was cancelled due to high winds and waves. We then went to Atlantis instead and did the walking tour. We had a great tour guide and after the informative tour we went off on our own to explore more of the aquariums and even took a free hotel shuttle over to the Dolphin Cay to view the dolphins interacting with hotel guests. My wife went to spa at the end of our day in port as there was a "special" valued at over $300 for only $169, she loved it. On our day at sea we watched the Hasbro gameshow and played bingo. Both were entertaining but we didn't win anything. Meals in the main dining room were very good, I just miss the steak and lobster on elegant night. Komang in the Gold dining room was awesome and always remembered our names and preferences as well as joked with us when appropriate. We had anytime dining but usually showed up right at 6 and were seated in the same place each night by ourselves. The ship did not seem full and the dining room was always somewhat empty. Chocolate Melting cake is always to die for. Strawberry bisque soup is awesome as well. The last morning of the cruise we slept in until the call to exit the cabins, 8:30 and then proceeded with our small bags up to the buffet for breakfast. We stayed there until called for our "zone" for checked luggage around 9:45am and then went down to deck 3 and walked right off. We only had to wait in line about 20 minutes to walk thru customs and out to the shuttle to get to the Alamo office to pick up our car back to the airport. We had a flight the next morning so we weren't in a hurry to get off the ship and never encountered any of the lines mentioned in other reviews. We explored the space coast with our rental car and headed to the airport early the next morning. The ship overall shows its age and had some rust stains on the hull as well as around the pools but other than that still looks great for its age. We never encountered anything broken and never dealt with the sewage smell mentioned in other reviews. For a heavily discounted cruise, we loved it. We paid only $179/pp plus taxes and fees for a 3 night 3.5 day cruise and could not have been happier with what we experienced. Read Less

Me and my fiancé Stay west palm beach 3 days before our cruise. Had good time very nice city. Embarkation was very smooth no problem there. Disembarkation. Line was so okay. Didn’t like long line in customs in port west palm beach. Ship was okay nothing wrong exciting. Cabin was nice big ocean view window. But we had to wait for someone to open door because we didn’t have keys. Lunch was good. Dinner was good first night. Last night dinner was bad. No food after dinner 11:00 pm. Me and my fiancé was starving until breakfast both nights. Breakfast was good. There was no entertainment you had to pay for everything. Comedy so was boring you had pay $9 person. When it free on other cruise ships. We did the tour of Bahamas and beach the weather was bad couldn’t get the water. No kids. Will never take cruise again it was horrible. They are scam you out your money. Read Less

My husband and I sailed on Norwegian Pearl this past week and had an amazing time. I haven't been on a cruise in 10 years and this was my husband's first cruise. We stayed in an inside cabin and it was exactly what you would expect from such. Our stateroom attendant was nice and our room was kept spotless during out stay. We did find the bed very uncomfortable and the giant gap in the middle bothered us a bit. We didn't realize until the last night that the zipper was broken that was supposed to hold this bed contraption together. The food on the ship was great! I'm a picky eater but everything I did put on my plate was good. My husband really liked the food as well. We didn't go to any of the specialty restaurants but we did go to formal dining at Summer Palace one night. Our server, Janice, that told us she's been with Norwegian for 10 years, was absolutely fantastic! She made the experience even better. We both got the steak and it was the best steak I've ever had. The entertainment was excellent. We thought the dancers and singers in the shows were great and went to all of the comedy shows. The comedian, Alex Ortis, was very funny and we enjoyed the adult show. The ship was kept impressively clean and the crew was very nice. We did not enjoy the spinnaker lounge. It was always crowded and hard to find seating during events and the evening. We liked Bliss much better. We had very rough seas and 50 mph winds but the ship handled it well. We were supposed to go to Key West, Great Stirrup Cay, and Freeport. However, we were notified around 6pm that we would be unable to tender into Great Stirrup Cay the next day due to high winds, and were being rerouted to Nassau. We found this really cool since they could have just given us a day at sea. We had fun everywhere we went but would probably avoid an itinerary with Freeport and Nassau in the future. However, we would love to return to Key West in the future. Overall I would definitely recommend Pearl. I would give it 4 stars. Read Less

This was my girlfriend's first cruise ever, and my third. I was a little concerned about the ship being scheduled to go into drydock in just a few months, but the ship did not seem to be in disrepair or having maintenance problems. On the first day in the promenade hallway near the casino, we noticed some water dripping from the ceiling. We let security know and apparently it was fixed quickly as we went through that area several times and never saw the problem again. Other than that, no maintenance issues. Service: There was one employee (an assistant manager) in Pixels photos who didn't seem to know the difference between a 4x6 and a 5x7. And kinda insulted my intelligence. Other than that the staff gets high praise all around. Our room steward was Marhar and he did wonderful. Every time we asked for something he had it back to us within a minute. The dining room staff was great and bar staff ranged from ok to great as well. No complaints there. Another thing about Pixels photos: Beware of any "free prints with a purchase of X" deals. The prints they give you are random pics of the ship, not your funpix photos. I found that very misleading. Not using this as a negative mark against the Victory because I'm sure Carnival does this on all of their ships. But just a word of caution. Food: This is highly subjective but after a dozen or so meals in the dining room on carnival cruises, I have yet to have a meal that I would classify as bad. This cruise was no exception. My girlfriend and I both enjoyed the dining room food. Some of the buffet food is so-so, as to be expected on any Carnival cruise. Just have to know what to look for and what to skip. I finally tried the breakfast omelettes for the first time and now I know what everyone is raving about. They are awesome. Guy's burgers were as good as ever. Pizza is still okay. Entertainment: The highlight was definitely the live band in the casino bar: Music Boardwalk. They played a wide variety of country, rock, and pop hits. Had people dancing every night. Went to three of the R rated comedy shows and both comedians were great. Karaoke was entertaining as always. Pools: I love the pools and hob tubs being open until midnight. Other Carnival cruises I did they were open until 10PM. Unfortunately Serenity was closed the last two days because of high winds but we still made the most of the back pool and hot tubs on lido. Love the salt water pool back there, and the Siren's bar is open early-late and never seemed too crowded. I also like the fact that on lido deck there are pool lounger's staggered on the different outdoor decks. Makes things less crowded. We never seemed to have a problem getting a lounger even if we have go up one deck from the pool which doesn't take much effort to do so. One note about bars: The Blue Iguana Tequila bar closed every night at 6PM. Not sure if this is normal but I wish I would have gotten a little more time there. Half Moon Cay: Awesome beach port that I want to revisit. The Island Barbecue was ok. Best food on the BBQ was the jerk chicken. also spent time at "I wish I could stay here forever" bar and stopped in at the captain morgan pirate ship bar as well. Soft white powder sand, and turquoise blue water. Everything a Caribbean beach should be. Nassau: Did the straw market and pirates museum. Followed by a visit to Graycliff's Chocolatier and then Senor Frogs for lunch and drinks. I enjoyed myself enough but I think Nassau will be a one and done port for me. If I ever go back it may be flying there just to do Atlantis. The Pirate's museum is worth doing if you haven't before. Part museum part themed attraction. Takes only an hour to get through. Overall: My girlfriend loves cruising now and can't wait to go back. We both had a great time and look forward to seeing how the ship changes once she becomes the Radiance. Read Less

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

Check in was terrible ,personal not prepared, poor team work ,no body help our clerk in training ,clerk with bad actitud and rude. Ship good and clean. Poor recreation and entertainment, casino start late and closed early, clubs for dancing started late and closed at 11pm also need to paid for entertainment at the theatre. Terrible food , poor variety, uncooked food(fish), breakfast with cool potatoes ,old scrambled eggs, synthetic beacon with bad smell and pastries cover of mold and nobody wan to be accountable of the situation ,after 9pm food need to be paid, dining service without organization, big line to get inside the restaurant .I travel with my daughter(13) they didn't provide food for kids and club was bored and no included in price, we had been in different cruise and she was very dissatisfied and disappointed , she didn't like at all. Cabin service was good and photo service too with lots of options. I didn't recommend this cruise. Read Less

This was supposed to be my husband and I's honeymoon. Restaurants/ Service was great. Cabin was clean and decent. Activities on boat were incredibly lame. If you're not completely into Drinking, Trivia and food, you're kind of out of luck. Shows were great, Prohibition and Jersey Boys were great. Book it as early as possible Spa services were incredibly overpriced, that's saying something coming from someone who lives in NYC. Ports and shore excursions absolutely sucked. Port Canaveral: Arrived Late to Port Canaveral, couldn't go to Disney. Everything else required sunny days, which there were none. Cocoa Beach was essentially a ghost town. Nassau: Great. Aquaventure was a blast! We only needed a half day there and immediately spent the rest of the day walking around Nassau, which was beautiful. This was the highlight of the trip. Great Stirrup Cay: I wouldn't know, I only saw the island from a far. The ship didn't stop at Great Stirrup Cay on Christmas because they couldn't get the tenders to the ship. It was beautiful out, but the seas were choppy. The Cruise director made the decision that morning to leave. The biggest slap in the face was seeing Royal Caribbean docked at their private pier. I saw them docking their ship as our boat pulled away. At around Midday, the crew threw together a half-assed itinerary and we spent an additional day cruising around the island of the Bahamas. "Don't worry, apparently this happens all the time. I've only been to the island once" said multiple passengers who were frequent NCL cruisers. "Don't worry, they'll refund your shore excursions, " said another. Seriously? Had I known this would have happened, I wouldn't have book this cruise. If I wanted cabin fever, staying in one place for 6+ days eating and drinking my face off, I would holed up in a cabin in the woods. Don't waste your time. Royal Caribbean didn't even have to lift a finger to sell me on my next cruise. Read Less

Carnival cruise #29 (4th for 2019) so you can trust my opinion. First I must recognize some of the nicest staff on the seas and off. The folks during embark and debark were very friendly in FLL and all the ship staff we had contact with was very friendly. We personally like to recognize one of our waiters (Edy) and room steward (Saiful). The new decor is modern and beautiful. This is not a 5-star rated ship in my opinion because Carnival added cabins to decks 3 and 5. This tightens up the commons areas, especially in lido marketplace and the two show lounges. We were never able to see a show in either lounge because they were full with too many others waiting in line. Not sure who was in the room when the decision was made to remove a whole floor in the main lounge to add cabins on deck 3. That said, we stayed in our cabin alot and in Serenity area since there were about 25-30% of passengers under the age of 12. Not the worse way to spend our anniversary, which was made extra special by Carnival's Ambassador John Heald - Thanks John! Read Less

This was a group booking of 42 people the cruised with us immediately following our beach wedding. Price: We paid extra to have the aurea experience, and I did appreciate the priority boarding and massage...but the slightly bigger room wasn't worth it. Service: Awful, disorganized, major language barrier- granted this is an international cruise line but it made it increasingly hard to communicate all the issues our group was having. We had many adult men sharing rooms and were place on 1 queen bed instead of specifying 2 beds. We had 2 people that paid for drink packages and did not get the upgraded package they ordered or it showed they never got one at all. Despite having the best drink package, we were not allowed to "buy" drinks for anyone...kind of a waste for $300. The other drink package doesn't allow you to get any drink over $6....which is every alcohol on board fyi. The beers were $6.50, so either upgrade to deluxe or pass on it. Our mini bar was not stocked and had two half drank bottles of water in it when we arrived. Gross. We were given my choice dining but we still assigned a table at the 1st dining which we did not want. Half our party was assigned to 1st and half to 2nd. When we attempted to sit with our family and were seated by a manager, a waiter came over and told us to move to an empty table despite explaining his boss moved us there for a reason....the waiter did not care. That night while everyone else had dinner, it took 60 minutes to receive our entrees and 90 minutes to receive coffee...only after complaining to a different manager when 2 waiters saw me with my hand up, looked and turned away. Our lunch the next day took 2.5 hours from start to finish. The food is not as flavorful as royal carribean or norwegian and there was nothing anyone was dying to have again. The buffet is not open as much as other cruiselines and is insanely crowded. If you go, be sure to get breakfast at 7am or it will be a madhouse. The pizza and waffles are best at the buffet. No one was allowed in the water due to a storm coming on their private island which is understandable but not when there is not a wave in sight and the sun is still shining. Our guests kept getting the run around on loading money into their accounts and were not permitted to pay off their balances in full which was odd. Most of the staff either did not understand our guests complaints/questions or just did not seem to care that much. Some were generally nice but others were rude. Our room steward was pleasant and kept the room nice....and the dancers and acrobats were good, no comedian, but I guess that is the norm on a shorter cruise. The boat is pretty but it took a few days to figure out the ship and by then we were leaving. They could use more activities on board. Basically, what you will save by getting a whole cruise for under $300 will cost you in other ways and be prepared to be nickle and dimed. I am a relatively cheap traveler, but my guests were very disappointed by this and all the other charges and bad service...not exactly the service you expect at the start of your honeymoon with such a large group. Read Less

We decided to take ourselves and our grandson on a wonderful Christmas cruise and after seeing Christmas pics of the Divina decorations we booked the Divina as we did last January as we also love the indoor pool and hot tubs.What a mistake that was ! Getting on ship we arrived way early to avoid crowds,yet spent hours standing in line as special "Priority guests got to clear customs and board with very little inspection or hassle.After clearing customs who took away a small pocket knife from carry on,a computer power codr from my kid,and insisted we had liquid in our backpack even though there was none,but still missed 4 bottles of water in our medicine bag and a second pocket knife in my case and a spray bottle of bedbug spray (yes we spray for bedbugs on ship cabin).After clearing customs after 3 hours we stood in line again at customer service to get room keys,then another hour in lobby waiting to board.When finally entering ship over 3000 passengers went to horribly undersized buffet to wait for room announcement that never came.Yes,the buffet is about 300 tables short of tables it needs for normal meal crowds.We finally got up and went to room as no staff knew when rooms would be ready,we found room ready luckily.Our luggage is well labeled,has colorful tape all over,took hours to arrive at cabin minus my big bag.After showing pics of our bag to attendant and luggage handlers they all said they had not seen it.After 5 hours we went to luggage area on our floor and found my bag being used as a door stop,everyone lied to us ! Food : the food on this cruise was horrible ! Whether buffet or dining room,the staff is rude,the food under or overcooked,meat was tough and chewy,and not much American food.Pizza,cold burgers with no buns,hotdogs in paper containers in bun and has been ,sitting out for long periods,spicy mediterranean food,warm milk and always running out of juice and coffee.We lost weight on this cruise,a first for us ! As this was a Christmas cruise we expected better food and as they advertised we looked forward to a turkey with all they fixins meal,but it never happened.In main dining room on last night they announced a special for all of us,baked Alaska,the music started,they paraded they cooks and kitchen staff down the steps followed by waiters holding many "Baked Alaska's" then back into kitchen,and guess what,they baked Alaska was fake,no desert for the dining room,all a SCAM !! The Christmas dinner they advertised as "The fantastic Christmas eve buffet" was a huge joke,it was held at 11:30 at night on Christmas eve,had several different cakes that were all the same just different colors,onion rings,store bought frozen mini eclairs,quich,and warm milk,what an insult ! Christmas morning was same old food,and for Christmas dinner the only food I could find that was edible was a dinner roll and got some liver sausage to make myself a sandwich.Never saw a Christmas meal,no turkey dinner (did have sliced turkey one night several days before Christmas).If you expect decent or even good food then choose another cruise line ! Pools- We booked this cruise for a great Christmas experience and the indoor pool and hot tubs,ooops. The indoor pool was clean and clear the first day,then throughout rest of cruise was slimy green color and pool staff was not able to tell us why it was,pool superintendent was very rude and refused to answer our questions about green slime,she was not the kind of employee a company wants representing them to their passengers.We had mostly bad rainy weather during cruise as we thought might happen so we wanted the indoor pool to swim in all weather but were not able to swim other than the two short times I swam in outdoor crystal clear pools that were polar bear cold,and indoor hot tubs were full all the time due to weather and indoor pool not being usable. Shows on ship- The male singers were painful to listen to.As we were on back to back 10 day cruise the shows repeated on seciond half from first half and Christmas shows were only mildly amusing.Shows were way way too loud,the lighting was blinding and the background lighting was so bright that it made it hard to see people on stage. Staff- most staff were rude,claimed to not speak English,were not helpful at all and went of the way to avoid answering your questions.The customer service staff was uncaring,the computer was mixed up and was charing most people for charges they did not incur,and on leaving the ship last day they were holding many people hostage claiming they owed money even though they cleared their bill the night before,which by the way is a two hour line waiting to pay your bill,what a joke,maybe they have never done this before, LOL ! Early morning rooster crowing- Waking us up early morning for announcements with a rooster crowing,no kidding,a rooster loudly starting annoumcements that were done in 6 languages,but in hallways only and very garbled! Internet service- we paid for 4 device fast internet,well had to stand near door in cabin to get any signal,was getting constant advertising everytime we used internet,no filter on service. Island ports- We arrived in San Juan about 3:30PM,was not able to get off ship til close to 5PM after long lines waiting and port delays.Most shops on Sunday close at 5PM,left us only a few minutes to shop.Most passengers decided to go into bars on shore and spent hours drinking instead of being able to shop and see island,was dark already before getting off ship.What a waste of a port stop.Got into St Martin early morning,again hours waiting to get off ship,then had to be back on ship by 1:30,had very little time to this beautiful island,again what a waste !Got into Nassau Bahama on their holiday and after parades and celebrations were over,ugly island and not much to see at Atlantis,BORING ! We found garbage in hallways,elevators and public areas,pretty much due to them not having a single garbage can in any part of public areas,what is wrong with a ship that does not allow you to get rid of your trash ? Also there are no clocks on ship,you never knew what time it was,you would be late or early for meals or shows,also they put a time change on the front of daily activity paper,but it was not the right day,got up next morning after changing our alarm clock (our personal clock,no clock in room) only to find we were late for breakfast,does anybody proof read these things. Rude Europeans everywhere,pushy,loud,would push you out of line at meal so they could take last piece of food on buffet,had tongs pulled out of my hand so a Euro guy could take the last waffle,was pushed in hallway,pushed themselves to front of line getting off ship and almost started a fist fight.Had a guy punch a lifeguard at pool when the lifeguard told him his baby could not be in hot tub in a diaper,Euro guy pushed then punched the lifeguard. So much more to complain about,but lets just say we will not be seen on a MSC cruise ever again !! Not even if we got a free cruise,will not be held hostage again ! Read Less

We have mainly sailed CCL and wanted to try a different cruise line. We figured a 4 day would give us a good taste of MSC. We originally booked a balcony on deck 9 then decided to bid on the yacht club experience and it was accepted. Although it was a costly upgrade it was the best experience. The private lounge, bars, restaurants and sun decks were definitely worth it. The food was not bad at all. We did not go hungry. I did not like the pizza at all. The gelato and the Specialty Coffee was very good. We decided to try the main dining room on the last evening. We were set in a quiet section and were catered to every need. This is because we were Yacht Club. One day we walked through the Calumet buffet fir lunch. While there was a great variety of food to be had and it was laid out in way that you didn’t have to wait in a long line, I was glad we had our own private area to dine. There were just too many people and children to trip over. We watched one show ‘the show must go on’ a tribute to Queen and it was nice. The theatre was large and really didn’t have any bad views. The ship was large, clean and very friendly staff. We would sail MSC again although, I think we would definitely have to sail yacht club. Read Less

My husband rides on a scooter so traveling to a close by port is essential. 4.5 hours from our home, always come the night before and stay at the Hotel Hilton BWI. 15 minutes to the port of baltimore. On board as soon as we arrived. Porters took bags outside prior to parking. Through security and on board with no wait. This makes the start of vacation terrific. The Pride is a smaller ship, Roman theme. Easy to get around, fast elevators. Never waited on a line. Staff were so accommodating and friendly. This was our second time on the pride and we will go back again. Weather in December is finicky. 2 days sunshine in the 80s, 2 days heavy wind and rain. Did not damper our spirits. My husband is a smoker, this was easily available to him on various parts of the ship. Alchemy bar was a nightly stop for a martini before or after dinner. Dr.E the cruise director so entertaining and always, always smiling. We will be back. Read Less

I picked this cruise for my husband's birthday celebration as it departs from our hometown port. We had a 12th deck spa balcony room. To be concise, I will list pros then cons of trip from our experience. PROS: Boarding boat fast, organized. Lunch ready with a nice selection of hot and deli foods. Room service limited selections but adequate and prompt. Birthday cake I ordered was in room and luscious. General dining not bad but we prefer the Specialty restaurants which were excellent. The Chef's Table dining evening is $$$ but if you seek a dining experience of delicacies, multiple courses and wine, described by the chef, served with white glove service, its worth every cent. Reservations for only 14 diners includes an amazing pre dinner tour of the kitchen with champagne and appetizers. Elegant dress is appropriate for Specialty and Chef's Table. Room kept tidy with very comfortable bed, plenty of towels and ice bucket filled. Spa & gym included, was wonderful. Book massages before cruise for best rate. Enjoyed shopping in jewelry shop. We did not select excursions, used spa. CONS: Room carpet needed a good cleaning. A second hot tub in the Serenity area definitely needed. Tobacco smoke exits the casino into adjoining areas including sports bar so we could not tolerate it to watch games on tv. There are virtually no tv programs offered in rooms. Can't get a no-alcohol cocktail, even with full price. I asked for margarita on rocks minus tequila, denied due to they didn't have an established price. Only similar drinks are smoothies they have for kids. No alcohol free wines available. The main dining room location for seating was confusing. A basic dress code for cover ups, no bare feet or chests needs to be enforced in buffet lunch areas. Read Less

We cruised recently with two small & naughty kids, (ages 5 and 2) and it was super awesome experience. Crew members were very nice & gentle. Food was super delicious as we tried Blue Iguana Cantina for taco, Lido for dinner buffet, Atlantic for breakfast and Pacific Restaurant for dinner, Indian veg meal and there we met dinning staffs Rituparna , Christy , Ashish and they were so good & kind. We enjoyed movies with yummy popcorn every evening. Casino and Arcade was also well maintained & nice. We left our kids to Ocean camp Children's club several times which was on Deck 11 & they enjoyed all activities and were very happy with the staffs working there. I will definitely recommend my family and friends for Carnival Cruise lines. And next time whenever will plan for Cruise , we'll surely plan with Carnival Cruise lines for a week or more because 3 nights was not enough for us. Read Less

Booked this one because airfare and transport was included with all the other free at sea offers. A lot different from my past cruises on Norwegian, less information and features than I was used to. I probably would not book this one again for a while. Nassau wasn’t a great place to be, kind of a sad atmosphere. The comedian show was 2 out of 5. Key west was a fun stop, and a nice spot for a warm day in December. The great stirrup cay was also a good beach day. The taco bar lunch was a nice change. Overall the food options were excellent. Cagneys steak house is always a 5/5 and the steak did not disappoint. Grilled calamari was also excellent. The new Norwegian brand wines were very good. The service wasn’t great, the deck 7 martini bar smelled like vomit every day, however the bartender Stacy was very nice and apologetic about it. The local bar and grill was disappointing, no one there to take orders. O’Sheehans is a much better 24/7 option on other boats. Read Less

I got told that this cruise line was the best and it’s true, embarkation and disembarkation was very smoth, no lines at all. We were celebrating our 22nd anniversary so we wanted it to be like our honeymoon. The cabin was perfect...ocean view good size, lots of room in the closet and good size shelves in the bathroom. Food was delicious, and everyday was like a different buffet specialty. We never got to eat at the specialty restaurant as we love the idea of freestyle dining. Entertainment was great; we spent the whole day looking for different activities to do and we never got bored. The ship is huge and very clean. Service was great from the steward to the cruise director. Shows were amazing like broadway style. Every night was full of joy. Service at the restaurant was great very friendly and polite crew. Although we didn’t travel with kids we realized that they had a program for kids that I wish my kids were there with us to enjoy it. Read Less

We sailed on the Anthem of the Seas on Dec. 1, 2019 in stateroom 10702 which is a balcony room. The room was a decent size with lots of room to store your things. The washroom was tiny as was the balcony. The beds were not comfortable at all. Embarkation: We got to the ship at 10:30 am and from taxi to ship I think it took us 20 minutes. They scanned our set sail pass and we walked right onto the ship. Our room wasn't ready until 1:30 pm so we went to 270 for some lunch and walked around the ship to get a feel for it. We made our bookings for Jamie's Italian and Chops Grill on the app but because the app was glitchy had to go and speak to someone to make sure that our reservations were actually made. We went to the main dining room twice but due to dietary restrictions we decided to eat dinner in the Windjammer most nights. There was more of a choice for me. In the past, RCCL had a large menu in the MDR, but recently they have cut it way down to the point, if you don't eat meat or chicken or shellfish there isn't a lot of choice. We loved Jamie's Italian. The food and the server were so good that if it didn't cost extra we would have eaten there every night. Chops grill the food was excellent there as well. The food in the Windjammer was average mass produced food. They suffered from overcrowding and organizational issues. One of the nicest free places to eat was the Solarium Bistro. The manager there went out of his way to make our dining experience great. The food was excellent and our server really did a great job as well. The pizza at Sorrento's has improved greatly!!! Except on the first night when there are so many people trying to eat pizza at the same time, they couldn't keep up with the demand. Entertainment: There were 3 main shows, The Gift was very good. The singing and dancing was good. We will rock you was excellent. I think it was better than the play we saw on land. The singing and dancing was amazing!!! Then we saw Spectra's Cabaret and it was ok. The little weird. Service: The crew on the ship seemed like they were relatively new to this ship. I suspect that they just had a large changeover of crew. Many of the crew were just being trained. The big weak link was in the Windjammer and MDR. In both places the crew did not seem as polished and confident that we were use to. Our cruise took us to Orlando, Nassau and Coco Cay. In Orlando we did the Ron Jon shuttle to their store and then we walked around to the shops in the area. It was worth it for us to take this tour just for the shopping. In Nassau we didn't bother to do a tour as we had been to this island many times before. In Coco Cay we were suppose to do a kayaking tour, but because of big waves and wind our tour was cancelled. We just hung out at the beach and by the very large pool and had a great day. The Anthem of the Seas was a very nice ship, but we really missed the mini-golf and also there was no waterslide either. We did enjoy the bumper cars, roller skating, escape room, and all of the other activities that the ship has to offer. I'm not sure we would go on the Quantum class of ship again as we prefer the Freedom class better. Read Less

Avid cruiser in my 40's with a teen child. We have been on 10+ cruises, this a first on Anthem. Was worried after reading a few of the last reviews, however, we were thrilled with the experience. We were fortunate to be in a suite which provided some add'l perks that were well worth it. The higher pricing gave us the following: All meals in Coastal Kitchen (way better than pushing around the Windjammer and trying to find a seat). Concierge lounge VIP seating for shows Cocktail hours I can't say we ate at the main DR, but, everyone we spoke to love the food. Add'l info on specialty dining: Wunderland- eh, experience was interesting, but our 14 yo was not adventurous and meal took 3 hours. Chops- We loved every meal there and staff was excellent Izumi- fantastic sushi and great staff Jamie's- ate there once, decent, but a little bland. Vintages- we were there everday and Z (manager) was great and fantastic wines Coastal Kitchen (suite dining)- great food and service Excursions- FL- Did Cocoa beach and Ron Jon shopping Nassua- on ship Coco Cay- Wow, really impressed and plenty of seating to lounge by pools or beach. Our daughter did the water park and loved it. Entertainment: Spectra Cabaret- Fantastic show and entertainment We will rock you- Great singing, a bit too long though Lou Gazzarra- Wow, he was an amazing singer with a humbling story to fame. Lastly, we will definitely go back. Best cruise we've had in years! Read Less

New to cruising, this was my 4th, other trips have been with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. Started out that we paid for a priority embarkation and not one Norwegian employee could direct us to where we were supposed to go or seemed to know what we were talking about. So we stood in all the lines though we paid for a service. The Sky "boasts" that it was refurbished 3-4 months ago but when you get on board I would have guessed 5-8 years ago at best. One of the hot tubs did not work for the duration and they were a commodity as there were only 4, 3 working, with a 5 person limit and constantly full of kids. I have 4 kids all under 12 they were not with me on this trip but would be better if under 16 were just not allowed on a ship this size with such limited access. As for the kids, I am glad they were not on this trip the kids amenities are unsatisfactory at best. The entertainment was just bad. I saw at least 10 different singers and maybe 2 should have been on stage. Was so bad I left two shows. Bingo was boring the cruise directors staff, beside himself Jasper and one other person Diego, had NO personality. The deal or no deal games were good and all the couples ones were fun. The triva sessions were fine as they were small crowds and the passengers personalities saved the day. The food was also boring, less selections and lower quality then any other cruise I have been on. The stops in Key west and Nassau were great, we were off the boat. Worst part was the bars. Norwegian has "free at sea" which would be fine if the bars were not CONSTANTLY CLOSED in the middle of the day and either did not open until and event started in the room. FYI people would like to get a drink BEFORE the action starts so they can enjoy the activities. Then the bartenders many times there should have been three and there was one and the one had NO sense of urgency even with 15 people in line. I could have gone slow and gotten drinks out 5 to there 1 was sad to see how much they just didn't care. Specialty French restaurant wasn't very special, most items were just two of the regular items from the main dining room combined. Waiter for the specialty restaurant was great though. While there was a cost savings taking NCL compared to Celebrity or RC the exponentially better service, food, amenities, etc to me make it well worth it. I will probably give NCL another try but not on this ship. I heard the new Encore is nice and has great stuff for the kids BUT then I found out all those things the kids would want to do cost more that is not ok and now I have to figure that into my trip cost as well, such a pain. If it's on the ship and you dont win $$ or a big prize then what is there should be free and accessible to all. Read Less

We had the best time! Great crew, beautiful ship, older but very clean. The food was outstanding! Entertainment was plentiful! We hadn’t been on a cruise for 20+ years because our first experience on carnival was just ok. For This reason I was a bit hesitant but I was pleasantly surprised and will be planning another cruise on the Norwegian Sky, absolutely loved it! Our room attendant JJ did an amazing job keeping everything clean in our room and we really enjoyed the dining restaurants but the buffets were pretty fabulous too. I did an excursion to the Blue Lagoon in the Bahamas and that was a really fun day and worth every penny. The staff on the boat seem to really enjoy their jobs and do everything they can to take top-notch care of all their guests. Someone is always working and doing something to improve the boat and also our dinner at Le Bistro was excellent! Our room was also in a great spot we didn’t feel the boat moving at all during the trip while sleeping. Read Less

Find another ship or cruise line. This was miserable. First let’s say the disembark time was over an hour late, which in turn caused the load times to be pushed back. When you have 4K plus people waiting, it gets a little crazy. Next, let’s start with food. The food is TERRIBLE. For the formal night, minced lobster ravioli in a chicken broth. What?!?! The steak is almost inedible. We walked out several times of the wave restaurant because the food was terrible. Let’s go to dining room service. It was not good. Our dishes piled up and the waiter seemed not to care. The rooms service was great. Our attendant was amazing. This is maybe 1 of 2 things positive for the cruise. The sky lounge has great employees. In fact, best on the ship!!!! The buffet is typical and always packed due to the food being terrible in the formal dining room. The adult pool, well it’s more of a large bath tub. The smokers section is crammed into the back of the ship and tends to overflow on to the track. There is minimal shopping on board due to the chocolate shop taking up a massive amount of space. The bar staff (except for sky lounge) seemed to busy to help and almost annoyed you were asking for a drink. If you have a “obstructed” balcony be warned. It’s SUPER small!!!!!!! There is a lack of elevators in the back of the boat and the front of the boat is closed off to yacht club. The ship seemed “small” and not enough to do even with the size!!! The entertainment is ok... at best. That’s all I can say. And the fish at the cirque show was smelly and slimy. WiFi - horrid! Slowest WiFi ever and hardly works. If you want to watch tv, well won’t happen. The channels go in and out the entire time and there is maybe 3 channels that aren’t sports or news. And side note - there is no Kleenex on the ship!!!! Final thing on this boat. Do not trust the times on the video screens. They don’t update and the employee don’t care!!!!!! Oh oh oh. And because the rooms are laid out like crap, there is no power plus next to the bed. You have to give a $50 deposit for a extension cord that will drape across the floor if you need it for any sleep machine. Then at the end of the cruise you have to go stand in the massive customer service line to return it. Waste of time. Read Less