Wanted to try the Mariner again after 11 years. Booked an Owners Suite # 1628. Overall found the ship in fair condition. The balcony for our room was not in good shape. Furniture in our room was very old. Looks like the only thing replaced during the refurb was the carpet. As we send a lot of time in our room, will stick to sailing in full suites on an Oasis Class ship. Room attendant had a total of 15 Suites and Balcony Cabins. Our cabin was never completely straightened or cleaned. Royal needs to cut back on the number of cabins for their attendants. Suite Lounge was very nice and never over crowded. As we were in port everyday, 2 days at COCOCAY, had to eat lunch in the windjammer as the dining room was never open. Breakfast in Chops was nice. However, the room was drab and windows were very dirty. Read Less

The service any of the bars to get a drink was horrible. From the time we got on the ship until the day we left, it took forever to get a drink. Our first night in formal dining room...it took 4 of us, 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete our dinner. We decided to try the formal dining room again for breakfast and from the time we were seated until the time we got our food it was 50 minutes. Food was luke warm even. From the day we got there until the day we left we only saw our room steward 1 time. our tissue box in the bathroom was empty for two days until i asked guest services for more klenix. I could go on but it not even worth my time to type it....very unhappy with the over all cruise, will not go back to Norwegian, unless we hear of major changes...back to Royal Carribbean we go for now. Read Less

This was our first time cruising, so we researched several cruise lines and cruises destinations. We decided on Norwegian because it suited our style and price the best. We heard so many good things about Norwegian from friends as well! I can say we were not disappointed! We used GoPort from our hotel to the ship terminal. Door to door was easy and worry free trying to find the right terminal and parking. From beginning to end Norwegian staff was attentive and gracious. The excursions we took in Key West and Nassau were great plus getting on and off the ship was stress free. Seven Seas restaurant was our favorite dining place all the way around! I think our choice of a balcony cabin was the best choice for my husband and me. We regularly sat on the balcony enjoying the blue ocean and stars. We are already planning another Norwegian cruise. Next up The British Isles! Read Less

First, I was a single traveler on this trip. My wife had girls outing in the Lake of the Ozark so I decide to travel alone. I learned a lot about traveling alone. There are no perks for being a single traveler and what there is, is based on double occupancy. The only benefit is my drink package was based on one traveler and two. I would really think hard about booking a single cruise with Royal Caribbean again, This cruise turned out to be a humanity cruise and not a pleasure cruise. Due to the massive destruction in the Bahama, Mariner of the Sea changed it sailing itinerary and we lost our day at sea. The original itinerary was leave Port Canaveral, day at sea, Nassau, then Coco Cay. What we got was Port Canaveral, Freeport, Nassau where we spent overnight and two days then we went to Coco Cay. The reason why was, Mariner stopped at Freeport and dropped off several thousand of meals and supplies and then loaded several hundred refuges and then we went directly to Nassau to allow the refuges to disembark there. I like to commend Royal Caribbean on there efforts in helping the victims of the hurricane. My only complaint is no one knew about the changes until 30 minutes before departure. My travel agent got the memo after we left. I miss my day at sea, to me this is very peaceful but giving the big picture I understand. By the way, all of the refuges were restricted to the auditorium and was not allowed to mingle with the passengers. The refuges were taken care of. I enjoyed the Mariner of the Sea and this is the third trip on her. The staff were great and my room attended went above and beyond what he was required to do. He later received a nice reward. The food is still the same and there was not changes there. I had to laugh, when I went into the Windjammer and one of the staff I have seen before was not singing “Please wash your hands”. He recognized me and we had a good laugh when he pointed to his guitar and said that he needed a break. If you have ever traveled on the Mariner of the Seas you will know what I am talking about. The jingle is one of those songs that plague your mind and you keep repeating if over and over almost as bad as Disney “it’s a small world”. Despite the changes I am booking another cruise I just hope I get my day at sea. Read Less

Over 20 cruises with Carnival. Each one an experience. Although this ship is a little old now,she is still a fun ship. Great staff on this ship makes the voyage lots f of fun and entertaining. Cam,the cruise director is definitely one of the best. He really puts his all into everything he does. One of if not the best singing/dance teams we have seen. Ardestra Gardens in Nassau was beautiful. Small garden with marching flamingos! About $18 for ticket and a $20 taxi ride there. Definitely worth a visit, highly recommend. Half moon cay was beautiful as usual, watch out for jellyfish! Otherwise beautiful sandy beach with lots of room for fun and relaxation. Looking for jewelry? Check out Effy on ship, Marianne or Alexandra are 2 ladies who know their stuff. They also give away lots of cool stuff. Guys burgers are always a hit, and they have improved their desserts in the lido restaurant. Had ocean view room, which was comfortable and plenty of storage space for 2. There was worn spot in shower floor which was repainted during cruise while we were out and about. I also recommend that when looking at reviews to take more notice of this who have done more than one review. These folks have cruised often and know what to expect. Just saying! Read Less

We were so anxious to sail on this refurbished ship since we had sailed on her before many times & loved her Sadly we were the first sailing on her after the hurricane Dorian. But on the brighter side we experienced her delivering food & supplies to the Bahamas. It was a great experience to even bring some refugees from Freeport to Nassau. The food on this ship was average & plentiful. No reason to go hungry Luckily Nassau was not too affected by the hurricane. However, we were looking forward to Coco Cay since we also have this ship booked for a Christmas Cruise where we are taking our whole family of 14 with 6 cabins booked. Coco Cay in our opinion was not ready for visitors. The island smelled like sewage & the ocean was disgusting. After about an hour we returned to the ship as I felt sick. We just could not eat there. Our outside window cabin was very nice & our attendant was average Our dinner server was fabulous & kept us entertained. We were disappointed in the quality of the coffee in the coffee shop on deck 5. We remembered it for having excellent coffee. I guess they wanted you to use Starbucks Embarking & Disembarking went great & smooth. All told it was a relaxing getaway but nothing above average. Gjginparadise Read Less

This was my first cruise but NOT my last. I even though we have a “change of plans” because of the hurricane, it was my BEST VACATION EVER!!! Fine dining at a slow & easy pace. Letting enjoy the meal & not rush. The boat gently rocking my to sleep at night. The quiet library were I could read and not be distracted. The games and trivia plus the lounges ... there was lots of quiet places to get away from the action. At port it was enjoy to walk around and go back to the boat early & just relax. This was my most relaxing vacation in a long while. The water was so Beautiful & I saw dolphins. The Spinnaker lounge was the BEST leisure lounge during the day. Quiet & bright, easy to get a day and just decompress. We took photos each day with the ship & got a cute photo album. The was an unique souvenir. Plus, their were free gifts and cheap gifts with a bazaar in the atrium on our Sea Day. Some games had prizes, like dinners or drinks or gift baskets. We purchase the Bon voyage package ... it was exceptional from the decor to the food. Read Less

Last Bahama cruise before hurricane Dorian. The ports will not look the same for years. Donated to help those affected. Such a tradegy. Best 5 day cruise.ever. Inexpensive; Inside room for 2 under $700 total. Food was good,better than other NCL cruises in the oast Theatre entertainment was fantastic: singers and dancers were very professional. Singers also danced and did quite well. Free booze was added bonus though no longer available after September Normally take longer cruises but took this cruise for relaxation and not for tours and sightseeing. Close to home (Orlando),great price Would take this ship again to different ports Only negative comment: unless taking tours in Freeport ( swimmkng with pigs?) or a beach, not much to do but visit the shops at the dock. Docks are no longer in Freport proper. Shopping center 30 minutes away by bus and through new was literally EMPTY of tourists. Read Less

We got this cruise 2 days before it left and got the last room on the ship. We got #7335 which is listed as a handicap room and it is. The doors are on the side and both doors are 36" wide and the bathroom is very large. I didn't bring my mobility scooter because we were not sure the size of the room doors. There was enough room inside to put the scooter and access to a charging port. The crew is very helpful but I do not believe there are enough on the boat. It was like finding a salesperson in Lowes. We had many guests that were very rude and loud in the halls at all hours and no one helped. The battery in our door lock failed and it took 25 minutes to get someone there to replace it. Guy's Burger Bar is a new addition and they were very good burgers and fries. The pizza was not real tasty. The dining room food was good but in very small portions. We had 5 small shrimp in our appetizer the first two nights, and the last night we had larger shrimp, but only 3. The day in Bahamas was not great. Rain, the port walkways did not drain and were flooded, the tour bus was really small and cramped for me. The day at the private island was washed out by noon because of a major rain storm and everyone got soaked coming back to the ship. We enjoyed ourselves because we do not rely on any else entertaining us. We did our thing and the trip overall was good. 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

This cruise was chosen by my cousin, to celebrate my aunt’s 60th birthday. There was a party of about 12 of us. I looked into it and thought it looked awesome, so we went ahead and booked. We live in NYC, but departed from Miami. We didn’t explore Miami, as we had vacationed there earlier this year. We flew into West Palm Beach, which I wouldn’t do again, because it was really too far from the part. We flew out of Fort Lauderdale, which was a comfortable distance. I recommend flying directly in and out of Miami if possible, however JetBlue, our favorite airline, does not fly there. Embarkation and disembarkation were seamless. We had two adjacent cabins for my immediate family, which consisted of myself and my husband, then our three year old daughter and my mom. We originally wanted to all stay in the same cabin, but I’m so glad we didn’t, because it definitely would’ve been too tight for four people. There is also only one bathroom in each stateroom. The food in every restaurant was excellent. I enjoyed the vast variety of cuisines, usually for dinner. We mostly spent breakfast and lunch at the main buffet. The ports of call and shore excursions were very nice. We docked in Port Lucaya, Castaway Cay and Freeport, Bahamas. In Freeport we took a guided round trip tour of the island, which began at the Rum Cake Factory and ended at Atlantis. While on the ship, we enjoyed the pool and hot tub. The pool games were cute and I loved how interactive the staff was. There was live entertainment on the deck in the evenings, usually a cover band with a great singer. There were basketball courts and a mini golf area, that looked fun. Plenty for teenagers to do. Our three year old definitely enjoyed herself, and while she’s usually a picky eater, everyday there was something she wanted to try. The white party was probably my favorite party. We danced to a variety of music and there was an after party at a lounge on the ship. I cannot rave enough about the staff on our trip. These people were kind, courteous and genuinely interested in making our trip amazing. I was literally blown away by how hospitable everyone was. Our rooms were spotless everyday and attended to twice a day. All in all I definitely can’t wait to go on another Norwegian Cruise. Read Less

This cruise and this ship were, all-around, an excellent experience. Friendly and helpful crew, top notch entertainment, excellent food and food venues!! Smaller ship with many passengers so it was full of energy and crowded at times,but, never-the- less, a relaxing vacation where you could set your own pace and schedule. Beautiful decor throughout the ship, easy to access all areas and easy to learn the lay-out in a very short time. Specialty restaurants were wonderful with masterfully prepared food that was just the right size portion. We can say enough to praise the pastry chefs on this ship. Every day different creations were delicious, as were all entrees. The view of the sunsets and sunrises from our cabin balcony was breathtaking at time. Organization of debarkation for Castaway Cay was poorly done with poor oversight in the lobby area (Atrium) so confusion reigned! However, this is the only negative I can say about this cruise. For the first time cruisers that we were, it introduced us in a wonderful manner to cruising....we will most probably return in the future! Read Less

We originally were booked for the Cuba cruise but that was changed and everyone knows that story. So our destination was truly the ship and it’s amenities because we live in Florida and know Freeport and Nassau like the back of our hand. So we were booked in the Owners Suite number 9201. This comes with a butler and concierge. I’ve been booked in the Captains Suite on the Carnival Conquest and Victory and they are spacious with two bathrooms. However, the service on the Sky was far superior to the Carnival ships. Our butler’s name was Navi and our Concierge’s name was Orlando. Whatever we wanted or needed it was taken care of. Now to the refit of the ship, it looked brand new. They upgraded everything so nothing looked tired or old school. We ate breakfast and lunch at Cagneys every day which was part of our suite package. Great breakfast and lunch. One night we ate at the Palace which was a big mistake because it took forever for our food to come. But with that said, the food was good. We did room service one night and that was fast and good. And on our last night we ate at La Cucina’s which was quite good too. But I would rate Cagneys as the best. Never ate at the buffet so I can’t rate that. We had a hot tub on our balcony. We turned it into a cool tub because it was too hot to use as a hot tub. The two bathrooms were amazing as was the suite. I can’t say enough good things about the Sky and the people aboard her. Also did pretty darn good in casino. So I booked her for next year at this time of the year only changed one thing and that was the suite. Someone on the CC boards told me that Suite 8201 was better than 9201 so I’m booked 8201 next year. A wonderful experience, thank you NCL. Read Less

Omg the 1st time I ever went on a cruise and it was amazing the cruise director was amazing my housekeeper was Amazing as well the boat was fun and exciting and the ports was easy to get off and on. I love trying new experience and I'm glad I did it with norwegian. Already set my 2nd cruise. The entertainment was amazing as well. The bingo was good too a lil expensive but it was fun. I enjoyed everything on this ship and I recommend this to anyone trying to experience their 1st time cruise. It's the best and I was a judge for the sexy man legs. It was super fun. The director kept us busy at all times. The magic show was a plus. My family and I truly enjoyed the private island that we ported at. The water was blue and the sand was white. U could swim with the pigs imagine that.the ports was easy to get to. The shopping is amazing but be careful and don't get duped my the locals they are a little dishonest I saw when they was charging people 2 dollars to use the public bathroom and they like to over charge so be careful. Read Less

Last year we decided to plan a family cruise to include extended family. We chose Grandeur because most of our family lives in Maryland and we loved the idea of sailing out of Baltimore. We read lots of reviews on Grandeur and watched several YouTube videos. We have cruised several times before and we knew that this would be the smallest ship that we have experienced. Embarkation: It was a breeze getting on the ship! We arrived T the port at 9:45 AM. We checked our luggage, paid for parking, checked in, and were walking onto the ship before 10:30! We didn’t have to sit and wait so that was fabulous. Best embarkation we have ever experienced. We walked right onto the 4th floor Centrum area. All of the staff greeted us warmly. We had drinks in our hands by 10:45! The Windjammer buffet opened shortly after 11, which was great. We had access to our rooms around 1:00 PM. Room: Balconies are limited on the Grandeur and are priced at a premium, so we had an ocean view stateroom. Then ocean view windows are a nice size. We had lots of storage space and the bed was super comfortable. The room was small and so was the bathroom. The decor is dated and could definitely use a refresh. The sofa was very worn out. However, the room was clean and the bathroom was also clean. The shower had a curtain and no door, which resulted in lots of water on the bathroom floor. Be sure to keep the shower curtain inside the shower to minimize this issue. Public areas: Clean and well-maintained...two elevators did not work for the entire cruise. Definitely showing signs of rust and carpets could be replaced. Public bathrooms were always clean! Food: Specialty dining is definitely the way to go on this boat. We went to Chops twice for dinner and the food was excellent. Our server took care of us and he did an amazing job. We also paid for the Chops brunch and it was really good as well (we enjoyed dinner more). We visited Izumi once for lunch and it was so good! Starbucks was great. Giovanni’s table was okay. The food in the main dining room was truly just average...some good, some gross. Our server was nice but very slow. Since there were 13 of us in our group they split us between two tables. The other table had an excellent server. She was so personable and efficient. To illustrate the contrast...we would order at the same time. The other table would be finishing up dessert when we were finishing our appetizer. They were in and out in 45 minutes while ours took 90 minutes. We only ate there three times and skipped dessert the third night because it was just too slow. Breakfast and lunch were faster. Try the chopped salad at lunch. It’s really good! The windjammer had a nice selection. Good burgers, good brunch selection, good omelets. Indian night and Greek night were both good. The place gets pretty crowded so we tried to avoid peak times. Park Place in the solarium provided snacks in the afternoon and later at night. Burgers and hotdogs were fine. Not a fan of the pizza (think undercooked frozen pizza) or the nachos (the cheese sauce has no taste). The fruit and fruit cups are good. They also offer cookies and chips. We ordered room service for breakfast and dinner...they charge a nominal fee, but the food isn’t worth it. Activities: The cruise director, Cory, was fantastic! We really enjoyed the shows! The singers and dancers were great. We had a magician, comedian, and guest singers. Everybody was great. All of the shows took place in the Palladium. The seats are comfy but be careful with the cup holders. They don’t hold all of the glasses, which results in spills. Trivia and karaoke were lots of fun. The 4th of July celebration was fantastic. They decorated the boat so nicely. Coco Cay is amazing! Truly a game changer for Royal. We loved the pool and swim up bar. The food was great and there were plenty of beach chairs and umbrellas. We would have loved to have more days there. The pools and whirlpools were great. We used them in the mornings and on port days. They were crowded on sea days so we avoided them. The arcade is really small, so my daughter was disappointed. The gym is equipped and adequate, but small, so it was usually packed in the mornings. The big screen was out of commission and was replaced during our cruise. It worked the last night. Should be great for future cruises! Beverages: The bartenders were great. We loved the Schooner Bar and Viking lounge. Customer service: Everyone was friendly and willing to help. Our room steward was great. From other reviews, Grandeur receives high marks in this area. I agree that they deserve it, but I have been impressed with the customer service on every single one of my cruises. Would I sail on Grandeur again? I enjoyed my cruise (I always do). I most likely will not sail Grandeur again. I prefer newer, larger ships, where the activities overwhelm me. I know that’s not for everyone. If you prefer an older, smaller ship with nice staff and without all of the bells and whistles, then Grandeur is for you! You will definitely have a good time. Read Less

This was a quick get away for my husband and I. Thank you jelly, Cam, the cruise director, Blessings, Superda, from Thailand, Danny, Roel, and especially Hery our cabin steward, also Lelia. You guys were great and made our cruise even better. It was a delight to feel so welcome and you went out of your way to ensure that we had fun. There were so many of you and I hope I haven’t forgotten any of you. Thanks Allison for your guidance during shopping. We got held up in DI in The Bahamas and didn’t get all the perks but that’s ok. We will definitely see you again but not on deck 7. Room E66 was not a great choice for us because of all the noise. It’s a party ship Blessings to you all. What an awesome Captain: can park a ship on a dime. Great job!! Never been on a ship where the captain actually got engaged with us and kept us abreast of everything. We am platinum members and this was by far the best cruise ever. Freeport absolutely sucks. Should be dropped from all ports of call. All I saw was containers and junk. Not attractive. Read Less

The ship was very pretty, had most of what we like in elegant decor to delight our senses and keep us dazzled. The food, too, was very good, possibly the best we have experienced in a wealth of cruises we have taken with a variety of cruise lines. We had an inside cabin off the Royal Promenade, which meant we had a window that looked down at the shoppers. The room, itself, was very nice, with a window seat as well as a little couch, besides the desk chair. It was roomy, with enough nooks for storage for our short 4-day cruise, that I would consider to book such a cabin again. However, the bed was hard - I mean board hard! Our quality of sleep was not good for the 4 nights. We tossed and turned most of the night, only to fall asleep and wake much later in the morning because we had no sense of day or night because of being in an inside. This sleep pattern disrupted our usual cruising routine. Anxious to start using the Workout room, we went straight there the first morning. The weight-powered machines were adequate, but when we attempted to use the bikes, treadmill, etc. they all were password accessible. The place hummed with activity, and I saw no staff member there that would assist us in how to activate any of these equipment. So... we left, and never returned to the workout room for the duration of the cruise. We dined twice in the dining room with our open dining option, and the service was good both times. We actually made a reservation for those dining nights when we first boarded the ship. I asked the staff taking our reservation which night was formal nigh, and he informed me that they do not do formal nights anymore. Having packed my husband’s suit, I was disappointed this wasn’t made clear on their webpage. We cruised with my daughter and her family, and I hoped to get a nice picture of us all decked out in our best attire. Originally the formal night is the second night of shorter cruises, but we chose a different night to go to the dining room, to better fit with our daytime plans. But what I wasn’t told is that RCI or maybe just this ship does a Dress Up anyway you Like evening which is the same as formal night, and all the photographers were on hand... and we missed it as we sat upstairs in the Windjammer enjoying the casualness of the night, unknowing... The focus on hand-washing as people entered the Windjammer was humorous, with staffers playing guitars, singing and prancing around “washy-wash your hands, scrubby, scrub your hands” to popular tunes, and with the exception of one very tuneful fellow, sung painfully off key. The service there was good to excellent, but I found the tables so close together, and the chairs difficult to move on the carpet, that it was a struggle to get up and return to your table, weaving through tables and chairs heavy with other diners. No more pretty glassware is given in the specialty drink. I was told that stopped, even though their website still shows pictures of those lovely glasses. Huge disappointment, hoping to add to my collection. But about the drinks, it costs around $15 per glass. Plan to drop $30+ for two drinks... making those high priced “drink plans” a better choice for some. Bingo was rather a disappointment, too. Less games, higher prices. No fun Bingo Lingo. Rush, rush, rush. And the same for all the Trivia gatherings we experienced. Boring. Regarding the dance and singing talent of the theatre shows, It was an experience we could have better spent watching TV in our cabin room. But, ah, there were no movies to be seen on that TV without paying $12 to rent. This included movies the ship was showing poolside each day. It didn’t seem fair. So, hanging in the room was not an option on this ship. But lounging in the Solarium was a real relaxing. Bring a good book or two, and find a pool bed. Or maybe a hammock on the upper open decks. But if you grab a towel or two, be warned that if you will need to show your sea pass, and then must return them, Showing your sea pass again. Maybe bring your own beach towels might be the better choice? If you are real savvy with technology, then maneuvering the RCI Ap to find out what’s going on day-to-day, hour-to-hour will be all you need on your phone, providing it is no more than a couple years old model. Otherwise, you can still tote around the paper version, as we did. The Ap was difficult to navigate, and caused more frustration than convenience. We stopped at CocoCay, and it is huge. Daughter had booked a beach bed for her family, and when she stepped off the pier entrance, there were no signs to direct her to where they were. They went to the nearest beach, and walked the sand till they found them an hour later. Later it was discovered that there was an exclusive transport cart to take people to the private beach where rage beach beds were. It took us longer to find them, as we dragged our rented water mats along with our beach bag. We stopped to ask where the beach beds were, and staffers there were clueless till one took the measures to investigate, and put us “elderly” people on a cart transport to the exact beach. It was a nice, quiet beach, I mean very nice. The kids spent the day finding all sorts of sea creatures in the shallows and along their walk through the sandbars. But the beach was far removed from the fun children’s activities, so put on your walking shoes when visiting CocoCay. The second port stop was at Nassau. We stayed on the ship, We noticed that the pier was different. They have added more piers changing the look of the cruise port entrance. It had been a few years since we last were docked in Nassau. And lastly, our final bill. We compared the cost to what they changed our credit card, and it did not jive. I have inquired with RCI and have not received a response from them. And, no, we did not a make any additional purchases on our last day. So...? Be mindful that their bookkeeping might have some chinks in their otherwise Royal Caribbean armor. Read Less

My wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with our first cruise on Norweigian Dawn from NYC. We both flew from Western Canada to join this cruise and we both were extremely impressed for the following reasons. First, the staff at Norweigian we're very helpful, energetic and amazing individuals. From the housekeeping, waiters, cooks, cruise staff, ship operations and entertainers these people are the back bone of your operation and I am very impressed how much preparation, thought and well executed everything was. We were very happy with the food experience as food in Garden Cafe (buffet) continually changed so often. Only lack lustre food was at Bamboo which was less than quality of food court Chinese food. The restaurants Aqua, Venetien, O'Sheehans were all fantastic with great food and great wait staff. All the ports of call were well organized and good options. This was the most excellent experience my wife and I have been on and we're very thankful to all the hard working staff. All the shows, comedian, magician and entertainers were amazing. The games were activities on board were fun too. Most shows/entertainment was geared towards demographics of 50-70 years old so therefore most of the songs we had no idea since we are in our early 30's. It would be nice to have songs that encapsulate a broader demographic. The ports of Port Canaveral wouldn't have enough time at Disney World (only 4 hours there) so we spent time at Disney Springs. There's not much to do at Disney Springs. Next time I think I would choose the Space station tour. At the Great Stirrup Cay it was an amazing little island with great service, beaches and fun snorkelling. At Nassau it was nice to see Atlantis. We were on Deck 5 and were quite happy with the accomodations having a window. The housekeeping was very good making sure everything was clean and in order. We were very happy with everything but we didn't win anything at Bingo, Deal or No deal, or got picked for any of the games. We would definately choose this ship or NCL again! Read Less

This was perfect for our two first time cruisers. Not too big, not too long and ports that have lots to choose from. Same great Carnival food, service and dance parties as the big ships. Benefits of a smaller ship and carnival include fastest and friendliest dinner service at sea. Also way easier to get on and off of than a mega ship. It was a younger, rowdier crowd than we’re used to seeing on cruise ships out of Florida. Older ship with no rock climbing walls or ropes course and only one pool. But maintained very well. It works for a short cruise with one sea day. I wouldn’t want a longer cruise with more sea days on this ship. Drinks were way more expensive than any cruise we’ve ever been on. You need to have planned excursions tours or daypasses in Bahamas. We always go to Atlantis in Nassau. We got a day pass for viva Wyndham fortuna in Freeport. Was really great day. Kayaking some snorkeling pools great beach buffets snack bars and drinks included. They have a scuba shop but we did not use it. Read Less

First Cruise for us a learning experience you might say. The idea of a cruise is neat but this particular one was a complete disappointment. Embarkation was super crowded and a bit confusing. Forget lunch on boarding day. The buffet was totally out of control, crowded, full of inconsiderate people and extremely long lines ( 20 minutes in the deli line - that didn't even move ) then after moving to the buffet line another 20 minutes to finally get to the food line with people butting lines to be with family. Cabin was nice, relatively clean and well appointed with a cool view from our balcony. Our Stateroom Steward Ady was pleasant and make sure our room was clean and stocked well. The bed which was supposed to be a King size was in actuality 2 twins together with a " gully" down the middle. We though peace would be on our balcony at sea. Not so some times, neighboring rooms though that it would be a great place to blast Rap music and smoke weed. Dining in the Golden Room was wonderful. Food was tasty and our Wait Staff, Oliver, Olaf and Benjamin were outstanding. Entertainment was okay more suitable for younger folks. So bottom line this kind of cruising is not for us. We'd rather spend that money on a nice resort where there are no unruly , inconsiderate crowds. Read Less

Chose this ship because of the ability to "sample" it with a three day cruise. I have been on Oasis twice but first time on Harmony. Large number of passengers....I believe they said 6,000+ so elevators always had long waits. My suggestion if you are able is to take the stairs that way you get where you want to go faster and it works in your daily exercise program! Lots of walking from one end of ship to the other. Food was better than I anticipated, based on past RCCL cruises. Written communication was strange....I had reservations for comedy show the first night but it was not listed on the programs. I had to find the venue to be sure it was still scheduled. Evidently the comedians were also confused as it was mentioned during the show that they didn't know they were performing at that time. The comedians were not good. I booked the Chef's Table upon boarding and was given a slip of paper with no time nor date. There was no information sent to the cabin and I was unable to get anyone to answer the phone to see if we were confirmed for that night. The food and presentation were both outstanding but the venue was more like being in a tent. But it was really good. Read Less

I sailed with a group of ladies. The dining seated was constantly messed up to keep us together. I realize we had a large group, but what happened to assigned seating. Breakfast in the Imagination Room, we were always told that we had to wait for the rest of the group to show up. We would then look around and find other members of our group already seated. When we asked to be seated close to them, we were told they couldn't do that. The food wasn't like I remembered it was either. No special dishes like duck or escargot, many American dishes like mac and cheese and fried chicken for a main dish. Two elevators were down and being worked on. While we were at Freeport, there were maintenance workers everywhere I looked working on the ship. The ship rocked back and forth the entire trip. I am not sure if it was the Captain sailing to fast or the age of the ship not have stabilizers to avoid to rocking Many people said that they weren't going to sail again. Our window leaked water into the room on the last night. I called maintenance. They didn't send anyone to look at it. I really think that Carnival needs to retire the Elation. Read Less

I’d like to start by saying the overall cruise experience with NCL was a good one. The stateroom accommodations were very nice. Our cabin steward was dedicated & pleasant. The way NCL upgraded the ship was nice, too. We liked the way the vessel was laid out. The restaurants were all easy to find, with the exception of the Italian restaurant tucked away in the stern of the ship. We took all our meals onboard except for one day when we had lunch at a restaurant ashore. The food on the ship was very good with the exception of the Asian restaurant. The seafood soup there was inedible and the remaining courses we had there were below average. However, I must say the hostess at the Asian restaurant was accommodating. We also feel the overall variety of food NCL offered on the ship was great. There was lots to choose from. The entertainment onboard seemed to be hit or miss. The dancers were good. The choreography was also good but I’m sorry to say that some of the singers were poor. Our NCL cruise director may be good at her job but I’m afraid she doesn’t have a very good voice. The bands we heard were also good. The brass band was very good. The man & woman trapeze act was fabulous! Again, overall the entertainment was both good & not so good. Great Stirrup Cay was absolutely beautiful. It made for a perfect day. I thought the fact that NCL didn’t have a dock to accommodate the ship & to aid in getting passengers on & off the island was going to be a major inconvenience but it wasn’t. The ferry shuttle was fine. The island was pristine. Personally, this beach day was the highlight of my trip. I’m sorry to say the most disappointing part of the cruise was disembarking on the last day. I understand NCL reserves the right to run a few minutes ahead of schedule or behind schedule as they see fit while disembarking passengers. I know it’s a huge undertaking to get everyone off the ship & to turn the vessel around. However, what we experienced the last day was disturbing. The scheduled time for us to disembark was 9:40am to 10:am. Personally, my girlfriend & I were running about 10 minutes ahead of schedule to disembark. At the same time NCL was running about a half hour ahead of schedule disembarking passengers. We had eaten, we were packed & we were dressing to disembark, when at 9:25am a knock came at our cabin door. We yelled through the door for the individual knocking to wait but in literally two seconds the stateroom door was unlocked & opened from the outside. An officer dressed in white appeared in the threshold of our cabin shouting, “You must leave the ship!” Again, my girlfriend & I were not dressed. How rude?! It was so embarrassing. I was angered. The whole ordeal just stressed us out. Frankly, we cruised with NCL to unplug & to un-stress. Instead it seemed like we ended up disembarking with more stress than we initially boarded with. I’m still shaking my head. I’ve cruised with Disney & I don’t believe Disney would ever, EVER do anything like this! Again, I know all cruise lines need to keep a tight schedule when disembarking passengers & turning vessels around. However, for NCL to apply this much pressure is to the detriment of the their guests. I also believe the officer at our door didn’t just decide to be this intrusive on her own. She was more than likely instructed by upper management to clear out the ship. Regardless, NCL needs to understand they simply cannot do this to their guests and think it’s ok because it’s just simply, Not ok. So, all-in-all we had a good cruise but I really don’t know if we’ll be coming back to NCL after being embarrassed & chased off the ship. And finally, if there are free-safe modes of transportation available at any NCL ports of call there should be no reason why NCL wouldn’t want to advertise that. NCL brochures & the NCL website are full of information about shore excursions & paid modes of transportation. NCL needs to advertise all major transportation options available at their ports of call, both free & paid options & allow passengers to choose. Read Less

We have been on many cruises. First time on Royal Caribbean. Worse, boring, and not friendly Cruise ever!! No entertainment on the pool area deck. The DJ was terrible in the Viking Lodge ,stopped the music, and turned on all bright lights every time someone spilt a drop or dropped a drink. The centerium area of the boat was mostly dead and the bar was design were your back was to entertainment area. The ship was old and didn’t looked kept up. There were a few issues with the electronic part. Even the guy doing (employee) music trivia complained about the age and out dated equipment. Honestly felt like we were at a floating nursing home. If bingo is your thing, Royal Caribbean Cruise is for you. On a positive note, we did like that the drink package was unlimited and usable off the boat. CooCay was very nice and well kept. Pool was clean and service was decent. CooCay was definitely the best part of the whole trip. Never again! Carnival ships in the future. Read Less