Wife and I “avoided” sailing Celebration as so many people have left negative reviews. Stepping onboard we expected little. Boy we were pleased by the condition of the ship. Not long out of dry dock and a upscale upgrade she’s looking great. A new mega ship she’s not, but for the payed for price a bargain. A production show each night plus a late night 18plus show $6.50 draft beer what a bargain. Dinner and a buffet worth the fare and and extra charge steakhouse with mouth tender steaks to please anybody. Freeport? The only real bummer of the cruise maybe just stay onboard or walk to Carlos and Charlie’s next door. Did you pay to be onboard? You get your monies worth. Did you do the free cruise for a high pressure Timeshare sale? Probably still worth it just more painful. Need fireworks on your cruise please avoid this Ship! Like a good time on a budget? This is your ship Read Less

I chose this cruise after doing as much research as a first time cruiser could do. I saw an advertisement and it led me to this cruise. Short and "sweet" for a nice little getaway.. "Nice" was definitely not the word I would use in any way shape or form. First we arrived to the port at 1115a.m. on 2/22/20 thinking we could board and begin settling in and enjoying the activities set for DAY 1. That wasn't an option because we were told to leave and come back by someone at valet parking because the ship wasn't there and wouldn't return until 4p.m. mind you, we were to set off at 4:30p.m. We were in West Palm and had nothing to do for about 4.5 hours. We had to park at a mall about 4 miles away to try and kill time. We arrived back to the port around 3:45 only to wait another 40 minutes in valet to hand our keys off to someone. Then we stood in another line to enter through to security check for another 1.7 hours. Once we got through security, we went into another level of madness, because there was no order to what was going on. We were all asked to stand in a room to hopefully get our boarding cards but there was no order, noone knew anything. We asked 3 different people where we needed to stand and they all answered that they had no idea. We waited in a line that stated it was US PASSPORT for 35 minutes only to then be told by a gentleman named Conrad that this wasn't actually an open line and that he wasn't helping anyone else. I was upset at this point and told him that unless he intended on finding another line for me where I would be taken care of, he would need to help me because he had already helped 4 people in front of us and suddenly it wasn't a line? He ended up helping us and then we had to get into yet another line to actually pass through the visual check to eventually board the ship. We waited another 30 minutes there. We got into the ship level 5 at 645p.m. when we were to be allowed into the ship at 11a.m. We had to stand in another line to ask about wifi and a charge that had already been made on the card which noone mentioned to us would be charged as a verification of a working card on file. We didnt arrive to our room until 710. Dinner was quickly had and a few drinks. We didnt get to enjoy our first day. Everything was rushed and we missed a great deal of the activities set for DAY 1. Obviously we weren't happy about this because the cruise was short as is and we lose a day? Fair? No way. We arrived to Bahamas Free port and got onto our bus at 1100 and didnt arrive until about 1145. It was there that we were informed that our package didn't even include frozen or top shelf alcohol so that too was disappointing. We were on the beach until 340. We got back and tried to enjoy the rest of the day but the food from the buffet on the island didnt settle well so we were sick to our stomachs the rest of that evening. Monday came and we began getting pqcked up when at 8:18a.m. the housekeeping lady knocked and said I needed to be out of my room by 830a.m.. I said, "Wait but on our itinerary it says our Deck, 7, is set for 10:30 departure so how is that? She said "okay fine you can stay until 9 but I need to clean the room.for the next guests. I closed the door in disbelief. At this point, I was so over the whole ordeal. I was ready to grab my luggage when at 8:48a.m. she knocked yet again. I opened the door and she let herself in, like literally made her way past me and said I need to change the sheets on the bed. I couldn't even believe this. How was this ok? We grabbed our things and headed up to have breakfast before leaving. We noticed we still had drinks cards and attempted to grab a drink when we realized that the bars didnt seem open. We went down to level 5 to customer service which now had a ridiculous line of people agitated by the trip that we decided to just call and speak about our trip. We went to leave and were stopped at the gate way or walk way off the ship. It appeared that there was confusion as to people being let out that way although that was where we were told to exit through. We finally got past that chaos to then have to stand in line for another 20 minutes because apparently there were issues with a family and receiving clearance. Noone said anything as to why we were standing in line again until I asked what was going on. The lady went and asked someone who told her that she asked for US Passports only. I told her noone asked any of us anything otherwise we would've headed in that direction instead of hanging out so more. We wanted to be done with the cruise. It was horrible. I have yet to hear from anyone regarding our experience. I have emailed, dm'ed, left a message for a supervisor and have tried customer service 4 times. Don't waste your money. I will continue to call until this is dealt with. We deserve to be compensated. Read Less

I live 8 miles from the Port of Palm Beach. So it’s a natural thing for me to take one of the BPCL ships to get away. I’ve sailed both ships but since the Classica was going to Nassau I chose her. So, I sailed on her in November 2019 with my adult grandchildren and I wanted to sail with my daughter for her birthday. Here is the rub, I’m not too keen on sailing in February but it was her birthday. So off we went. First off, the ship is in great condition. Clean as can be and we booked a suite. It was fun. Fortunately for us we do not get seasick. However, if you do not like the motion of the ocean do not sail on this cruise line this time of the year. It was rough from the start but by the time we were on our way home it calmed down. The concierge package was great as always. This ship offers everything an adult would want to have a quiet getaway if you are willing to pay the price. If you have small children do not take them on this ship. Take the Grand Celebration. The food was great at the Rock Restaurant, the champagne breakfast did not disappoint, the wine tasting was very informative, the Admiralty Restaurant was great as usual and our concierge Catalina was great as usual. I’ll be back again but not in February. It wasn’t the cruise line’s fault that we have been having unusually high winds and seas. Thank you BPCL for another wonderful restful cruise. Read Less

Why? Was curious and it fit our schedule, we have been on several carnival, princess, and royal. Beyond expectations in most areas.This ship is very similar to carnival in so many ways, especially the layout obviously because it was a carnival ship. Tip one: Arrive early around 10:30, it seems check in would be slow if there was a line. Valet and baggage check in was efficient, quick, and simple. No porter, no problem. You bring your luggage 50 feet to scanner and another short distance to drop off that seemed easier than the bigger ships and ports. Tip two: research all the additional options and packages such as drink packages and specialty dining, concierge vip etc, they will again and again be offered while you wait to board, tip three: practice for and plan those green screen photo ops, have extra embark pictures taken because the will be some unadvertised photo package to entice you, remember they are professional photographers and work with you for requests. tip four:Don't expect an extensive menu or buffet, however all the free stuff is a good variety and was EXCELLENT. I wish and miss they had no salsa for my eggs, no oatmeal fixings, no oatmeal on 2nd morning, no toast or bagels. tip five: don't over eat between meals. they also had midnight we had mid afternoon burgers and then realized the had Smokehouse bbq brisket, chicken ribs, slaw etc, it was excellent. They also had midnight tacos the first night. There was a good free drink variety of juices etc, and free ice cream cones. Pizza is not free, nor is the specialty burgers. Free dining is small selection with optional pay for items like filet and lobster tail for around 20 bucks. Outstanding dining service and food. Inside cabin just fine like other ships. tv lousy, but too busy to need it. On board entertainment great, something always going on, except They charged 9 bucks for comedy show that was ok, I was slightly disappointed because of being spoiled by carnival's punchliner comedy . Missed that sucking sound the last night cuz the toilet broke, they were on it quickly Did not use their excursions, and the snorkel that I booked outside of cruise was weather canceled. Looking forward to another opportunity. Disembark was pretty quick being near front of line for early flight, but looked like a long wait behind us. Therefore valet was quick too. I believe the ship was half empty because only one half buffet open. This added to the uncrowded feel. Pools were closed? hot tubs open I rely on reviews and doing my part to help others. Overall great time. bon voyage Read Less

We had cruised on the Grand Celebration before the hurricane hit Freeport, having had a great time on that ship, so the next time in Florida we thought to check out the Grand Classica going to Nassau. The first time I took the Celebration, I was pleasantly surprised because truthfully, I had very low expectations to start but was very impressed by the experience. This time, however, my expectations were higher and so I ended up a bit disappointed as it did not live up to that original cruise. Embarkation was swift and painless and we were on the ship quickly. I found our ship to have very few passengers on board- which I thought would be awesome because I had servers everywhere being helpful. It turned out to be really disappointing because there was no action- there were bars and lounges completely empty in many parts of the ship, the huge dining rooms were very empty as well which was kind of creepy. Every cruise I've been before this one was packed and the crowds get annoying at times, but I think I prefer that to a relatively empty ship. Once on board, I found I was not a fan of the ship's layout. The sun deck had no live entertainment and only 2 bars, one quietly tucked into the side and the other in the back of the ship which was annoying to access. Servers were all over the place presumably to make up for the lack of bar areas to hang out. The main lounge was in the middle of the ship, with some neat looking lounges tucked into some fairly hard to reach areas elsewhere. I suspect a number of people missed these places entirely for that reason, some better signage would help. The cabin was huge relative to any other stateroom I have had before, and while cabins aren't a huge priority for me, not being jammed into a room like sardines like other cruises I've been on is something I appreciated. The room was big enough it would have almost qualified as a jr. suite on some other ships, minus the balcony of course. It was updated and well appointed. The only downside is there are only 10 balcony rooms on the entire ship, which are all suites. The food was OK to good, the buffet was adequate and the main dining hall was good quality. We dined at the Admiral's Club one night as well and it was superior dining in almost every way, which it should have been. What is interesting is that nearly everyone of our group of 6 commented that the dinner's appetizer and dessert was outstanding but the main courses were disappointing. It should be noted 2 of our group had steak overcooked, a big no-no if you are going to upcharge for it. The chefs working there should know how to properly cook a steak. The entertainment was very good when it was available. I suspect the lack of passengers resulted in not having as many entertainment options, and that is a shame, I thought who they did have was great. There was still plenty to do on this trip, but compared to the Grand Celebration cruise we took which was much fuller at the time, not even close in entertainment, both in quality and quantity. The service was awesome, best service I've had on any cruise, again, largely due to lack of passengers. Crew everywhere, everyone helpful and friendly, ready to assist with just about anything, just a joy to be around. This is an advantage of having a relatively empty ship I guess, but I took advantage and enjoyed talking to many of the crew, who had time to chat a lot of the time. The shore excursions were very good and the port of Nassau is fine. The ship heavily promoted the Blue Lagoon, which was a fun excursion. Lots to see and do there, an island with a very nice protected beach including encounters with dolphins, sea lions, stingrays, etc. We just hung out at the beach but the whole excursion was well worth the cost. The return home included some very rough seas but it was handled beautifully. Overall, the lack of passengers and quirky layout of the ship dampened the overall experience, but it was still a good one. I still think it's a great value and will definitely consider returning when I come back to Florida and want to spend a couple days at sea. Read Less

I am not a new cruiser, I have been on close to 30 and love it! I bought the tickets for this trip during one of Bahamas Paradise's sales (which are ongoing) and felt like we had a good deal. I also upgraded to the "Concierge Package", which was also a good deal when all of the perks were added together. The ship was less than 1/2 full, so there was plenty of space everywhere. The ship is styled like an older ship, but it is clean and kept in great shape. Cabin: "ocean" view (porthole). The cabin had plenty of room for two people with a large bed, two chair sitting area, small table, and bathroom. There is a TV in the corner, but we never turned it on. The bathroom had enough space and good lighting. CON: only one outlet in the room itself, and a European style plug. I was prepared with a converter as I had heard there was only the European style outlets. Public areas: There are several lounges, bars, two pools, spa with sauna and steam room, and a gym. Of course a small casino and library as well (which was nice as many ships don't have them now). Everything was bright and clean. Entertainment: Typical "rock" dance show and comedy club. Dining: Overall we were very happy with all of the food. We ate at the specialty "Admirals" restaurant, the buffet, and the main dining room. All were very good and plenty of food. CON: the drinking water is TERRIBLE to the point as to be undrinkable. I am not a water snob and drink tap water frequently (Tampa, Florida), but this was not drinkable unless it was ice cold. Conclusion, I would absolutely sail with this company again, next time I would like to compare their old Carnival ship. Read Less

I wasn't sure if it was a scam until we got the cruise voucher from the hotel in Orlando. It is not a scam. They will try to sell things such as dining experiences and excursions but the only one you should get at minimum is the beach getaway, because otherwise you won't see the beach. I chose this cruise because it was low cost. There was plenty of buffet food. Lots of it was nutritious and it was all fresh. The service was better than decent. The entertainment was captivating and mesmerizing, personally referring to the acrobatic and dance shows and live band. There was generally something interesting to do for the two nights. They had random recreational activities with a host, such as bingo games, salsa lessons, and "field goal" style golf with traffic cones to win a free drink. It was easily a great experience. Highly recommend. Read Less

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

We responded to the advertisement on television. While checking in we had to wait for the family in front of us. They had huge suitcases. They were waived through and nothing weighed. I had a duffel bag, on wheels, half full @ 28 lbs. The clerk demanded $30.00 for an overweight bag which he refused to weigh. I could not board the ship until I signed the slip which he perjured. I signed it as "disputed." Their restrictions allow two bags less than 50 lbs. I am contesting the charges and will go to small claims court out of principle if needed. The entertainment was very good. We met several of the entertainers in the dining areas. They were very conversant. Food was good but limited selection. The return trip was tough with rolling seas. The room next to us must have been vacant. Every time the ship rolled left or right the closet door in the adjacent room kept slamming either way. Made for a disruptive night. Read Less

I have no complaints. My daughter and I flew into Nassau Bahamas for a girls trip for a few days. We got bumped off our flight home and instead of waiting for another flight and possibly get bumped again, we decided to take the Classica back to Florida - so we only got to spend one over night on the ship (Jan 9th). We did have a problem with security and immigration getting on the ship. We weren't on the list (probably due to our last minute booking). We had to go back and forth between the two several times before they got an updated list with our names on it to allow us entry to the port. After all that, we walked right onto the ship and right up to the counter to get our key. Our cabin attendant came by to apologize - she didn't know we were coming. Most likely due to our last minute booking. However, our room and bathroom were clean. The ship was clean, just super dated. It smelled fresh and clean everywhere we went. Ships crew was always working, cleaning, entertaining when I saw them. Everyone was great, and friendly. The entertainment was fun and despite rough seas the shows went as planned; Jazz/Tina Turner/Bingo/RockNRoll show, and the comedy show. The food was great. The servers were great. We did the couples massage and that whole experience was wonderful! Everything was operational (except the roulette machine in the casino). I've been on other ships before, and this one is smaller and older than what I'm used to, however we had no issues. The ship is an old gal, but she's still sea worthy. She may not be the most beautiful, most everything is dated, but she was clean. We had a good time and that's what it's all about. My daughter and I would go again! Thank you! 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

I had been a Bahamas Paradise cruiser before so I was truly disappointed with this one. I have cruised in Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Grand Celebration, Carnival, MSC so I know exactly what to expect. At this price, my expectations were lower, however, knowing that this was a New Year's even cruise to Nassau I was expecting a bit more care. I arrived to the Port at 12 noon and after 2 hours of standing in line waiting to be checked-in, I nearly collapsed of exhaustion, heat and a low-blood sugar incident (I'm 70 years and a diabetic). A lady standing in the line so me get very pale and grabbed me before I fell on the ground. If you travel solo like I do, I suggest you don't take this cruise ship. Next, the food was horrific: the steak they gave me at dinner was hard and tasteless. Iblt even looking mummified! Well, I figured it was the first night "pains" and a ship full of people, but next dinner the food was even worse. I was given face towels that were stained with some kind of yellow substance. My bath towel was full of long-white hairs (I have white hair, but it's very, very short). I requested a blanket and was given a really thin one not really fit to warm you down. What a way to end the year! No thanks to you BPC and the Grand Classica! I always recommended to my family and friends to try this cruise line before. Now, I'm not so sure. But I want to thank my dinner waiter Kharisma who was so apologetic and decent to me. 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

I was so excited going on this cruise since was my first time. I must say the room was impecable and amazing, but surprisingly no one advised me that there were gonna be a maintenance guy working out of my balcony thank you very much! Specially right after I finished showering going to get dress and bingo, how embarrassed was that, I am a disable person. But this uncomfortable situation didn’t happened once but three times. It didn’t finished there but the next day morning the maintenance guy started working with a heavy electrical machine making that only strong noise. They were going to verify with maintenance department to confirm this work order and provide a better assistance. I spoke to numerous customer service representative such as Marionela, Ivonne and more. I’ve been told Maria the supervisor was gonna call me back and as of today 4 months later I’m still waiting. Read Less

My wife and I just returned from a trip to Nassau Bahamas and want to go back again with this reasonable price to spend on a weekend trip. Overall, the room is in decent size, clean and comfortable. The maid -Douglas made our bed twice a day. The food was great in the buffet area and at night, a complimentary dinner can be booked or even walked in in a beautiful restaurant, My Server Bruce Lee was very nice and efficient. In the lounge, "Sacks and Songs" was good, the band "Azu...." was more than impressive. Manager Sin was humorous and entertaining. And the shows were amazing. So, for a middle class money-saving-whenever me, this is a memorable vacation without costing us an arm and a leg. We did not go for a excursion because there is no kids and wife does not like a lot of sunshine, but managed to get to everywhere - Atlantis, Queens Staircase, etc. we wanted to go in less than $10 because the advice from the crew and easy to follow map on the ship and on the ground. The villagers were nice too. Read Less

For a groupon cruise, this turned out to be a very enjoyable experience for my daughter and i. We were a little nervous at first b/c prior to the cruise, we saw negative reviews of the food and the cruise experience.adding to that, it was our first cruise. the staff was extremely nice and helpful and even allowed my child to stay in the kid's club for free on the last night of the cruise! The food was good. As a matter of fact, we enjoyed the cruise more than we enjoyed the bahamas! Plenty of activities to do on the boat for both kids and adults and we met a lot of great people. :-) TIPS FOR FIRST TIMERS -pack a small bag to carry on. Luggage takes forever to arrive! -DONT FORGET TO ATTEND THE LIFE JACKET DRILL BEFORE THE CRUISE SAIL -have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I highly recommend this cruise if you're looking for a quick, affordable getaway. Read Less

My aunt and I just got off this cruise. It was the worst experience I had in all the cruises I had been on. Only good thing was going to Nassau. The food was disgusting, very hard and when I asked for new and hot food the waiters just laughed and kept coming back “oh you need anything else changed, you good?” When you ask a waiter to get something, they literally go and tell your server to get it instead of them doing it. The admiral dining was excellent though. The ship was kinda empty so it wasn’t fun with no people but you can’t help that. The sail away was good as well. Also another thing you can get a drink on one end of the ship and then gotta go all the way to the other side to get just food, the breakfast was cold and it wasn’t really cold. I was laying on one of the couches outside by the pool in the morning around 10 and one of the cleaning ladies woke me up and told me it was closed and I had to move???? Like why can’t I sit out by the pool in the morning. Pool size is ridiculous seems to only fit so many people, I would hate to see it on a busy day. The bedroom was bigger than the pool. The casino needs to get more games as well, there is only a small variety. The classica needs to step up their game and get like the celebration because that is the best one. Do not go on the classica if you want to be disappointed, go on the grand celebration for the best experience and service. Read Less

My 4 sisters, 2 nieces, 2 cousins and I took a 2night cruise to Nassau, Blue Lagoon Island, on Oct 22-24,2019 as an all girl getaway. We had the most fun! We learned as a mid week cruise the ship had only less than 150 passengers. We had the ship and crew almost all to ourselves. We had Sasih, our room attendant, making us the most fabulous towel animals. Loved them! FloriAnne in photography was so sweet and helpful when we were ordering photos. Raul (Wait staff) and Edwin in the Casino kept us served and amused. And a special mention of Ruel, in the Yellow Elder Restaurant, and his team for the most amusing, fun and totally enjoyable dinners both nights. Check in was a breeze, we went for lunch where we met Davor, and ardent waiter. Our staterooms were as expected, very clean and roomy enough. Sasih met us at the door and knew our names. We had our meals at the Yellow Elder, took in stage shows we enjoyed. Everything was perfect. The shore excursion to Blue Lagoon Island was so relaxing, until 2 of our ladies lost the battle of the lounge chairs on the beach and injured their foot. The First Aid technician was professional and knowledgable and treated both with care. One of my nieces really enjoyed her time at the Dolphin Encounter. We cannot wait to do this again! Thank you for a memorable family cruise!!! Read Less

Staff was cool and did our room very nice but the food on the cruise is horrible and the buffet opened once!!! Then they charge the card on your room for everybody’s purchases you booked for! The ship looks old on the inside! Then they gave us 5 “free” drink coupons for a promotional thing they were running and they charge you 18% tip for a free drink which is only a couple dollars but nobody told us! FYI there is an 18% charge on everything u buy on the cruise nobody what it is. The cruise when it came to doing stuff such as activities was very unorganized and unprofessional. When I wanted to question the charges on my card after I got off the customer service acting rude and didn’t want to help me. Was expecting a lot more out of the cruise line. Was very disappointed in how cheap they are. Worst cruise so far . Oh and the port is in a bad neighborhood and looks like a place your car will get broken into. Read Less

I chose the cruise for the Panama Canal Crossing and Costa Rica destination. The cruise was good and service was excellent. However there was false advertising: 1) The ad says India food available. When we boarded we were told that India food is available only for dinner and not for breakfast and lunch. In the dinners also India food was missing for 3 out of 9 dinners. We were to request repeatedly to get Indian food. The picture attached shows a full platter of Indian food, while in reality there was only one curry and rice. The Indian food tasted like out of can. Greatly disappointed. 2) The ad says Rocky and Rollers Band (refer to the picture attached). The band was changed to some other cheaper band and saxophone and no communication. This was clear false advertising and disappointing. 3) The deck 9 & 10 were leaking water. The ship needs a make over. 4) For the Grand Cayman 7 mile beach excursion, no snorkels were provided and we were to rent the equipment on the beach. 50% of the excursion fees was refunded after several complaints. 5) Cabin needs makeover. Refer to Cabin review. 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

Just returned from a 2 dayer on the Grand Celebration. July 25-27. A few things have changed and some I did not know about. If you receive a match comp for the casino it is for the tables only. Not for the slots. If you receive free drinks. You pay the 18% gratuity when ordering your drink. So if you get a free $9.00 drink your cost is only $1.62. Can’t beat that. Bingo has changed and not for the good. Price is way out of wack. Extremely high for what it is. $25.00 for 7 cards and only ONE game. Cover all. Normally there are 3 games. The slot tournament does not pay out cash. Only casino play for tables or slots. No evening buffets unless the ship is basically full and then maybe. Last cruise on there the evening buffet was excellent. The first evening in the MDR, neither my wife or I cared for anything on the menu. I ordered a burger and fry’s. Second evening we ate at the grill before they closed at 5:30. The ice-cream was ice milk. At lunch is was OK . Just before they closed it down, it was terrible, gooey. The pizza was very good. As were both of the lunch buffets. Everything was excellent. Breakfast was excellent. The shows were really very, very good. Better than what I remember. The comedian was very good. Getting on and off went very smooth and fast. Frozen drinks were terrible and tasted real bad. First one was a so called Miami Vice YUK! Took it back. Then a Pina Colada, YUK took it back. Mixed drinks were excellent and they even had my wife’s Moscato wine. On the Celebrity ships you had to purchase the bottle $45.00 + 18% By the glass on here. She was very happy. The day at Freeport Harbor was hot, but a beautiful day. Took our usual walk over to there. Three other ships were docked there. The area has been added to. A lot of new buildings and businesses. Everything was very clean and freshly painted. Less than a 10 min. walk from the ship if you cut through the Taxi parking area. The ship as usual, was very clan and looking good considering its age. Everyone working on the ship had smiles and were very nice. It is a great short getaway, considering the cost of the cruise. Worth it for sure. One couple we talked to hated the island but liked the cruise and the ship. It was their first cruise. Not sure what they did not like. Typical island and nothing much different from other island activities. I attached a picture of the vendors and business right there at Freeport Harbor. Read Less

I went on this cruise expecting a bad experience due to the reviews here but it was beautiful! The food was very delicious in the buffet and the restaurant that was included in our ticket had delicious appetizers, entrees and desserts to choose from. The room was very clean and everything worked fine. There are only two outlets, one in the room and one in the bathroom. If you need more, I suggest bringing an extension cord. The tv in the room had good channels and good reception so that was a plus. The live show featuring the dancers was admittedly cringy at times but there were good parts for it being free. There was a very funny comedian on board and the tickets were $9 per person. The staff was extremely kind and were eager to pull strings to help in any way. We only drank beer buckets so we did not get the drink coupons. We chose the excursion that took us to Vivas resort in the Bahamas and it was beautiful. Very clean beach, beautiful decor, great food and helpful locals. Overall, a great experience and worth the money. Very clean, comfortable, great food and tons of helpful people to answer any questions. I 100% recommend! Read Less

I chose the cruise because it was inexpensive. After reading the reviews I was scared because of all the negative reviews this cruise had. So I purchased the concierge package for my husband and I. I must say it's worth every penny. We were escorted in and out of the ship, special dinner package, a massage, wine tasting (wow really good), and a few other perks. We received the royal treatment from everyone. The restaurants of choice were spectacular. Food was amazing, service was more than expected. I booked a scuba trip for my husband and i and unfortunatly there was a 4 people min. so the trip was cancelled. The excursion manager (very professional) came out and explained why it was cancelled ad funds were going to be returned back to the account. We got our money back three days later. The pool entertainment was lots of fun. The crew really knows how to get the crowd involved. I have no complaints but very good memories of this trip. I highly recommend this cruise with the concierge package. You will be treate like royalty. Read Less

I purchased directly through the cruise line and felt that I saved a few dollars and received a better package than going through groupon. After reading other reviews, I had low expectations before boarding. I brought a power strip to overcome the one plug available in the room, a yeti cup since the cups in the buffet were small, and a white noise machine - all were needed and useful and I recommend bringing if you decide to take this cruise. We have US passports and purchased the Express Pass for $49. I felt the Express Pass was a waste of money, I will go into detail below. We arrived at the port around 11 am. Valet was efficient, we received our parking slip and were sent to have our luggage tagged. We were approached about adding a concierge package, we declined. We were then sent inside to go through security, quicker than airport security. Once through, you drop your checked luggage down a long hallway and then head upstairs to begin the check in process. Upstairs, there were few people in line, we only had a moment wait before being helped (no need for the express pass). From research, I knew about needing a card on file and the $100 hold. I had prefilled the form and had it ready for checkin. After receiving our cruise cards, we saw all the "extras" available for purchase. We had booked our excursion in advance over the phone. We knew in what we wanted, but were confused on where exactly to go. We figured it out and was able to book a fine dining experience at the Rock Grille (highly recommend!). The employee kept trying to upsell us to a package and push us to eat at the Admiralty Club instead. We declined and headed to purchase a soda package. We had ten free drink coupons through our package, yet the next employee did try to sell us another, we said we just wanted one soda package. We signed a form, received a copy, and got our soda cup. After a twenty minute wait, where there were cookies and lemonade available, we were able to line up for boarding. An announcement was made that the buffet would open at 12 PM on deck 10 and rooms would be ready at 1. The room key is in the cabin door. Boarding was efficient, swipe your cruise card, security checks your picture and you're on. We went straight to the buffet, but were led to a table by the pool area. We were confused, we wanted to eat but there were others sitting at these tables. Decline to sit, this was an upsell to get you to buy a $17 alcoholic drink cup. I was close, since the drinks were twice the size of the ones you get at the bars, but with the drink coupons you still have to pay $3 per drink. With this info, I declined. We then headed to the buffet and were surprised at the good quality of the food. There were employees walking around attempting to sell the $17 cups. With my soda cup, I was unclear where to receive soda - you have to go to a bar for soda. There's one in the back of the buffet. All the bartenders I went to were nice and happy to fill the cup. After lunch, we explored the ship and relaxed for sometime in one of the cabanas on deck 12. They made the announcement at 1 that rooms were ready, we headed to our room on the 7th floor. The whole ship was clean, the room included. It was an oceanview, with a nice, large window. There were two small beds pushed together to make a queen bed, the bed was very comfortable. Our housekeeper checked in on us, made sure we had what we needed and when I asked about our excursion passes, he brought them directly to me. With the express pass, we were supposed to have luggage priority, many people on our hallway had their bags before us and the two bags came at different times (another reason not to bother with the extra expense). While on board, we found there weren't many activities that we enjoyed. We don't care for clubs or dance contests and the included entertainment was ... not good. Think a poor high school musical. We actually walked out. Dinner at the Rock Grille was amazing. It was hard to find, they actually convert one of the sides of the pool deck 10 midship into the restaurant. It was warm, but they had fans blowing. It was well worth the $39 pp upcharge. The next morning brought rain as we arrived in Freeport. We went to the meeting area for our jeep excursion, received our wristbands, and waited. After a while, we were informed our excursion had been canceled due to the weather and we were sent to deck 5 to receive a refund and book another. We were not offered any specials (though they were being offered pre-boarding as a b1g1 free) even though I asked. We were only offered 1 excursion, the best of the Bahamas city tour and beach visit. The couples next to us were offered different ones and received 20% off, so I'm not sure why. The tour was a charter bus, with a funny guide and driver. The guide had poor time management skills. We had to cut many stops short because of this. Freeport is not nice, many run down buildings. We ended up at a beach owned by the tour company, included lunch was nice and the coconut drinks ($16 each) were amazing. We ate at Stellar Prime this night, which is challenging to find. We were seated with three other couples at an eight top. The food was just ok. Once we arrived back to WPB, we went to the express disembarking area at 830am, we lined up and went right through with our passports (another reason to not need the Express Pass). Total time from line to car was less than 20 minutes. This ship can go 19 knots, meaning at full speed the trip to Freeport should take less than four hours. This company takes 14 hours, with the only reason is to get you to spend more money on board. The boat must stop many times during the night. It began to list the morning we were arriving in Freeport, not sure if this is usual. The first night I continued to hear a loud thud and what sounded like someone running down the hallway (there wasn't anyone out there). I'm not sure what this was, it could be heard over my white noise machine and only happened between 1am and 5am the first night. Also, the next morning we heard maintenance knocking on doors, we looked out to see that the hallway had standing water about 4 doors down. This didn't impact us. Another reviewer discussed the clientele on the ship. With this price point, the Dollar General crowd is a good description. The ships elevators are small and slow, we opted to take the stairs rather than wait. My fitbit stated I went up 25 flights of stairs each day of the trip. We did not use the pools or hot tub, they were always full of too many people in the small spaces. I checked my final bill, it was correct at $117, the hold my credit card account was $195 instead of $100. A side note about the valet, I drive a sports car and have a driving app through onstar on my phone. Once on board, I pulled up my app and discovered the valet took my car for a joy ride, with many hard accelerations and hard braking. I had to disembark and finally spoke to the COO of the port who assured me they would investigate and the valet would be fired. If you have a nicer car, take precautions in advance or explore other transportation options. Overall, I would not take this cruise again. It met my low expectations, but did not exceed them. The only positive I have was eating at the Rock Grille. There are other options in Florida to enjoy similar things without the cost or clientele, especially in the keys. Read Less