Went for the 10 day cruise with my Father to see the East coast of this great country of ours and wasn't disappointed. Itinerary was great except for the inclusion of Corner Brook, Nfld. This totally god-forsaken town provoked more comical insults than I thought possible & made us regret even getting off the ship. The average age of the passengers had to be northwards of 75 so booking excursions where you were more than likely to be waiting for people to catch up wasn't too appealing. Our rooms were kept nice & clean by our steward who made the bizarre move of exchanging my Swiss Army knife with a different one. I'm not complaining because I ended up with a better knife. The food was above average & as a Chef, I can really appreciate that. People can't be expecting Prime Rib & Lobster every night. I had Johnny Rockets all to myself a couple of nights & they even let me pick the music the entire time I was in there. This is a chance to try & explore new kinds of food, so why am I watching people in the Windjammer scarfing down reheated burgers, pizza & nachos? The bartenders on the ship were friendly & courteous as were our wait staff in the main dining room. The jazz lounge at the top of the ship was excellent & the live band was awesome. I did however, find the rest of the onboard entertainment lacking. The woman hosting the trivia could barley speak English & it was almost painful to listen to. Nothing to watch on your in-room television either. The sports bar wasn't even able to show MNF.

Boarding & leaving the ship was done with clockwork efficiency which surprised us because of all the stupidity the crew had to put up with. For instance: the elderly woman who brought her 4 large suitcases & demanded a porter to carry them to her stateroom or the couple who didn't find it necessary to attend the US Customs registration because they were already American. Even after they were paged 4 times!!! Yes, we were behind them when disembarking in Bar Harbour. For fun one night, my Dad & I sat in the bar beside the customer service desk listening to the stupid questions being asked. The winner being "What makes the ship go?" Not a cruise you want to be mingling on.

It would be interesting to see what the ship would be like in a warm climate as most of the outdoor bars & activities couldn't be opened. Read more