Norweigan SunJan. 2015 CruiseI booked this cruise for my Father and myself to escape the cold winter in West Virginia, we did the same last winter with MSC.The day before we left, it snowed, the day it left it snowed, and the first day of the cruise there was a noreaster blizzard in New York and the Northeast.I will never book another airline ticket for the day of the cruise, it is too stressful.Our plane landed at 1:30 and we departed at 4 pm.Most cruises want you there 2 hours before they leave port.In the past, I have three times booked my tickets for the day of the cruise, and really... it is not a good idea.By the time we got our checked in bags all 4 of them, as well as 2 carry on and 2 personal bags and got to the ship, we had a little more than an hour to do the check in process which we did.But had our plane been delayed, fuggadaboudit.The embarkation process was fast and we were happy to be on board.Embarkation day and our First full cruising day was fine.I only have three complaints, The Veterans Get Togethers, Rooom Service, not much respect for Veterans.COMPLAINT ONEThe ship had a "Veterans Get Together" in the Champagne lounge on the first day at sea and then again in the Java Cafe on the last sea day.There was no representative there, no signage, no signs for the lounge and no form of respect from the ship.What I mean, is that it would have been nice to offer all Veterans a drink or some snacks or some recognition.Not asking for a handout or freebies, bt honestly.. how hard is it to bring a container of fresh coffee and some pastries from the buffet and serve them to our troops?It would be helpful also to make a simple postcard for each Veteran and place it inside the cabin door.we met at least 50 FIFTY Veterans who did not kn ow about either of these events.we also met about 20 at the events that did not know if they were in the right place or not.Again, a sign with a red white and blue ballons would have been nice.Finally the java Lounge had a animal towel folding demonstration going on and it was very loud and a few Veterans left because they could not hear each other talk.My Father is 96 and many of the WWII Vets could not simply hear each other.MSC, Royal Caribbean and Carnival have all done a much better job.I did however meet many vets, some from WWII and a Vietnam Sniper who was not too pleased with Michael Moore's comments.Another Vet was tring to tell me about his escaping from the Germans prison twice but I could not hear him over the towel demonstration.Shame!We gave each Veteran who stayed an autographed copy of one of my Father's books.COMPLAINT TWOROOM SERVICEThe room service takes 45 minutes each time and while that seems long for a stale and bitter pot of coffee, the food is nice.The room service attendants are rewarded with beads as well as most of the crew I met.I understand that there is a lot of cabins to attend to, but in the 3 previouse cruises, room service NEVER took 45 minutes, ever.The food was excellent except for the room service.The grilled cheese was not ereally grilled, the cheese was not melted at all.I asked for them not to bring potato chips and nearly every order they included them, which was wasteful.The PB&J sandwiches had large blobs of strawberry which was not appetizing.On two occasions the cookies were very hard even when dunked in milk.COMPLAINT THREEThere really is no discount for Veterans on this particular cruise.There should be some sort of discount for Veterans regardless on which cruise they book.Carnival does that, this crise line does not.We like that we can dine after 5 with no "early or late dining".The dining room is a short walk from us and I give them thumbs up for getting us that cabin.The dining room manager at Four Seasons was from Lima Peru and she was very professional and helpful getting us great seats each night.Some nights we shared a table other nights we did not.The photographers are not as pushy as Carnival.There are less drunks than on Carnival.The staff is mainly filipino and very friendly and polite.On MSC they were more reserved and distant.There are a lot of Peruvians and Filipinos working here and that is fine with me, they are very good at their jobs!Many people come up to my Father and shake his hand and say "Thank You".When they do that they are rewarded with a set of beads.My dad got a free beer which he did not drink, but when in rome and when it is 90 degrees outside, I had to help him out, right?He gets free kisses from the ladies and is well respected which is one of the reasons I like to take him on cruises.Thinking of being a snowbird so we can do this more often.The cabin we had was an interior one and the only disapointment was that there really was no military discount and to upgrade to an ocean view was $800.Sorry Pops, I will save that money for another cruise.I opted to place a $250 deposit (twice) and was rewarded with $200 in Cruise dollars to spend, which I did and got meself a new digital camera!So it pays to place a deposit which can be used within 4 years.I have NEVER booked a ship endorsed excursion because they are too pricey and I like to support the local tourists.Today I did a 360 degree turn and booked the "Mayan Ruins & Island Overview" for $55 and it was worth it.Jose was our guide and took us to San Gervasio Mayan Ruins.The ruins were cool but my faorite part was seeing the lizards.I got some great photos of them.Later at the beach, I had one Virgin Pina Colada and Pico da Gallo at Restaurant El Pescador for $9.00.The gentleman next to me and his wife they tried to charge him $34 for a $17 bill and did not get away with it.So check your bills before paying.On the way back I found vendor after pushy vendor in and around the Cruise Ship terminal.I was seeking the hand painted skulls for Dias De La Muerte (Day Of The Dead).They are plentiful in Chichen Itza and here also.They range from $3 to $5 averge for the small ones I was seeking.One vendor insisted his were worth $20 but "for me" only $18.I balked and eventually found two ladies who were sisters and had seperate stalls who knew how to negotiate.They sold them to me for $2 each as in Chichen Itza I can get them all day long at 3 for $5.The other lady and her sister sold them to me for $2 but did not have enough (I wanted 50) so they sold me the larger ones for $3 each.This was a bargain also as they were retailing them for over $8 to $10 each.They both understood "Buying in bulk".If I am ever back there, I will spend more money with them.Most of the souvenier vendors sell their wares high and prey on the elderly and naive.Me having travelled a lot, suggest you walk further away from the pier or simply go elsewhere to save money.I had one beer for $3 and got my free wifi for a half hour.That is all the time I needed and saved 40 to 75 cents a minute not using the ships wifi.I predict that one day most or all ships will have free wifi.I say this as 9 out of 10 people I speak to balk at paying for wifi on the ships.I want to recognize the following people for their excellent service:The cruise director and store for giving my Father a Swag bag with T Shirts playing cards, coffee cups and key chains!Richard Matic The Cruise Director from The Philippines who along with the staff ruined a perfectly goo dIrish song on the last day with their "Fountain"interpretation. It was hysterical!The Java Cafe staff of Chona Pascual, Gilbert Naong, Dommel Alsim, Regina, Edgar HorlanderSandra Rey The Four Seasons Hostess from Lima PeruDD or Dorothy Singer is an amazing dancer and singer!Solange Zindzi from Netherlands the MOST AMAZING gifted dancer I have ever seen, she is electrifying and alluring!Jimmy Hogsdon my "Nico" WaiterHoirul Muslim our room attendant from indonesiaBrian Walters & Sherry ArquillanoJanice Carbonill, Khadija Khawani, Edgar Cabantug Four Seasons Wait StaffCarmela Ferrar, Jonna May Salvador & Richard Reazoin Guest ServicesLuis Rios Assistant Executive HousekeeperGerardo Mendoza Quevedo from Peru Room serviceSarah Dewar from Canada, Robynn Hendricks from South Africa and Prasuila Plum from Brazil from the Photo TeamAll the "washy washy" girls from the Philippines including Angela Parades that kept the germs away from the buffet.