Lots Of Good Fun!

We started out with a Pre-Cruise at Holiday Inn Downtown Superdome in New Orleans. We can enthusiastically recommend this hotel if you are staying there. We found the service, friendliness of the staff and the rooms were all excellent!

EMBARKATION- This was a breeze. We had priority boarding, but it didn't seem to make a difference. It was very well organized.

CABIN- The cabin was well laid out with lots of storage space and a decent size balcony. It was very clean and the bed was comfortable.

CABIN ATTENDANT- The cabin attendant was pretty efficient. She wasn't very personable and we did not see her around a lot, but she kept the room clean and was prompt to respond to any requests.

MDR- We ate in the Main Dining Room 3 of the 7 nights. After the first night, we did not have to ask for the same table. We had a table for two, but there was a table for 4 right next to us and the same 2 couples were there each night. Very nice people. The quality of the food was much better than I was expecting. We really liked our assistant waiter, but never once met the waiter. This applies only to dinner. We did eat in the MDR for breakfast one morning and it was not a good experience.

WINDJAMMER/PARK CAFE- The food in the buffet was also very good and there was a wide variety to choose from. The scrambled eggs for breakfast as well as the hash browns, were generally not hot, but there were a couple of omelet stations where you could get eggs cooked to order. If you just wanted a snack, there was the Park Cafe for sandwiches.

BARS- Believe it or not, we did check out several of the bars. If you have ever been on an RCI ship, there is no need to discuss the Schooner Bar as they are the same on every one. We used that one a lot if we just wanted to relax for a bit or get on the internet (BTW, the wi-fi on the ship was really slow). The Crown and Castle Pub is right by the auditorium and we stopped there fairly often. The only other bars we went to with any regularity were the R Bar, which was in the Centrum, and the Pool Bar, which was conveniently located by the pool.

BARTENDERS- There were no bartenders that really stood out, except for maybe Vic in the C&C Pub and maybe our drinks server in the MDR. The overall service was very good and the lounge service was exceptional, for the most part.

GUEST ENTERTAINERS- The guests entertainers were top notch. We enjoyed those shows very much.

MAIN SHOWS- It only took one of these shows to tell us we did not want to waste our time going to any others. the talent of their crew, especially the lead male singer was average at best.

LOUNGE ENTERTAINMENT- This was a high point for us. They had a couple piano players and a couple guitarists, each playing a different style. Their singers were good, but not great.

CROWN AND ANCHOR PIER EVENT- This is the lamest excuse for an event we have ever seen. Seats were jammed together, so if you didn't get there early, you were pretty much out of luck. They didn't have the different managers up front to introduce them individually, and the Captain didn't even speak. Most of the speaking was done by the Assistant CD.

SHORE EXCURSION- We only did one shore excursion and it was post cruise. It was a tour of New Orleans with an Airport drop off. We did this excursion because our plane wasn't scheduled to depart until later. It was worth the price.

DISEMBARKATION- This was very well organized and there were no problems.