My husband and I are not regular cruise passengers and came on this cruise because our friends from our ballroom dance class were coming. So we came with the usual negative preconceived ideas: large crowds, noisy groups, too much poor food, lineups, uninteresting entertainment. Well, we came away enchanted: we didn't feel the crowds, there were quiet places where we could concentrate on our reading, the food was very varied and of excellent quality. We liked our two excursions: biking in St. Martin's and the Underwater Boss Adventure in St. Thomas. The entertainment was first class too. We saw Burn the Floor, and even our dance teacher, who is a professional dancer and has competed at the international level, had to admit that the dancers in this show were excellent. We also went to the magic show at the Illusionarium and it was an eye opener, not just your usual hat trick or pigeons up a sleeve. There were those too, but everything was enhanced by the magical mood and atmosphere created by the use of lights, shadows and video projections. It was well worth the extra $30.00 we had to pay for this show.

The highlight for us was in the Tropicana dining room where the Francisco Latin Express Band greeted us every evening with merengues, rhumbas, salsas and waltzes. Our group of 8 couples really wanted to practice our dance steps and this band satisfied our cravings and we all really appreciated the fact that the Maître d' (Adrian) was very accomodating and reserved the tables we wanted right next to the dance floor for every evening that we were there.

We also were impressed with the cleanliness: the people at the doors to the dining areas spraying people's hands with sanitizers so we wouldn't be catching any diseases and all the constant scrubbing and painting going on was impressive. Read more