We had such a wonderful cruise, I just had to share it with Cruise Critic. We joined the roll call on this cruise and found that it really added to the enjoyment of the cruise. We felt at home because we had been corresponding with the other members of the roll call for over 3 months. The thread was started almost a year ago and I am sure our group must have broken some kind of record for having the most posts over 2600 and it is still growing. Our group decided to wear Mardi Gras beads so we would recognize each other on day one of the cruise. We met our first Cruise Critic member wearing the beads in line during embarkation (Debbie). I can not tell you how much it added to the cruising experience already feeling like you had a friend before boarding the ship. The next person we met wearing the beads was on the gangway. I called out to her "Cruise Critic?" holding my beads. She responded "no Red Lobster." I couldn't stop laughing. Here she had never heard of the roll call and had been given the beads the night before while dining at Red Lobster and decided they looked very festive and kept them on for the cruise. Well we educated her about Cruise Critic and told her to keep the beads on and she probably would make about 50 friends by wearing them.

Well back to the cruise. Embarkation went smoothly. We thought the port employees were so friendly and the process was very organized. We made our way to our cabin immediately to drop off our carry-on luggage. There we met Jimmy, our cabin steward. He said it was perfectly fine to leave the luggage in the room. We had a balcony cabin which we found delightful. The bed was comfortable. We had enough storage space for everything. We found the bathroom also had a lot of storage space. The terry bathrobes they provided were very nice. Their towels were soft and thick. We had a welcoming bowl of fruit to greet us. This was around 11:30 am. Jimmy always kept the room clean and well supplied.

We then made our way to lunch on deck 13. We had heard through cruise critic that the buffet towards the rear of the ship was the least crowded, but we were disappointed because it was closed. This was one of the few complaints we had about this cruise that the buffets all close too early. (7pm). They should keep at least one buffet line open until 11 pm. We had requested first seating for dinner but were given second. It was very difficult to find the room where it could be changed. There was no sign to tell you and when you asked the staff they did not understand English well enough to direct you. The food on board was excellent. The first formal night was the best. They had escargot, French onion soup, sirloin steak, baked potato, and Crème Brule. The only dish we found less than excellent was the lobster. It was mushy on mine and over cooked and dry on my husbands. Our waiter was Dewa. He was excellent. He served us quickly and was very attentive to our needs. Every night he had our ice tea on the table and kept it refilled. When we asked for fresh garlic he made sure there was a plate of chopped garlic waiting for us. One night I asked for chives and he had a plate of chopped chives ready in no time. He was a dream. On deck 13 after 5 pm they have Pizza and one of the waiter's sings opera while you eat it. The gelato on deck 13 is excellent. Read more