I chose this cruise because of the fantastically low price, but I was soon to find out why the price was so low. The Mediterranean itinerary was very attractive and included Israel and Cyprus, two places I had never been. The cabin (9572) a balcony was a very nice room with plenty of space and the bed was very comfortable. This was about the only good thing I could say about this cruise.

The food on this cruise left much to be desired. The only good meals that I had during the 11 nights o board were in the specialty restaurants, Cagneys Steakhouse and the Japanese Steakhouse. The Garden and Windows Restaurants, which are the main dining rooms, were adequate, but very slow. Raffles, the buffet, was terrible. The food was usually cold and it was the same, night after night. The small dining area near the casino was Ok, serving hamburgers, hot dogs etc. The food service employees appear to just go through the motions of bringing you your food, which is one reason I am not a fan of the Freestyle dining. There is no incentive for them to give you good service as they may not see you again for the rest of the cruise. They even charge $7.95 for the delivery of room service. I guess one employee at Raffles summed it up quite well. He observed that I was not very happy with the selection of food and asked what the problem was, I simply replied " I'm just tired of the same food every night", to which he replied "Imagine having to eat this garbage every nigh of a 9 month contract". We both laughed.

The entertainment was average, with the usual cruise shows. The Casino was terrible. there were not many people gambling and the tables were usually empty. I saw very few people being paid on the machines and there was just no fun atmosphere. This was definitely not a "Fun Ship" (ie. Carnival). Read more