The ship itself was incredible!! Embarkation and debarkation were both easy and no lines. It was amazingly simple completing all checkin-in/ID verification online prior to leaving. With two wave riders, two huge wet slides and two three story dry slides, it left the kids mesmerized. The two pools were small and crowded however and people were allowed to save lounge chairs all day by placing their towels on them which left no where for anyone to get sun. The ship needs to do something about this as I have read many reviews with the same complaint. There were several hot tubs all throughout the sun decks though, but we never took the time to use them. Most of the activities by the pool that were put on by the cruise line were done near one of their two small pools that had a smoking section on one side of the pool and catered more to the adults because of that. We are non smokers and cannot stand to be near cigarette smoke so this was unfortunate to miss out on the fun, contests etc to avoid cigarette smoke. This ship also had two rock climbing walls, an outdoor movie theater in the evenings, an ice skating rink (we ran out of time and did not get to do this fun activity, but bring longs socks for it as they are required). They even have a carousel on board. We loved riding that in the evening after dinner with the kids.

The food on board this ship was amazing. We did not try any of the speciality restaurants as we did not want to incur the additional expense traveling with five family members, but we visited them all to take a look and they all looked amazing and the menus looked superb. Our food and especially the service in the main dining room was top notch! Our waiter brought us extra dishes every single night so we could taste more than one entree on the menu. Personally, I was sad to see the Midnight buffet go by the wayside. I enjoyed seeing the spectacular displays each evening and the stunning ice sculptures of previous voyages. The evening food/snacking options available after dinner hours and late night lacked variety and they served the same items night after night. The nightly entertainment was always indoors, I would have liked to experience some steel drums and music available near the pools decks outside. Overall, the entire staff and service aboard this ship were amazing. Long lines at the bars to get drinks during the day can be frustrating often with one bartender. Some bartenders were almost rude. Not the experience I would expect for paying so much for weekly drink cards with an automatic 18% gratuity. I'm not sure how bartenders are compensated on board for drinks with most customers using drink cards, but in the evening they would all give you a bill with a zero balance and a place to include an additional tip. Most bars did not have coffee for coffee drinks and there was also no fresh lime juice available during our week on board. For some reason their lime juicer was broken or that is the story we were told. I was so bummed by this as almost all the drinks I wanted included fresh lime juice.

Our room and cabin service was excellent. We splurged and got adjoining balcony suites to travel with our kids. Our cabin steward, Menino, was awesome and took out the balcony divider between our rooms so we could still have privacy, but also access each others rooms via the balcony. This also gave us an extra large balcony experience! Our room was spacious for a cruise cabin and everything was nice and new. The bathroom was updated and very clean and I am very picky out bathrooms and their cleanliness. This ship is less than a year old so It is still in excellent condition throughout. The mattresses were not the greatest, however and by the third night my back was really hurting each morning when I woke up. They could use an upgrade to their mattresses for sure.

The onboard shopping was also great. I was amazed that the prices were reasonable and had all the things you needed in case you forgot something at home.

The spa and gym were amazing! We used the gym, but I did not take time to book spa services. I would definitely do that in the future. When visiting the spa the people were very helpful and nice. The spa had a fresh juice bar and that was included with your drink card. We enjoyed having the healthy option of having fresh squeezed juices and their juice bar menu was really good!

Overall, this was an aweome family vacation and I would highly recommend it!

We would go again in an instant without hesitation!