This was our first cruise. Our friend chose this cruise to celebrate her 50th. Overall we had a great time. The staff was friendly, the ship was very clean & the food was good at the buffet and the Manhattan dining was very good. Our steward Carlton, was amazing.

The following are things that we didn't know about cruising. 4 packages were offered at the time of booking, but we weren't told that if you chose the beverage package, a service charge of $185.57/person would be applied and $21.15/person for the specialty dining package (which we didn't use). The bar staff worked hard but were overwhelmed and we often stood at the bar waiting in line ups, to be served. One reason for this, was that they had to swipe your card and enter your order into the computer, which was time consuming. On the first day, in the port of Miami, taxes on drinks were charged until the ship entered international waters. We also didn't know that a $15.00/day/person service fee would be applied to our account, which we were later told is normal for cruises.

The wifi package offered, was only for 250 mins, so I purchased the premium wifi package ($206.50) to ensure my parents could contact us, as they were taking care of our children. Wifi was usually slow and didn't always work. Read more