We were two families with three kids total, ages 15, 14 and 9. Having read some of the recent negative reviews, we kept our expectations low but they were all greatly exceeded. From the moment we stepped on the ship, the staff members were friendly and helpful. Because it’s such a small ship, many of them got to know us personally and addressed us by name. We found the ship in great condition and very clean with crowding only in the dining room, food court and during major entertainment options and tours. For the most part, the ship felt pleasantly uncrowded. There were lots of comfortable indoor seating areas, both within the venues and in the walkways, to view the scenery indoors. I also enjoyed daily walks on the Promenade deck when conditions allowed.

We had a mini-suite with a balcony on deck 10 that easily seated 4+ people and we opened the door so that it adjoined to the balcony of our travel companions, which made coordinating plans and hanging out very easy. (Bring bungee cords or duct tape to secure cabin door open if you plan to do this.). We spent a lot of time on our balcony and, when that was too cold, on the aft deck on deck 10 which was less affected by the wind and had comfortable lounge chairs. The bed was very comfortable but the pillows were too high for our taste. The sleeper sofa was quite uncomfortable with a hard bar in the middle and it sloped down from foot to head. Our amazing steward, Robert Orena, solved the bar problem by bringing a second mattress to put on top which he stored behind the sofa each day. We solved the sloping problem by reversing the head and foot of the bed.

The food in the main dining room for dinner was better than expected. There were some amazing items, many very good items, and just a few misses which are likely chalked up to personal preference rather than poor food quality. Service was efficient and our head waiter got to know our personal preferences very quickly. The breakfast menu in the main dining room was a little disappointing in its limited choices so we only ate there one day. The Horizon Food Court had plenty of options each morning to make us all happy for breakfast. For lunch, we had the most amazing wood-fired pizza at the pizza day at Sabatini’s. We wished we could have repeated that! We also really enjoyed the pub lunch at The Bayou. The International Cafe is a great place to get a nice speciality coffee or high quality snack or dessert 24 hours per day. They also have a full bar. Read more