Cabin Review

I booked an Aqua Class cabin, which had a veranda that was small but provided a nice place to have morning coffee. I was in Room 1548 on Deck 11. This was a great location. It was midship, so I virtually never felt any motion. Quiet – never heard any disturbing noise. And very close to elevators and stairs -- one quick flight up to the spa and pools.

I had looked at a lot of pics and videos, so I knew what to expect with room size and layout. I didn’t see any evidence of excessive wear and tear. About the only moderately serious complaint I have is that, while closet space was good, the drawers are too few and much too small to allow you to fully unpack a week’s worth of clothes and personal items.

The bed and sheets were very comfortable and high quality. I slept well.

Most people would probably find the A/C acceptable, but I would have liked it stronger and colder, especially on the first two days in Florida, which were the hottest and most humid. The cabin steward brought me a fan the first day, which helped a lot all week.

The bathroom is small, but that’s to be expected. It’s nicely appointed with plenty of storage for toiletries. One curiosity – you can’t take a refreshingly cold shower, at least I couldn’t. Due to some quirk of the water system or plumbing, no matter how long you let the “cold” water run, it was always warm. The “car wash” shower with multiple sprayers, a feature of Aqua Class rooms, wasn’t really useful: the nozzles are positioned too low, and the water pressure was only fair.

Housekeeping service was excellent. They were in the room twice a day – none of this post-COVID-hotel “we respect your health and privacy so we won’t be cleaning your room” stuff.

No outlets by the bed, a sign of the ship’s age. Not counting the place in the bathroom where you can plug in a razor, There are only two outlets in the room, both by the little desk. Bring a long charging cord (10 feet) if you want to plug in your phone and have it on the nightstand.

“Aqua Class” was several hundred dollars more than the next-lowest fare for a veranda room, and I’m still not sure it was worth it. The two main clear benefits were dining in Blu (which I loved; see above) rather than the cavernous main dining room, and free access to the spa’s “Persian Garden” (see above), which basically meant I got to go to the steam room anytime I wanted. The web site hype promised a “spa concierge,” but there was no such person. Apparently the soap and shampoo are a different brand in Aqua Class, but who really cares? Supposedly it’s a different room service menu, but at least at breakfast, my menu just had all the predictable breakfast-type stuff, nothing fancy. And does anyone actually use the yoga mat they throw in?