We chose this cruise to take our son and his wife and our 2 grandchildren ages 3 and 6 over the holiday season. As we were given a 4:30 embarkation , it was a breeze but all of the parking garages were full by then and we got the very last space in an outside lot almost half a mile away. The check in agent asked me why we waited so late to check in. When I showed him the ticket he replied that we could have come at noon.

We didn’t get aboard until 5 and the card said we had first sitting dinner at 5:15. The largest restaurant, The Green Wave seats 1100 people .Second sitting is at 7:30 and believe it or not , a third seating is at 9:30! The tables are so close together that the waiters cannot get through to serve and have to pass the dishes down the length of the tables. The din is so loud that it’s almost impossible to hear your table mates conversations. The menus bear little resemblance to what is actually served. A Wiener Shnitzel was a piece of well done roast beef on mashed potatoes covered in gravy. A pecan crusted chicken breast was covered in a melting slice of Kraft cheese A seafood brochette on a skewer came on a bed of tasteless rice with no holes that it had ever been on a skewer. We had expected good pizza and pasts . The pizza was always doughy and soggy and the pasta always undercooked . All. Vegetables are steamed and come with no herbs or flavor . The same chocolate cake appeared on all 6 dinner menus as well as the same cheese cake. Unfortunately there is never any anticipation going in to dinner that you will have an agreeable dining experience. The wine list is a huge overpriced experience. Beginning at $35.00 plus gratuity , there are only 4 Italian reds of 50 reds listed , the remaining selection being almost exclusively of California origin. There are no printed menus anywhere , but if you ask they try to find one for you.

Now to the balcony cabin. Our Steward Hermosa , was excellent. The bed was comfortable as were the pillows. There it ends. The shower is minuscule. There is no conditioner so bring your own . Only liquid soap. There is no sheet on the bed , only a comforter but we finally asked and got one, as the AC on as cold as possible , did not adequately air condition the room. The chairs on the balcony are only 29 inches high , allowing for no back or neck support and they do not recline. There is no dining height table. The balconies are only washed and cleaned once per week. The bow in our opinion has an improper design allowing salt spray even up on deck 10 when it was exceedingly calm seas. Read more