Overall we had a great time. The crew, service, and ship condition were top-notch. There were, however, some disappointments.

Food: Portion sizes, unlike other cruise lines, are still ample. The Oceanview Cafe buffet is fantastic, especially the fresh-baked croissants, pizza and omelet stations. One notable disappoint across the ship is desserts. All the cakes start with a dry spongecake that really takes away from the taste. We found ourselves going to the ice cream station in the Oceanview Cafe for their chocolate soft-serve, sorbets, as well as the cherry cobbler with a scoop of vanilla on top. The cheesecake served here is pretty good, also, though it's not on a graham cracker crust. The "New York Cheesecake" served in the Main Dining Room we think never got close to a piece of cream cheese. Though curiously, it DID have a graham cracker crust! The chocolate fountain in the dessert island of the buffet on the last day of the cruise was good, as were many of the treats in the Cafe Al Bacio case where we would get eclairs and tartlets to go for the nightly show. All of the fish served in the Main Dining Room was overcooked. The lobster, while good, was tiny. Be sure to combine it with another entree (even the salmon, while overcooked, is still not bad). The baguette bread and breadsticks were pretty good but the rolls had very little taste. We did not pay for any of the other restaurants. We pay all that money for an all-inclusive cruise, so why should we have to fork over an extra $130 for a dinner? (2 people x $55 ea + 18% gratuity)

Service: Clearly, the crew is generally well-trained, friendly and happy to help. Two exceptions, most notably the bartenders who, especially at the pool bar, are slow and care little about making any drink not in their main repertoire. The other exception was the backup cabin steward who, when our assigned person apparently was sick for a day or two, was tasked with cleaning ALL of his rooms AND hers. He apologized profusely for getting there late (no apology needed, we were fine with it) and asked in a pleading way if we really needed a full clean or was there just one thing he could do for us. It was really nobody's fault, we just felt bad for him that they couldn't share the load more, and so we said no problem, you can skip our room. Our Main Dining Room waiter and his assistant were excellent, always greeting us with big smiles. They figured out we like to eat and run to the show, so they dutifully served us quickly. We heard from others that their servers were not as prompt. One of our biggest beefs with the Main Dining Room - the "steak knives" are actually butter knives with a few bumps on them - they DO NOT CUT! We complained about this to the maitre de but he just shrugged his shoulders and walked away. The iced tea was very watered down. The two duck dishes (teriyaki duck breast and duck a l'orange) as well as the braised beef short ribs were very good. Read more