I was looking for a quick cruise that my wife and I could book. This one was perfect. We flew into Miami from Philadelphia and stayed overnight in South Beach. The next day we were on the first boarding group to board the ship. Embarkation was very easy and we were eating lunch onboard by Noon. The ship is an older one, but it just went through a renovation so a lot of the stuff was new. We were upgraded into a Family Picture Window Suite the day before sailing. The pools and bars were great. It was a short cruise so there were to a lot of kids running around. I also enjoyed the Main Dining halls. I did not go to any Specialty Restaurants. The buffet was like others buffets. The service was very good and everyone working on the ship was friendly. It was rare to pass a member of the crew without getting a "Hello" or "Good Morning", etc. Great Stirrup Cay was great. We missed this on our last cruise because the seas were too rough for the tenders. There were plenty of beach chairs available and a bar was never a far walk. It got a little rowdy on the tender back to the ship once the drunks were leaving the island, but it wasn't out of hand. My favorite room was the Spinnaker Lounge. It is in the very front of the ship and has great views. All in all this was a great cruise and I'd recommend it for somebody looking to get away for three days. Read Less

Based on the title, you can see that we were on a Symphony of the Seas cruise which probably spoiled us a bit. The Mariner of the Seas was an ok boat but I wonder if they had at the "B" staff on this one vs the "A" staff on the Symphony boat. Not to say all the staff was bad - some were friendly but some just did not want to be there. We had suites on both boats but the suite perks are vastly different including the suite lounge and dining options. Surprisingly even though we had a suite - we got stuck with another family for dining at a table with an unfavorable location. Also - no free wifi on Mariner of the Seas. Other than a nicer room - I would not spend the extra money for suite perks. While the room was spacious - we had broken furniture and plumbing. The kids clubs on Mariner was lacking and big step down compared to Symphony and and Disney cruise line. The Sky Pad was not working and the pool area is tiny. The waterpark at CocoCay is not operational so be forewarned. Hit or miss on food. Surprisingly - the food at Windjammer was better than Chops or the Main Dining Hall - go figure. Service at the sports bar was terrible but everywhere else was good. Spend the extra money and hop on Symphony of the Seas - you will not be sorry. Read Less

The Ship alone was great. It just came out of drydock and it was almost like a new ship. The crew were also very kind. The dining room was our issue. Our wait staff on our first night needed some training again. All of our foos was not correct and he seemed not to care. The food also did not taste good either. I did not expect a lot because it was a 3 day cruise but it should have been better. Our room was always clean and neet. When we got off the ship at the end we did a facial recognition system for immigration and it was a lot faster and easier. We carried our bags off and was off the ship by 8am. Over all we had fun. We do not drink much so the drink package for us was water and coffee This shop is really not for kids. Read Less

Nice cruise. Ship is older. Salad bar is limited, food in main dining room kind of repetitive but decent enough. My biggest complaint on the ship would be the poolside bartenders and the bar themselves....no stools to sit and get to know people like the other ships. The bartenders were no fun at all.The poolbar manager was miserable. Key west and Cuba both good. Cuba could depress u, it was decayingly beautiful, the Cuban people were wonderful. We took the old car tour and a evening nitelife tour...both good, both Non Royal Carribean excursions. Dont let them scare you into taking Royal Carribean tours....not necessary and when thru RC they are government tours and the Cuban people get paid less than if u book via internet on ur own then it is a private tour. Money exchange from American dollars into the CUC is so easy right in the terminal on the way out. Soom did take American dollars if you didnt have CUC. Cant speak to the food as I didnt try it. We did enjoy ice cubes in our mojitos and daquiris and that was not a problem. Overall enjoyable. Read Less

I went on c.c. to check out this ship and a lot of bad things I had seen written about this ship and I was trying to change my cruise but it was too late, I just got off this ship Monday april 15th and we had A BLAST, my wife and I, this is a smaller ship, but the biggest I have been on and it was real NICE,the crew was always sweeping mopping cleaning up trash and even cleaning the ceiling , food was good and everytime we ported they were cleaning the side of the boat ,we went to princess cay Island and they will take u to the island in a shuttle boat where there is a nice beach(no excursion necessary) and then went to Freeport which u do need an excursion if u want to go anywhere, but there is on the island little shop[ can shop at , at the port, cabins were great, entertainment was good and we wouid. go again, CRUISE DIRECTOR WAS '' AWESOME'' KYNDALL FIRE was her name, it was really hard getting off the ship Read Less

The boat swayed, rocked and rolled even in calm waters. Smelled like sewage the whole trip. Even when we were docked the boat vibrated like driving down a dirt road. Seemed the bars were always understaffed, wait time could be long. Not sure why they would wait for your pizza order before they would make a pizza, line was long and they made pizza when you ordered It instead of a pizza buffet. Daycare was great, my 3 year old loved it! this was a great kid cruise other than the smell and swaying. I would take Carnival again but not this boat. I also didn't like the drink package, it was time consuming having to provide a drink card so they could swipe it and you had to sign a ticket afterwards, I prefer the all inclusive "free at Sea" cruises, NO Hassle! The Charleston port was kinda dingy as well compared to other ports but we could drive there saving on the costs of flights. But the drink package as about the same as our flight cost would have been so that's a wash. Read Less

Let me start by saying we are not fussy cruisers. My wife and I take most things in stride. If your looking for a brand new ship then cruise in a new ship. This one shows her age BUT....we had a great time. This was our 40th wedding anniversary and we were joined by my wife's twin sister and her husband doing their 38th anniversary (kids lol). We have cruised most ship from Oasis class down. We made diamond on our trip as well. Boarding was a breeze. We got to the port at 11:00am and were on the ship by 11:30. This was the fastest embark I've ever had. Then we had a nice lunch in the Windjammer and hit the pool and the hot tub before going back to our room for muster call. We ate at the included dinning only. The first night they wanted to split us up to 2 tables. They quickly straightened it out. While the menu is a bit repetitive we still found good food to try. The wait staff was truly outstanding. The vision class of ships have a great view from most public rooms. The smoke from the casino is very noticeable in near by rooms like Boleros. Being a non smoker this was a real downer. They need better ventilation in the casino. Finally a great shout out to Luni in guest services, Gener and Inyoman our wait staff and Martin in Windjammer. These and many others made this a great cruise for me! Read Less

4200 cruisers and 1700 staff. Like being stuck in NYC. We waited in lines all week for elevators, excursions, drinks, dinner. You could not get into buffet and find a table or a chair at the poll. Taste & Savor had horrible service with buffet quality food. I can say the Manhattan room was best dinner on board. Great Stirrup Cay Island was so crowded with 2 other ships there you could barely get in water in the designated swim areas. Most non relaxing vacation I have ever had. Bahamas was nice but it took long to get there only giving us 4 hours at the Blue Lagoon. Disembarking was a nightmare and we had to walk down 4 flights with all our luggage to get in line as there was no elevators available. We walked more stairs all week and I am a cardiac patient. I will never cruise again Read Less

We had an amazing time! Awesome cabin steward, room was very spacious although the sofa/bed where my son slept was not so comfortable--we didn't know until late in the week to ask the steward for something to help (our first cruise). Food was wonderful, private island was fun. Pool was too small and too crowded. There were actually 2 pools, one was designated for adults only and the child friendly pool was full of 4 and 5 year olds--no fun for my 14 year old. Good news is the water slides were fun and he LOVED the basketball court!! There was more than enough activities on board (we did not partake in some) and the shows were fantastic!!! My son loved the comedians--and most were family friendly! My biggest complaint is the awful dirty ashtray smell from the casino. It was gross and unavoidable. Not sure why they still allow smoking on board, kind of nerve wracking since we were in the middle of the ocean and God forbid there was a fire. We are excited for cruise # 2 next year! Beautiful ship!! Read Less

We always cruise out of NYC, I cannot fly and the Port in NYC is fantastic. The pierside team was very helpful and the Port manager Kenny could not have been any more helpful. We arrived a little before 10:00 and were onboard by 11:00. This was our 7th cruise with NCL and 2nd on the Escape. We sailed one previous cruise with another line and were less than pleased almost to the point of not wanting to cruise again.      We sailed this past July and had a great time. We went to the CC meet and greet, and had the opportunity to meet some of the executive staff. We booked this trip, with 4 other families and there was a total of 15. We bid on the Haven upgrade and were successful. Since sailing in July and having made friends with the restaurant manager Mr. Melroy, we have stayed in contact and were happy to see him back. From day one he took care of the entire group. He was an absolute blessing for a large group.      This is our third NCL ship and by far the best, the Haven was as expected, nothing short of perfect. The concierge Adrian was spot on every time, the Butler Christopher took great care of us and the kids loved him. Dennis our room Stewart was also fantastic, always interested in our day and making sure we had a great time.  The haven family two bedroom worked perfect.  The kids had there own space and bathroom. Even with some of there friends watching a movie they were never under foot. Ample storage space for the Mrs's and my suit case fit perfect under the bed Read Less