First time cruiser. Crew were generally great and biggest asset of NCL. However, not relaxing as anticipated... Boarded and had to wait from midday to 8pm for room so could not shower or change clothes. The "all inclusive" but pay for some things was confusing, as were complementry (or not) shows and dining, especially when online account showed charges that subsequently disappeared. Because we were on excursions every day we did not get good value from the included "all inclusive" dining or extra charge "ultimate Drinks" package. Lifts were frustratingly slow and overcrowded. Top Decks with outside areas overcrowded and more like a Butlins holiday camp than luxury liner. Had an outside balcony but room service was nearly $8 a go, so enjoying the outside that way not really an option. Customer Services queue was usually long and slow, and much time was wasted mainly because access to decent information online was poor. Fid was okay. Overall the experience fell short of expectation. The ability to hop off hop on at ports is good but we went with another (recommended) excersion company. The NCL excersions in comparison were very very expensive but I cannot comment on their quality. Don't do every stop because it is very tiring. Internet was blisteringly expensive at over $240 each for the week. It was the premium service but that was not really an option because the other (still chargable) options provided extremely poor (unusable) bandwith. In the library there are Desktop PCs and or but no scan capability. The desktops were useless, even when using premium internet account. Could not even check in with Airline and print boarding card - something I imagine many would want to do. I get the attraction of cruising but it was just too busy - good for the cruise line but not great for passengers. If I go on another cruise I would not go cattle class. I would probably choose a ship with a higher ratio of staff to passenger and a higher quality of service so that I can truly relax. Read Less

This ship needs to be redecorated and revamped. The carpets are old and worn and there is nothing special about the cabins... they are very basic with heavy curtains with stains here and there. We were on deck 7 in a balcony which was okay... the best thing being that we were in-between and ocean view and another balcony, so we didn't hear sounds from one side and we could relax most of the time. However, we could not leave the door open since the sewage smell would be overwhelming. There was a strong stench of sewage everywhere we we went, day or night, for at least a half an hour. The water on this ship is undrinkable... with a weird taste that is present in the coffee, lemonade, tea.... luckily we bought a case of water so didn't experience that taste much. The Windsong restaurant is disorganized and we waited at least 45 minutes to even get even get a menu, let alone a piece of bread. So, we opted to eat at the buffet instead and remove the gratuities the restaurant staff would be getting. We complained to the useless concierge and of course no one bothered to knock on our door, or call, to address what happened. They didn't even care that we removed the gratuities. We had massages that were great, however, at the end we were pushed in every way possible to buy the products, which we didn't do. The food was below average at the Windsong, with the vegetables obviously reheated since they were extremely wilted and had a weird taste. Forget about the grilled menu.... not so... again obviously previously cooked and reheated. The best thing about the cruise was our steward. He was very friendly and the room was cleaned to perfection every day. The band (Lexi) playing by the casino was very good, but the singers/dancers in the auditorium were horrible... could not sing or dance... sloppy mess on stage. We got off the ship in Nassau and walked around ... this was fun. We did not sign up for the excursions. The gym was great... the equipment was nice and clean. We exercised every day. Read Less

We normally sail with Royal Caribbean (35+ cruises) or Princess (5+) and have also sailed with Celebrity, MSC, NCL, P&O UK and Cunard (plus CMV Astor, but we prefer to forget about that one!!) so decided to try P&O Australia as we were taking two teens with us and choices to cruise in Australia are limited in July as the larger ships have moved up to the northern hemisphere. Note: We are writing this as a guide for other people who are used to the newer and larger ships that other lines offer. We booked 2 ID grade cabins only a few weeks before sailing and were pleased to be allocated rooms quite close to one another, which can often be an issue with guaranteed basis cabins. The rooms were very spacious and well laid-out. But... the room was looking tired with 90s style lime-scaled taps, old 'signage' and general wear and tear that comes with a 27 year old ship that has minor attention in recent times. The beds were pushed together and not secured so you ended up with a massive gap between them at night! Loads of luggage space though and 3 small safes in the room. Good sized shower with excellent water pressure. Our rooms could convert to 4 bunks and one of them decided to drop down slightly which was a little scary. The room would be a bit cramped with 4 adults. This is a 3 star ship and you can see the difference from RCI and Princess very clearly. Everything is just a little lower in standard - food, service, cleanliness etc etc. It is fine but don't expect a lot. You never see any maintenance or cleaning taking place. They do the bear minimum to keep it tidy but nowhere was the real WOW factor. The P&O Edge was not quite as good as we expected and we were glad that we decided to check it out on board before paying for a pass. The kids asked us to not buy the pass as they were happy to go on the free slides and didn't feel the other attractions were worth paying. PROS Good price; Large rooms and showers; Great views from the Oasis (adults only area at the back); Decent selection of machines in casino; Alcohol prices are better than other lines; Good range of shops with reasonable prices; Self-service laundry facilities on board; Cheap to buy a snack at the Oasis or Grill ($3 for a burger or nachos); Easy to find your way around!; Great singer from the West Indies with chilled out songs :-) Could listen to him all day CONS Average food - reasonable selection but often cold or lukewarm at best and had to send back stone-cold soup; Hard to get a table in the Pantry at breakfast or dinner; Most staff do their job but nothing more - no-one seems overly happy or attentive; Room not made up one day; Minimal on deck seating with none on Deck 14; Not refurbished areas look old and tatty (not a great first impression on entering the ship); Railings rusty dirty windows that obviously had not been cleaned in many months! Outside of ship is shabby with lots of rust that was very apparent from the tender boat; No pre-boarding health questionnaire; No explanation of using the hand sanitisers before entering the Pantry - people just ignored them as they pushed against a wall. Want to avoid Norovirus?? Always use them :-) In sum, we had a good holiday and the oceans were very calm so we are not sure what the ship is like in rough seas. If you are looking for a no frills holiday, then it is great and we would recommend. If you have never cruised before, the above may not be an issue but if you are used to the 4* and 5* ships, you will be a little disappointed in the quality of almost everything on board. Would we sail with P&O Australia again? Yes. Nothing was of a standard to put us off. It is perfect with the kids and not hard on your pocket. Read Less

I had been on 17 cruises prior to this one , mainly with RCI and Princess so this was the first experience with a P&O Australia cruise. Ours was a four night cruise out of Brisbane with a tendered stop off at Airlie Beach. I travelled with my wife and two teenage kids. The embarkation was very smooth and fast and ended up getting on for around 12pm. First impressions of the ship is that it is an older cruise ship and therefore the décor appears dated. Our room was an interior room on the 10th deck. Very spacious and larger than other interior cabins I had been in previously. The furnishings were dated though. The variety of bars on board was good with something for everyone and the bar prices were reasonable . A crown lager was $7.50 and a cocktail $12. The upper deck 14 had no areas to sit out which seemed odd, with only outdoor seating around the pool / water park and the rear adults only area. The rear adults only area was very good. We were able to obtain and relax on a comfy lounger whilst watching the ships wake. Food on board was a plenty with a variety off tastes on offer , the down side was the majority of the time it was luke warm at best. I was planning on getting an edge pass for the kids for some of the activities on board, after see these activities I didnt think it was value for money . The ship is looking tired and the standard of presentation does let the ship down. When tendered at Airlie beach it was difficult to see out of the 'pantry' windows as they were so dirty. In summary the cruise was value for money and we would choose P&O Australia again. Read Less

I chose this cruise do to the location of the port. This was the first cruise for me and my daughter and I can not say enough good things about Enchantment of the Seas and Royal Caribbean. The Royal Caribbean team was awesome everywhere on the ship and at Cococay. We had no idea what to expect for our first cruise and were both amazed at how awesome it was. I have read many reviews that have stated watch out it’s addictive.....well it’s true we are hooked. We only had one thing happen that was out of anyone’s control, our parasailing was canceled at Cococay due to high winds. Without even asking it was applied to my Seapass account. When I went to settle my account the last night of the cruise I was pleasantly surprised to find they paid me back in cash for my canceled excursion. We did Seahorse Sail and Snorkel in Nassau and it was amazing. To summarize I would definitely recommend Royal Caribbean and Enchantment of the Seas to everyone. Thank you everyone at Royal Caribbean making this cruise Amazing!! Read Less

I want to start with the praises because the list is shorter. I loved our steward on the 10th floor although I didn't see him as frequently as stewards on previous cruises. I think they seemed short-staffed. He was sweet to replenish the ice in my husband's beer bucket without our asking. That was kind. I liked one of the comedians. I think Cee Cee was his name. Although his R rated show should have been an X. I couldn't imagine taking my 18 year old daughter in there but he was funny. The other guy was ok. I think his name was BT or something but he engaged too much with audience members doing improv more than sticking with a skit. Loved the gym. Descent, modern equipment with a great view and never had to wait to use anything. Usually just a few people in there. The process of loading and unloading passengers went smoothly and our waiter at dinner was nice too. This is where my compliments stop. I get that it is impossible for there to not be some glitches but having to turn off plumbing in the middle of the night was a hassle. The smell of smoke walking through the casino was disgusting. Need better filters. The piano bar guy sucked. That has always been my favorite part of the cruise. In the past, the piano guys were so engaging. This guy got off course, only took requested if you tipped, would say he would play certain songs and never play them, and instead would play weird "non piano bar songs". No one stayed longer than one or two songs. There was never more than 10people in there. The waiter took my husband's half full beer when he went to restroom and refused to replace it. The food gets worse and worse each cruise. It's obvious they are cutting corners on a lot over the years. I don't think I took more than a couple of bites of any of my food. The sandwich wraps from deli were edible (hard to ruin) and the fish tacos at cantina were descent. The pizza sucked. I even was disappointed this time in Guys burgers. The dining room was horrible. Every entree, side, desert or appetizer was mediocre at best. I tried to avoid the buffets because some patrons act like it's a competitive sport and it's like Survivor: The Golden Corral Buffet. I kind of get PTSD with some neanderthals acting like they have never eaten or will never eat again. Seems more and more family reunion situations which is fine I guess but it sucks when an entire family camps out in certain sections like the pool, hot tub, etc and they act like they are the only ones there, yelling at the top of their lungs being obnoxious. The walls are paper thin. We were under the gym. Not sure if we heard weights being dropped all night or what but it was noisy. I wish there was a way to put noisy party animals on one floor, and people who respect their neighbors all on one floor. It sucks when either the Captain, staff, or neighbors are all taking turns making noise. I think they have cut back on a lot. They charge now for room service after 10 pm and all the "upgrades" we would get are gone. They also seem short staffed. In the theater, a waiter was ignoring us trying to get his attention so other customers had to point us out. I was bummed because we wanted to take advantage of being one of the few left on the ship after docking in Mexico. I went to hot tub, it was cold. Went to steam room and sauna, turned off. I guess they shut these things down in Port. The floors of the lido deck and the attached dining area were always wet. I lost count of how many people I saw fall. I have bad knees and ankles so I walk especially careful and slow and I slid a lot. Even saw an elderly guy in a wheelchair fall and there wasn't a staff member anywhere. My husband had to flag him down. All in all, u get what u pay for. Some people probably really get their money's worth. For families on a budget, it's a deal. U get your lodging, food, transportation and entertainment. Our teens have always enjoyed all the activities in the teen club but my husband and I would never step foot on this ship if it was just us. Read Less

I would like to thank my cruise team for making my experience wonderful. This was my first time cruising and had a wonderful time with Simon, DJ Sasst, my London servers Alan and Jevoni. Thank each of you and more for the great experience. My room cleaner Armand you all did great. Bring our first time we all enjoyed it. I felt very comfortable in the captains hand he did a outstanding job cruising our ship. The security is very serious and I love the fact that they take it serious when you are a missing person. The food was wonderful guys burger is the best. I loved the buffet also and glad I got to eat plenty of ice cream. All the shopping was rational ad not so expensive. Overall this was a great experience for me and my family. Thank you for all the wonderful experience. Thank you!!!!! Read Less

July 30-August 4, 2018...I decided to take my son on a cruise the week before he went off to college. We were so EXCITED. I had cruised before, but he had never. The boarding of the ship took less that 15 minutes, so I thought wow this will be great. HOWEVER...We got to our cabin and the toilet was dirty. We called the cabin steward. He and the supervisor came and began cleaning the bathroom. I begin filming. The supervisor said, "We are cleaning please do not film." I replied it should have been cleaned before we arrived. Then, they went to flush the toilet and realized...there was no water in it. So, they called a plumber. He fixed it. The next morning, again there was no water. So, we waited for the plumber. An hour later, he fixed the toilet. We returned later that evening and again, there was no water, so we had to use the public restroom. Finally, he returned and fixed it again. The next day we went on our excursion which was a disaster as well, but we got over it. Only to return to our cabin and the carpet was completely wet....The toilet had leaked. So, the plumber came again. The next morning, we left to shore and when we returned we were not able to get into our cabin. The Steward tried and neither was he. Thirty minutes later, someone came and said the batteries had shorted out and they have to remove the digital panel to reset it. This took another 30 minutes to fix. We went on our way to try to enjoy ourselves while we waited. We returned and THE TOILET was not working. So, for all of our troubles, we received a dink coupon and $50 cabin credit...Are you serious!! Let's not talk about the food.....Previously on a cruise the captain's dinner was the best night...NOW YOU HAVE TO PAY an additional $20 if you want anything special. This was my son's first cruise and supposedly our time together before he leaves. It was Horrible. Horrible Horrible. Each time I had to go to guest services and wait in line for an hour or more. They have 2600 people on board and 2 people working guest services. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE.....The ship was old, the windows in our ocean view were so dirty we could not see out of them. Some of the railings on deck were taped with blue caution tape. This is a horrible ship. UGH! Read Less

Our family had good time in Coconut Grove, FL, where we stayed prior to our cruise. It’s a small city but has enough places to visit. The embarkation and disembarkation process went on smoothly, no hassle at all. We’re already having our first lunch buffet within an hour of our arrival to the port. The ship is old but it is right when they said that it is a small ship but with a BIG heart.! The entire staff from housekeeping to dining services are extremely friendly and hardworking. Carlos, the cruise director is funny and entertaining. He is good in what he does. The only not-so-good with this cruise is that there’s not a well-planned activities for my teenagers. They just went where the adults’ activities are. We also love Havana ooh na na!! Lots of sightseeing spots. The entire family enjoyed the port so much. Try local restaurants there and street foods, as well. Read Less

This was our first cruise and we loved it. We departed from Miami, which we did not explore because what we did see in Miami we we're not impressed. To be honest it looked dirty and unsafe, but that can be anywhere. The food in Miami was amazing though. Getting on the ship was easy but we paid for a fast track so we would not have to stand in line as we have a 1 year old. The embrakation was smooth. They did a safety drill for each Munster station which was a mess. I suggest they scan room cards as you come in and pass out bands for children 12 and under that way you don't have to stand for an hour waiting to get a demonstration of putting on a life jacket. Other than that it was easy to go. The ship itself was beautiful and looked new. The 5th floor had a Casino for those who want to gamble and life music with an amazing band. The fun shops are small but amusing. The theater is huge and beautiful. The public areas were beyond clean. Oh there is a small playground for kids, my daughter loved it! Our cabin was awesome. It was clean as a whistle upon our arrival. The showers have shampoo and body wash dispensers so that is convenient. We had a balcony beautiful room but wish I got a room with a window only for extra play space.l enjoyed seeing a new towel animal daily after house keeping cleaned. Which is done daily. Dining OMG food galore!!! I ate 7 meals a day, the Lido deck had a great buffet. There were great restaurants to eat at that we're free. I didn't do fancy dining cause I'm on vacation with family not the President of the United States. So I can't tell you about the food you pay for. Room service food was delicious too and the employees that bring it are beyond amazing. One was from Thailand another from Bahamas and Ukraine, amazing! I did not do adult entertainment because o was more concerned we the my daughter having fun so I did that. Their we're movies every night. We did a parade and story time. Tons of pictures with Dr.Suess characters she loved it. I wish there were more activities like that for her during the cruise. The music selection was not my favorite but hey peoy want to party, but I think there should have been more of a variety! Service was stellar! Seriously if anyone complained they had to be drunk. The photographers we're amazing and professional. Housekeeping professional, hilarious and worked hard. Cooks well the best because they fed us. Capatin out of this world. Our Cruise director Felipe the best. And I remember Josh the guy who was always making a joke for the performances great and funny. Bartenders quick and polite. Room service quick and didn't mind me picking their brains! Ports Key West Sucks! Their only place to walk is Duval St and nothing is open when you dock. Boring during the day and I will stay on the ship when I cruise again and it's a stop. Cozumel, totally beautiful. The natives are hilarious and so friendly, they do everything they can to sell stuff but hey that have to make a living too. The atmosphere here outstanding! I'd visit Cozumel Mexico anytime. The save the sea turtles was an amazing excursion my older kids did it and said that was the highlight of their day. Disembarkation was a gaggle they need to exit those who paid for quicker exit first by floors not herd us into a room tells us to sit then now leave. Customs was friendly and polite. The biggest issue of leaving was Miami TSA rude, rude, rude except for 3 TSA women who was awesome by my daughter. Read Less