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Great Vacation! by
A Traveler from Cranston, RI Sailing date: Nov 2009Pros: Beautiful scenery, friendly staff Cons: So-so food The ship was very nice. With all the glass, there was a lot of light and it was easy to have a nice view of the scenery from wherever you were. As a non-smoker, I would have preferred that the casino was non-smoking. Ship QualityVery clean. I hever saw litter or messes anywhere. The layout was quite good, but when popular events happened, things could get congested near the elevators and halls (especially through the Centrum ie. shopping area). Dining/FoodThe service was great. Our waiters were superb and worked very hard. They even learned magic tricks to entertain my 5 year old daughter. I was disappointed by the quality of the food in the main dining. It was bland and relatively unseasoned. The food in the other cafes was much better. The buffet was decent; the variety was good and there were dishes to reflect the countries we visited which I appreciated. There were also always the regular staples (salad bar, mashed potatoes with meat, rice, etc.) to please everyone. The dining times were usually fine, although there were random (but small ) chunks of time when it was hard to get food (like 11-11:30am, 6-6:30pm) which was inconvenient. Stateroom QualityWe had a balcony, which was great. It was very light. The room was as you would expect, and after 2 weeks with 3 people felt a little small, but it was fine. The shower was small and usually caused a small flood in the bathroom, but again, not outside what you would expect on a cruise. Ship Staff QualityStaff was GREAT. They were outgoing and very helpful, especially with my somewhat shy 5 year old. The waiters were quite good- not just in the main dining where they receive a tip, but also in the buffet and cafes as well. Whenever we passed by any staff, we got a smile and a greeting. If we made any request (needing something at dinner, a repair on the fridge in the room which went haywire, staying a little longer on the water slide than the posted hours), it was answered quickly and positively. I could not find a complaint about the staff if I wanted to. Entertainment & ActivitiesMost days we had so much planned that we couldn't fit it in the schedule. We even had an extra day at sea when one of the ports was cancelled due to bad weather, and the schedule was quickly filled with things to do. The evening Headliner shows were worth seeing almost every night. Children's ProgramsThere were only a few children on our cruise who used the Adventure Ocean kids' club, but it was great. The staff really played with my 5 year old. She wanted to spend every minute there. We even left her there one day while we left the boat at a port and she had a blast. They had a variety of activities and it was nice to have a place where she could go while we did more adult activities that we knew she would be well cared for while having fun.  12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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  Ship Review by
Marty from Tracy, California Sailing date: Apr 2007
Entertainment & Activities
12 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
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A Wake-Up Call to Cruising by
A Traveler from Washington, DC Sailing date: Oct 2010Pros: The many different countries visited Cons: The whole cruising experience This was our 1st cruising experience. I think a 12 day cruise on our 1st try was a little too much. We did not have enough time at our ports. We went on three tours. One in Florence, one in Rome, and one in Naples. The Florence tour was horrible. The tour guide was not properly prepared microphone didn't have batteries and mostly talked about her families activites not to mention many of the tourist in our group were extremly old and probably should not have been on the tour in the 1st place. Our tour guide in Rome was excellent we each had individual radio ear receivers and she had a PhD in arciology. Our tour in Naples was ok we had radio ear receivers but again there were many elderly couples on the tour who could barley walk which slowed the process down. Of course this caused the tour to be cut short without seeing everything because there is limited time.
Becareful of cruising days. We had two days in a row after our last port to cruise back to our starting port. It was two days two long......just wanted to get home by then..... Ship QualityThe ship was nice but there was way to many smoking areas and the breakfast buffet was a constient mess. Never enough seating and was a little dirty and gross with the way people took food and the cleanliness of the tongs. Dining/FoodExcept for the Windjammer buffet issues the food was great other then the "my-time" dinning not really being any time. They always wanted reservations and somehow we always got stuck with around 7:30 which made it unrealistic to attend most of the shows. Stateroom QualityThey were fine. Nothing magical. Stateroom attentent really didn't go out of her way to make our stay special. Ship Staff QualityExcept for one rude staff member who worked in the sea view cafe' the staff were friendly and nice. Entertainment & ActivitiesFor a couple in our early 30's who are not gamblers, drinkers, or partiers there really wasen't much for us to do. The shows were ok although we have high expectations having gone to many broadway productions. 
Collapse List of Ports
Corfu, GreeceVery similar experience to Dubrovnik. It was a nice little city with lots of great shopping and little resturants but a total tourist trap. Don't expect any deals here. It was worth it to visit the "old fort" but sad to see the shanty town made of corrigated metal at the base of the old fort.
Don't Miss: the backliva Civitavecchia (Rome), ItalyHad such a great time although it took about an hour and a half bus ride from the port to Rome and then the same back again. Because of the shortness don't set your heart on really going into anything like the colessem. Just not enough time. My wife and I will be back again by ourselves for a longer period of time.
Don't Miss: The local little PIZZA shops Dubrovnik, CroatiaNeat little walled in area of the city. Small streets lots of shops...basically a tourist trap though. Don't worry about the exchange rate and having more buying power because the shops and reasturants just hiked up thier prices to coincide with what tourist were willing to pay for in other areas like venice or rome! So it's and ok place...won't get any deals here......and kind of a tourist trap. Little to no ancient history.
Livorno (Florence & Pisa), ItalyTook about an hour by bus from the port to get to Florence. Our tour here stunk! But the little areas and shopping was great! Really enjoyed the place. We will go back for a longer period of time by ourselves. My wife had some black truffle pasta which was to die for!
Don't Miss: The dome and black truffle pasta Naples, ItalyNaples was so conjested with traffic and was dirty. We took the Pompi tour which was great and then went back to Naples and walked around a little. Had a street which was very long with tons of shops....great shopping of so inclinded but there were husselers everywhere trying to sell knock off items. Get's old real quick!
Don't Miss: The pizza magareta was to die for....the best I have ever had! Toulon, FranceNow to be fair it was kind of raining and a little misserable but this port is extremly small. My wife and I who are americans felt a little uncomfortable walking through the open market area because it was extremly middle eastern populated and my wife with blonde hair stood out like a sore thumb. Nothing happend but we were aware and very unconfortable.
Don't Miss: Must have a local crepe' Venice, ItalyGreat place.....make sure to know exactly where the cruise ship shuttle boat is going to pick you up...will save yourself from some trouble. We were dropped off at a different location than from where we were later to be picked up and cause a little panic later in the evening upon our return. The cruise ship map and the tour guide maps are inadequate. Buy yourself a good map at one of the tourist venders. You will thank me. Otherwise just don't be afaid of being lost the entire time there. Once we understood we would be lost we kind of enjoyed ourselves a lot more. Eat something....anything from any of the small shops....to die for...
Don't Miss: The rosotto......the best we ever had! 7 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Ship Review by
Don from Myrtle Beach, SC Sailing date: Feb 2006
Entertainment & Activities
7 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Great Cruise. by
A Traveler from Queens, New York Sailing date: Nov 2006Pros: The Minstrel food and Porto Finos (I think it was called that). You have to make a reservation for Porto Finos and pay a little extra but it is worth it. Overall it was an excellent cruise. We went in november which we were informed by the staff that we were the younger crowd (we are 30 to 40 with the exception of my mom) that normally this cruise caters to the age range in the 70s. If you can afford it moneywise and timewise I highly recommend that you experience going through the panama canal at least once in your life. With the exception of Haiti the other ports were amazing as well. We especially loved Costa Rica and the excursion we took which was the Off Road Adventure. Those guys have their own mutation of a customized hummer monster truck where you ride in comfort in the jungle. Entertainment & ActivitiesActivities: The workout area was always very clean.
Entertainment: We went to the shows every night that we were there and enjoyed it a lot. 4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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A good ride. by
Jerry from Port Charlotte, FL Sailing date: Dec 2006Pros: It's staff. We had a great time. The staff were great and very professional. The places we visited were interesting. Only wished we had won more money!!! Entertainment & Activities
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Trip of a Lifetime. by
Charlie from Waco, Texas Sailing date: May 2006Pros: Beauty and friendliness of staff. The ports of call were outstanding. We went on tours at every stop and thoroughly enjoyed each one. The at sea days were very relaxing and the art auctions were fun and interesting. Overall, we had an absolutely wonderful time. Entertainment & Activities
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Excellent trip. by
Andrew from Fort Myers, FL Sailing date: Feb 2006Pros: Size, cleanliness, attention to detail. Friendly, attentive, and service oriented. Entertainment & Activities
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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First class ship with the best service I by
Rosemarie from Valrico, FL, USA Sailing date: Oct 2006Pros: The crew! They are the best! We had a fantastic time! It was so much fun we are going again on Royal Caribbean this summer! Entertainment & Activities
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Great service with great adventure. by
William from Aiken, SC, USA Sailing date: Sep 2006Pros: Wait staff in dining. Super good time. Only one bad experience (Tunis vehicle excursion... but we received a fifty percent rebate to mitigate this unfortunate excursion.) Entertainment & Activities
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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