Review of Cruise Ships, Rooms, Restaurants, Entertainment, Fun & Romance Factor
Singles Cruise on Royal Caribbean – Liberty of the Seas; 3-night Bahamas & Perfect Day at Coco Cay (private island). Jan 2023. This was my first Singles Cruise and I was asked to speak to the Singles – I figured a quick trip for a trial is the best solution. I knew 4 people who were going on the cruise, so that was a great start. I had a Blast – Shelby Frenette and her husband Joel were from the agency – https://TravelFun.biz; and co-Hosts were my friends Richie D’Leo and Steve Fox – both who have Singles groups. My speech went great, and now Shelby and I are joining forces to bring in my Singles and readers of Romance International Travel – and I will become a Travel Agent – go Figure! The Singles enjoyed some shows together, and the day in the pool dancing to the DJ at Coco Cay. The one day in Nassau I chose to have some shopping time and enjoy touring the town a bit. About Royal Caribbean; I had not been on this ship since I was 16. My room on the 8th floor was nice, I loved the balcony, but I could not see much difference with rooms from similar ships. I think a big miss was NOT having a mini-frig; but a cooler instead. Everyone in our group complained over the dinners; but the breakfast was very good. I did not do a specialty restaurant on this trip, but did pay extra for the Lobster Tail at dinner – twice, because the dinner food was not good.
Another miss was pool activities. The first day on the ship was cloudy and cold – a great DJ or a dance band could have had us dancing and having a good time; but just drinking with nothing else happening on deck was boring. The pool area on the 11th floor was 3/4 geared towards kids, another miss I feel.
In the long lobby area of Floor 5, it was shopping and an Irish bar (but the guitarist was excellent) and one small bar area with a Latin band (none of our group danced to it). No one knew where to go for club dance. “The Disco” played disgusting HipHopp – and I am not a prude, but the DJ was inappropriate in music selection – it was NOT for everyone o the ship, leaving most of us not sure where to go. The shows on 3 nights were amateur, but the last show – Sat. Night Fever was excellent — it’s a shame the quality was not arranged for every night. The island of Coco Cay was charging a large amount for activities. I simply liked the pool & DJ Party – that was the best time with my friends and this DJ was excellent; playing popular dance so ALL ages of people enjoyed it. Also, the drink package was over $100 per day – really crazy for those of us that did not overdrink. I also would have loved to have a paper directory – the TV was too confusing and so was the app – a hassle to use and figure out what was going on.
The casino needed more blackjack tables – they were overcrowded and the guy next to me had so much to drink – he fell off his chair, and was not removed from the table. He was super drunk, so a turn-off.
My Suggestions? Have a midnight Buffet as ships used to; not just one small pizza shop open for all these people. Get a mini-frig for the rooms, improve the dinner meal, get some day-dance banks or a great DJ to pick up the fun factor at the pool, and put in a Top-40 Dance party on the main entertainment floor. Improve the quality of the shows. The staff was attentive and my Room service was excellent. Please don’t cater to the kids on a ship this large, the adults really need the R&R time and much more entertainment to enjoy!
Parking way far away from the ship was a hassle, but check-in was quick and easy, so was the Muster Station check-in. As big as the ship was I was surprised at the lack of entertainment for adults – just saying. With all the kiddie things on the ship, I rate the Romance Factor a 3/5; but I rate the Singles Group and Fun we all had together a 5/5. Im excited to explore other ships with the Singles Group in the near future. Over all ship rating is 3.0 out of 5.
Norwegian Cruise Line – The Mediterranean (twice), The Baltic Cruise, Italy, all different cruises, ALL Excellent!
I have to say, Norwegian has been my favorite Cruise ship before Covid. The ports were excellent, service and food outstanding, and 5 gifts included – Internet, drinks, an excursion, a special Dinner, and one other item. So no surprises. The Entertainment – main show, piano bar, comedy club, Disco, Ice Bar, Art show, Top Disco Band, Le Cirque Show, Mystery Theater, Rock & Roll club, Caberet Singer, Irish pub, and more….there was more than enough for everyone, and gave an incredible variety. The spa was beautiful too. They had activities for kids but it was not over-kill, keeping the adults as a priority. The speciality dinners were amazing; as well as the room service. I have cruised a total of 5 trips with them, and there will be More! I rate Norwegian a 5/5 with their balcony rooms, and just love my cruise EVERY Time!
Viking Cruise line-Singapore to Bali (9/2018). This was one of my favorite cruises due to the ports which included Bankok, Singapore, and Bali. Although the Viking bedrooms were the prettiest and largest of the Balcony rooms I have had thus far, I loved the heated floors, and we had great room service. The food was good; but that is about the extent of my excitement over this ship. BORING is best way to describe this. No entertainment, and only 1 band was hired for the 2 weeks. There were 17 libaries – for what? Boring talks/serminars at sea; too old of a clientele. The spa was just ok. Honestly, I have no desire to ever sale on a Viking Ocean Cruise again. Their clientel is dying off, and they have to come into the younger Baby Boomer world and recognize the deisres and Entertainment needs of the younger Adult sailor llooking for FUN and ROMANCE! I rate this Cruise ship a 2/5.
Margaritaville Ship out of Port of Palm Beach, FL. (2018)
I enjoyed this small ship prior before it became Margaritaville. Although a smaller cruise ship with a 2 night, 3 day trip to the Bahamas for New Year’s Eve, we had a blast. They went above board to make the NewYear Eve party fantastic. The rooms were a bit smaller but totally adequate for a short voyage, and the rooms were clean. All three meals were great on the ship, and they even had the 11 pm buffet. The entertainment was great too. I need a new trip to update this review on the new Margaritaville Group Cruiseline. Their prices are great and it’s a wonderful get-away for a very reasonable price – give it a try! (3.8/5) for a smaller Cruise shi