5/15/05

By cruisetarp

• February 11, 2007

This review will cover not only the 5/15 Bermuda cruise but also the May 20th Western Caribbean cruise on the same ship.

EMBARKATION; We arrived at the terminal in Bayonne a few minutes before noon. After dropping off the luggage, husband went to lot to park car ($12 per day). We had priority status due to be Diamond members of the Crown & Anchor and were processed immediately. We waited til approximately 12:30 in a comfortable waiting room. After 2 wedding parties were boarded we got on the bus for a short ride to the ship.

CABIN; We were in an E1 stateroom 9692 for both trips. The aft cabin had the usual accomodations but the balcony was huge. We had 2 chairs and table and 2 lounges and still had plenty of room to move around. It is quite a hike to the cabin from the elevators but we soon got used to it.

ENTERTAINMENT; With the exception of the Ice Show which was wonderful (we saw it during both cruises) the entertainment was fair to good. The production shows have gotten old and during the course of the 2 weeks we saw 3 comedians - 1 was excellent the other 2 so-so. Of course others may have found them funnier - they were just not to our taste.

FOOD; While I understand everyone has their own taste, to us the food was very good (perhaps that was because I did not have to cook and serve it) We always found something we liked to eat. We ate most breakfasts in the Windjammer and had lunch there as well about 1/2 the time. In the DR for lunch they have a fixed menu with one or two "specials of the day"

We also had diner one night in Portofinos. The food was wonderful there and well worth the $20 extra per person they charged.

BERMUDA; It is a bit inconvenient docking at Kings Wharf but the ferry service is clean, fast and efficient. You can buy passes on the ship or right when you leave the ship. Bermuda is our all time favorite port and we love just walking around and talking withthe local people.

LABADEE: A wonderful beach day. The merchants can be very annoying. If you even slow down to look at their goods they are all over you. Had a nice BBQ lunch on the Island. Tender service was fast and ran back and forth to the ship all day.

OCHO RIOS: Docked right in Ocho Rios - a short walk to the Island Village and Margaritaville.

GEORGETOWN; Again, the tenders ran often and it was a great beach day. This is a great place to swim with the Stingrays. We did it last year and it is something we will never forget.

FREEPORT; Why they stop here is beyone me. Very little to do unless you are there for awhile. We arrived at 6:30AM (nothing opened at that time) and left at 1PM. Went to Lucaya to do some shopping and then back on board.

All in all it was a great trip despite an outbreak of the Noro virus at the end of the first trip. The crew worked overtime cleaning and sanitizing everything and did everything they could to end the outbreak.

Any questions, please ask. We would do a B2B again in a heartbeat.