South America Cruise Reviewed by Dick

My wife (Irene) & I (Dick) watched the documentary "March of the Penguins" and we decided that we wanted to see some penguins and that was the beginning of our South America cruise. Barbara and Ray joined us on the cruise. At the time of the cruise we ranged in age from 65 to 72. Ray and I were both educators at the high school level, Barbara was a part owner of a small business and Irene was an R.N. We are all retired.

I enjoyed this cruise and would recommend it to anyone. I have a few criticisms of NCL but the problems were minor problems and did not ruin the cruise. I have cruised to Alaska but I enjoyed this cruise more than the Alaskan cruise.

The four of us had our own pre-cruise dinner by attending a local Texas Roadhouse restaurant on Monday Nov 13, 2006. On Tuesday the van picked us up in NH at 3:30 p.m. and drove us to Logan airport in Boston MA. We arrived in Boston at 4:15 p.m. We left for Miami on American Airlines and arrived in Miami at 9:05 p.m. We then boarded an American Airlines plane headed for Santiago Chile at 11:20 p.m.

Day 1 - November 15, 2006

We arrived in Santiago, Chile at 9:35 a.m. which is 7:35 a.m. on the east coast of the USA. That was my first surprise because I assumed that Chile and the east coast of USA would be in the same time zone. Once we arrived in Chile we had to pay an entrance tax of $100 in American money per person. We then picked up our luggage and headed to the bus for our 110 mile ride to the port of Valparaiso. The bus made a stop along the way at a small store/cafe/restroom. We arrived at the port of Valparaiso around 1:30 p.m. There were not a lot of people there so I figured we would sail right through and be on board in a short time, since we had filled out all the preliminary forms on line. The first surprise was that we had to fill out triplicate Argentina forms. They herded you over to a table to fill out the forms. There were no carbons so you had to do everything three times. I would have thought that since I took an NCL bus from the airport to the ship that they would have passed these out on the bus and let you fill them out, but that was not the case. Once each person filled out the three forms you had to stand in line until your turn came up. I noticed and commented that no one of the employees had a computer and I was told that they were just checking all the information to see if it was filled out correctly. They then proceeded to take the passports to hold for the duration of the cruise. Many people did not want to give up their passport but the cruise line kept them regardless without any explanation. Many people were reluctant to give up their passports. At the end of the cruise NCL returned the passports and each of them had a stamp for each port that we entered. Then we had to stand in line to activate our ship cards. We were given keys for the cabin as opposed to using the ship card to open the cabin door. All the keys had the cabin number etched on them. We went from there to a bus because it was a fair distance from the terminal to the ship. Upon entering the ship they sprayed your hands with an antiseptic. Of all the cruises that I have taken they were the most conscious of trying to prevent the Norwalk virus affecting the passengers. I don't know if we were tired from the long flight but embarkation seemed to be much disorganized and did not start us off with a good feeling before we even entered the ship.

We boarded the ship and had lunch and did a little exploring. I liked the size of the ship because there wasn't a lot of walking and it enabled us to dock at all the ports except for Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. The ship was well maintained. We had clothes for 14 days yet we still had drawers left over. Usually we are looking for places to place all our items. Of the 1,000+ passengers 393 were from the U.S. Most ship announcements over the intercom were said in English, Spanish & German. Occasionally the announcements were also said in French. The ship departed around 5:00 p.m. The captain (Capt. Emil Holthe) mentioned that the winds would be in the 25 to 30 mph range during the night and the following day.

The temperature was in the 70's and sunset was at 8:25 p.m. It is spring here since their summer starts on December 21. The evening show featured the Jean Ann Ryan Company, Andre & Francine a dance duo and Michael Hilbig a juggler comedian. The Cruise Director was Pedro Serra. As I recall the casino opened up around 7:30 p.m. All four of us went to bed at 9:00 p.m. since we were quite tired.

Day 2 - At Sea - Thursday November 16, 2006

Sunrise is at 6:37 a.m. and sunset is at 8:20 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

There were two things that I liked about breakfast: 1) they had trays and not platters and 2) they had beans. I don't like it when there are no trays and you have to try and juggle everything on a platter. I also enjoy beans with my breakfast and I was able to have them every morning except for the last morning. Other than that they had the typical breakfast that most ships have. Omelets were made to order etc. My only complaint would be that generally the food was not very hot on the buffet. It was not cold but it was far from hot. Obviously the omelets were hot since they were made as you ordered them. I felt that the meals at dinner time were fair. I certainly had enough to eat but I found some of the steak to be tough, and they never served lobster on any night. You could get grilled chicken, steamed vegetables and baked potato any night but they didn't advertise that too much. We only saw it written on the menu on one night and that was on Thanksgiving. We generally chose the sit down meal for dinner but ate breakfast and lunch at the buffet.

The ship did not exchange American money for local currency but that was not a problem because all the countries we stopped at in South America took American money. Most of them gave you American money as your change but a few places would give you change in the local currency. So it is not advisable to give a $20 bill for a $2 item unless you are sure that you will get change in American dollars.

The roughest part of the cruise occurred during the first two days at sea, many people were sea sick. The lecturer for the tour excursions had to cut his talk short due to feeling sea sick. A Motion Sickness Information Sheet was distributed to each cabin. Meclizine (Antivert) was available on the ship at the Reception Desk for free of charge. You could go back each day to get more pills if need be. I went for my usual 45 minute walk after breakfast and the wind was fairly strong. As you got to the front of the ship it became a little more difficult to walk. I just turned around and walked the other way so that I didn't have to go via the front of the ship. It was not impossible to walk in the front but I found it easier to just avoid it.

The ship had only 4 terminals in the internet cafe but I rarely had to wait for a terminal. You could pay 75 cents per minute or buy 100 minutes or 250 minutes at a cheaper rate. As you would expect the computers were slow but useful.

Most cruise ships have an abbreviated newspaper in different languages in the library that are free for the taking. That was not the case on this ship. If you wanted any newspaper they would print a compact (11 x 7) version of the newspaper for $3.95 a day.

They had an unusual format for the slot tournament. They had a slot tournament on six different days. The high score for each day qualified for entry into the finals. On the last sea day they had the finals. Under this format you could get 10,000 points on a given day and if someone got a high 11,000 points they would be entered into the final. On the next slot tournament day if the high were 3000 points then that person would be entered into the tournament and the person that scored 10,000 points on the first day would not be eligible for the finals even though they might of obtained the 2nd highest score all week.

Needless to say the pool and hot tubs got very little use. As we went south the weather got cooler and the pool is an outdoor pool.

The show in the Stardust Lounge tonight was a singer Elvy Rose.

Day 3 - Puerto Montt, Chile - Friday November 17, 2006

Sunrise 6:21 a.m. and sunset 8:51 p.m. Attire: Formal

In order to get to Puerto Montt the ship entered the Chiloe Channels (I think that is the name) and the seas calmed down considerably. Puerto Montt has a population of 84,195, and is the capital of Region 10. Puerto Montt was founded in 1853 with German immigrants who had come to settle in the Lake Llanquihue area.

Today was another example of a little disorganization on the ship. We took the Petrohue Falls & Lake Esmeralda tour and we had to meet in the Stardust Lounge at 8:00 am for an 8 hour tour. When we got to the Stardust Lounge they said everyone should have their Chilean Agriculture form filled out and take with them when going ashore. These forms were supposed to be delivered to the cabin the night before. The forms were not delivered to our cabin and many other passengers were in the same position. The situation was simple; you had to go to the reception desk and get a form and fill it out. When you filled out the form they wanted your passport number but unfortunately everyone turned in their passport. So passengers then had to go back up to the reception desk to get their passport number, luckily we knew ours. So I would recommend that you write down your number before you turn in your passport. This was the first South American tour for this season by NCL; I would hope they will resolve this problem on future sailings.

Once everyone was ready to go we had a super tour. It was well worth it. The tour guide on the bus spoke English clearly and was knowledgeable. Puerto Montt has an annual rainfall of 78 inches and it is often not possible to see mountains etc due to the cloud cover. We were extremely fortunate and it was a clear day in the 50's. We boarded a catamaran on Lake Esmeralda and had a great view of the ice capped Osorno Volcano. After the catamaran tour we went to the Petrohue Falls. We took a short walk to the Petrohue River. Water flows over the lava from many years ago creating different paths for the gushing water.

We then had lunch in Puerto Varas at the Bella Vista restaurant. They were located on a hill and had a great view of the Osorno Volcano and surrounding areas. The meal was salmon, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, assorted wines, coffee and a strawberry cake like desert. By the way, Chile is the second largest exporter of Salmon after Norway. In the back of the restaurant they had different animals and birds, some in cages and some not. It made for an entertaining time. I would highly recommend this tour.

This was a formal evening and the entertainment was the Jean Ann Ryan Company production of "Swing, Swing, Swing". Since we were no longer on the high seas but in a channel there was no casino. As a matter of fact the casino was closed until Thursday Nov 23 (Thanksgiving Day).

Day 4 - Puerto Chacabuco, Chile - Saturday November 18, 2006

Sunrise 6:14 a.m. and sunset 9:08 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

Again we were lucky weather wise. The average yearly rainfall for Puerto Chacabuco is 3000mm or roughly 118 inches. That is almost 10 feet of rain a year. The temperature was in the high 50's to low 60's. We took the Patagonian Nature in Depth tour. The tour was well done but I am not big on trees, flowers etc. So this was not my favorite tour. We took a bus to the Aiken Del Sur Park. I did find one thing interesting in that there were some trees that had a reddish skin-like bark. When you touched these trees they were almost as cold as ice. It was a two mile walk at a slow pace. At the end of the walk we went to the Old Man's Beard Cascade. Then we were treated to dinner. When we arrived the lambs were cooking in the center of the restaurant. They had some dancers and musicians performing before the meal. At the conclusion of the tour we returned to the ship.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was the comedy, illusions & magic of Basilio Tabacchi & Daniela.

Day 5 - At Sea - Patagonia Channels & Chilean Fjords - Sunday November 19, 2006

Sunrise 6:16 a.m. and sunset 9:24 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

Today was a misty day; temperature was in the 40's. We went through the Patagonia Channels and the Chilean Fjords. The scenery was terrific but the fog prevented us from having a great view of everything.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was a multi-instrumentalist Andy Buenger. He was well received.

Day 6 - At Sea - The Strait of Magellan - Monday November 20, 2006

Sunrise 5:53 a.m. and sunset 8:39 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual.

It was a clearer day than yesterday; temperature was in the 50's. The views were spectacular. Whenever there was something to see like a glacier the captain would stop and then spin the ship in a 360 degree motion so that no matter what side of the ship you were on, you would get a clear view of the glacier etc. You want to get up early to see the many glaciers. We were unable to actually see the first glacier due to the heavy fog. The succeeding glaciers were very visible. If someone were to select a balcony or an ocean view cabin, I would recommend a cabin on the port side as many of the glaciers were on the port side. But, as I mentioned earlier, the Captain would spin the ship 360 degrees so that everyone would have a great look at the glaciers.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was the Jean Ann Ryan Company in "Footloose" & Comedy Ventriloquist Phil Hughes.

Day 7 - Punta Arenas, Chile - Tuesday November 21, 2006

Sunrise 5:29 a.m. and sunset 9:30 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

Punta Arenas is a city of 100,000 people, even though it is not the southern most tip of South America it is often called "the city at the end of the world". Temperature was in the mid 40's to the low 50's.

We wanted to see penguins and today was the first of our three tours involving penguins. We took the Otway Sound & Penguin Adventure tour. I enjoyed this tour but of the three penguin tours we took I would rate this third best.

The Magellan penguin is a South American Penguin breeding in coastal Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands. At this time of the year either the eggs have hatched or they are waiting for them to hatch. Most of the eggs were hatched at this time of the year. The penguins usually build nests in burrows or under bushes. At Otway Bay and Otway Sound they seem to have their nests right on top of the soil. On the way to the penguin reserve we got to see some rheas and condors. I was unable to get a photo of the condors. As luck would have it, I was on the wrong side of the bus to get a picture. There was an instance when there were 7 condors in one group.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was the Jean Ann Ryan Company with "Rockin With The Rhythm".

Day 8 - Ushuaia, Argentina - Wednesday November 22, 2006

Sunrise 5:16 a.m. Sunset 9:30 p.m. Attire Resort Casual

We have had unbelievable luck with the weather. It was another clear day with the temperatures in the high 40's to mid 50's.

If I were to pick one day as being the best day of the cruise, I would pick this day and there was not a day that I didn't enjoy during the two weeks. Between my wife and me, we took one hundred and seventy photos just on this day. The glaciers and scenery leading up to Ushuaia were just terrific. Then we took the Beagle Channel and National Park tour and the Beagle Channel portion was excellent. The photos do not do justice to the actual sights.

Ushuaia like Punta Arenas claims the title of being at the "End of the World".

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was local talent - Ballet Ushuaia Folklore Show featuring the best of Argentinean culture and traditions.

Day 9 - At Sea - Sailing Cape Horn - Thursday November 23, 2006 - Thanksgiving Day

Sunrise 4:54 a.m. and sunset 9:10 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

I had assumed that this would be the toughest part of the trip where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Pacific Ocean. But luck was with us again and we had a nice clear day and the seas were very calm. Temperature was in the 50's again.

The dining room was decorated for Thanksgiving. The casino reopened at 10:30 a.m.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was Michael Hilbig a juggler - comedian.

Day 10 - Port Stanley, Falkland Islands - Friday November 24, 2006

Sunrise 4:40 a.m. and sunset 8:31 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

Many times it is not possible to tender into Port Stanley due to the weather or the seas. Again we were blessed with good weather. It was clear day with the temperature in the high 40's to low 50's. The Falkland Islands has a population of around 2500 people.

We took the second of our three penguin tours, the Sparrow Cove Penguin Adventure. This colony of about 1600 Gentoo penguins is on private property. There are a few King penguins there also. A tender picks you up at the ship and brings you to the Sparrow Cove property. You disembark the tender and get on two four wheel drive vehicles to take you through the bumpy land to the penguins. Each jeep holds about 6 passengers. Hence there are about 12 people at the colony when you get there. That is one of the pluses of this tour. There are not large crowds around the penguins. Whereas the Magellan penguins had their nests in burrows these penguins had their nests above ground. Gentoos breed on many sub-Antarctic islands. The main colonies are on the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Kerguelen Islands. Nests are usually made from a roughly circular pile of stones and can be quite large. The King Penguin is the second largest penguin with respect to height. I didn't see any nests for the King Penguin so I have no idea what kind of nests they have.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was The Jean Ryan Company in "Lullaby of Broadway" and singing sensation Chris Riggins. Chris was well received by the audience. If you are a fan of Josh Groban, then you would like Chris Riggins. He received a standing ovation and sold CD's after his performance. While I am on the entertainment I liked the way NCL would use the Jean Ryan Company like tonight for one number and then have a performer. Many cruises that I have been on have big production shows three and four times during a cruise and even though they may do a good job I get tired of the same type of a show every night. The Jean Ryan Company did a fine job.

Day 11 - At Sea - Saturday November 25, 2006

Sunrise 5:04 a.m. and sunset 8:31 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

We spent the day at sea headed towards Puerto Madryn, Argentina. The day was another clear day.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was the Dance duo of Andre & Francine in "Steps in Time!"

Day 12 - Puerto Madryn, Argentina - Sunday November 26, 2006

Sunrise 5:39 a.m. and sunset 8:31 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

When we booked this cruise, the one tour I definitely wanted to take was the Punta Tombo Penguin Rookery tour. I have seen the population of penguins listed anywhere from 500,000 penguins to 2 million penguins. I certainly didn't count them but there were a lot of penguins. It was a two and a half hour ride from the ship to the rookery. Part of the way was on dirt roads. We were in buses that handled the bumpy surface quite well. There weren't any large holes in the road or anything of that nature. It simply was a dirt road that was well maintained; at least it was when we went. I would say that the buses and vans got there just about at the same time. The area is so large and there are so many penguins that it does not seem crowded. The weather was in the 60's and it was a sunny day. Again these were Magellan Penguins and most of their nests were under bushes. This tour was everything I expected it to be.

Before retiring tonight we had to set our clocks one hour forward.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge was the Magic, Comedy & Illusions of Basilio Tabacchi & Daniela and Multi Instrumentalist Andy Buenger.

Day 13 - At Sea - Monday November 27, 2006

Sunrise 6:58 a.m. and sunset 8:11 p.m. Attire: Formal

Today was the finals of the Slot Tournament and Irene finished third and received the ever popular tee shirt and a bottle of champagne. They also had the chocolate buffet from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and that was well received. Many people were able to satisfy their chocolate cravings.

This was also the second formal evening.

The entertainment in the Stardust Lounge this evening was the Jean Ann Ryan Company in "An American in Paris". This was followed by the farewell finale from the officers, staff and crew.

Day 14 - Montevideo, Uruguay - Tuesday November 28, 2006

Sunrise 6:23 a.m. and sunset 8:39 p.m. Attire: Resort Casual

Today was another sunny day and the temperature was in the high 70's to low 80's. We took the "Highlights of Montevideo" tour. The tour was pretty much what you would expect.

The passports were returned to the passengers today.

Before retiring tonight we had to set our clocks one hour back tonight.

There was one show tonight for the entertainment in the Stardust Lounge. The entertainer was Elvy Rose.

Day 15 - Disembarkation and Buenos Aires - Wednesday November 29, 2006

Sunrise 5:35 a.m. and sunset 7:48 p.m.

We had a late flight out of Buenos Aires so we booked the "The Best of Buenos Aires. We met in the lounge at 8:30 a.m. and left at 9:00 a.m. When we got off the ship we boarded a shuttle to take us to the terminal. We claimed our luggage and it was grouped together by the porters. The luggage was then sent to the airport and stored outside the entrance. They had each person?s luggage all together and in alphabetical order. So when we got to the airport your entire luggage was together and easy to get.

We then boarded the bus for the tour. We did a city tour of Buenos Aires and then headed out to the Mimosa ranch. It was an enjoyable afternoon. They had a great barbecued lunch. There were potatoes, salad, red wine, white wine, beer, sparkling water, coffee, veal, sausage, chicken, beef and ice cream with a sauce. You could have as much as you wanted of everything. There were some local people that were musicians and dancers and they played music and performed some traditional dances. Some of the hands at the ranch had some riding competitions where they would ride as fast as they could and tried to spear a hanging ring. There were horse drawn wagon rides as well as horses to ride.

The bus got us to the airport at 5:00 p.m. Just about everyone had flights that left at 10:50 p.m. or 10:55 p.m. We were inside the terminal by 5:15. Since most of the flights were around 11:00 p.m. we couldn't be processed until 6:00 p.m. Once everyone found the correct line they checked the passports around 6:00 p.m. Then we got in line to get boarding passes. Then we got in line to pay the $18 per person departure tax. Then we got in line so that they could collect the disembarkation forms. Then we got in line to pass through customs. Then we were finally into the gate area. It was 7:00 p.m. by the time we were in the gate area. We now had 4 hours to wait for the plane. When we did board the plane they checked all back packs etc by hand. Irene bought some water once she was cleared and she was waiting for the plane. When she boarded the plane they took the water away even though it was bought after being cleared.

We then got to Miami and there were all kinds of lines that say U.S. Immigration but you want to be aware of the small sign that is located in front of the immigration officers that says "U.S. Citizens". Most of the lines are for non U.S. citizens. Naturally we were in the wrong line. We then had to get in the correct line. Then we had to pick up our luggage and turn around and give it to A.A. for our flight to Boston. They switched departure gates on us and finally we arrived at the correct gate. We boarded the plane to Boston. We were back in NH around noon time.

Western Caribbean Reviewed by Dick

Irene & I have never taken a cruise that we did not enjoy and this was no exception. We have enjoyed some cruises more than others but have always had a good time. Although we have been on multiple cruises this was only our second time on a Princess ship. The other time was the Golden Princess with the GGC2003.

I have always like assigned seating over non-assigned seating but I am slowly enjoying the non-assigned seating the more I use that choice. We opted for the Personal Choice and ate in the Coral Dining room 5 times and in the Cafe Caribe buffet on two nights. I agree with the opinion that when non-assigned seating is chosen by most, if not all of the people in a group, it is more difficult to get to meet new friends. When there is a group cruise with assigned seating usually there is a "meet and greet" time slot at a given lounge and people from the group will meet there and it is easier to meet new friends. The time slot is such that it is before late seating and after early seating. Usually there are at least a few minutes when both groups are there.

I found the service in the dining room was good even though we did not have the same wait staff every night. The Cafe Caribe buffet was all set up for the evening meals with table cloths and silverware and the food was very good.

Irene was in a cast for the last cruise that we took. This time she was out of the cast and she was able to test her foot snorkeling and had no problems. We did a lot of walking and everything went well. We have been to these islands before so we didn't do much for touring but did a lot of relaxing and enjoying the ship when most of the people had gone ashore. We went to Princess Cays and did a little snorkeling. As far as the other ports we simply went ashore and did a little shopping and then headed back to the ship. So I can't comment on any tours.

My only complaint I have is that in the buffets they have platters but no trays. It is not possible to get all your drinks and food in one trip. It is not a big enough of a problem to stop me from going on Princess again. I know other cruise lines do this also and I write it as one of my complaints every time.

We had planned on enjoying a big screen movie during the evening but we never made it. The movie was either one that we had seen or one that we did not want to see. Most nights there was more than enough entertainment to keep us happy. There was the show in the theater every night. There usually was a comedian either in the theater or one of the lounges. I must commend the comedians in that they all made me laugh but not one of them had to resort to four letter words to accomplish this. The show could be enjoyed by all ages. Of course Bert Stratton was one of the entertainers in the lounge. He was in one of the smaller lounges for 5 of the evenings and had a longer show in the larger Explorer lounge one evening. The first night he did not perform in any lounge. We had seen him on the Golden Princess in 2003 and enjoyed him then as well.

Western Caribbean Reviewed by Corey

Well, we drove to Galveston. We parked around 12:30 or so and were on the ship in about an hour. We were on level 10, room 1039. We had a balcony which was worth every penny. Spent some time every morning and evening just sitting on the balcony watching the water go by. The food was amazing and the service was great. Ate at the Monet at 5:45 pm the early seating.

Our first stop was in Jamaica. We went on the Ocho Rios and Dunns River Falls tour. Jamaica is beautiful. The waterfall was packed, but fun. Bought some t-shirts and those little rum cakes. Our next stop was in Grand Cayman and we went on the See and Sea Island Tour. Grand Cayman was amazing too. Started off by going on some under water boat ride which was pretty neat. We then went to the Turtle Farm and visited "Hell". Turtle Farm was neat, but "Hell" was kind of boring. They did have a lot of Rum Cake samples to eat and Rum samples to drink which was ok. Our last stop was in Cozumel. We had the Playa Mia Beach Break Deluxe. Beach was clean and water was great. Stayed there a few hours then went shopping.

On the ship, our waiters were great. Bryan was from Jamaica and Jovan was from S. Africa. They were both very good. Our room was always cleaned when we left by Willet. He was from Cambodia I think. Couldn't understand a word he said, but he did a great job. The cruise director, Todd, did an outstanding job too. The Newlywed Game and the Deal or No Deal Bingo was pretty funny. Never could stay awake long enough to watch the comedian. Just about broke even at the casino.

Overall we had a BLAST. Had "the patch" so didn't get sea sick. Felt sorry for the couple who put band aids behind their ears and did get sea sick.........

Can't wait until our next cruise!

Caribbean Cruise Reviewed by Lloyd

One word to sum up this ship and itinerary - FANTASTIC!!

The ship is really beautiful - lots of glass everywhere so it's very bright and attractive. The indoor solarium is so pretty, done in an south east Asian decor - like Thai or Indonesian. And with a retractable glass roof so was good for sunbathing in the padded loungers.

Food was incredible and believe me, I'm quite a fussy eater. The Windjammer buffet was the best buffet restaurant I've ever been to. My sister loved the stirfry station where you take a bowl and fill it with your own strips of meat or fish, then fill another bowl with your selection of vegetables and seasoning, and then hand to the grill chef for him to cook. Breakfast here was also wonderful. After coming back to the ship in the late afternoon, I loved going in and getting a huge sandwich, freshly made with my choice of fillings. My husband would pop up to the Seaview cafe which provided Diner type food. He especially liked the Cuban sandwich, or the fish and chips.

We had a cabin on deck 7 with a balcony. It was well worth the little extra money. Sometimes late in the evening after retiring back to the cabin, we'd use the TV to order some room service. Coffee, beer, a burger, cheesecake or cheese and biscuits (not all of them!). Each morning we had an early room service breakfast of juice, coffee and pastries delivered at 7.30am. A one dollar tip is sufficient for this. As they ring 5 minutes before bringing it, the call acts as your alarm wake up! We always wedged the dollar in the corner of the mirror as we went to bed so we didn't have to hunt for one first thing in the morning. We'd eat on the balcony with lovely views of whichever island we'd arrived at. Then we'd go up to the Windjammer for our 'real' proper big breakie!! No wonder I put on 6lb in one week!

All facilities on the ship were outstanding and the staff are the nicest people I've ever met on a holiday. We also prepaid our tips before we went so we didn't have to worry about them.

The itinerary was suberb too. We flew from Manchester to San Juan (Puerto Rico) via Atlanta. We stayed overnight at the Radisson in SJ. Great room - very large with separate sitting room, and with a bed with an adjustable air filled mattress that you had a control for which altered the firmness on both sides. My husband wanted me to find out where to get one but sadly we discovered that they're nearly £3000 each!

Saturday From Puerto Rico the next morning we boarded the ship. We intended to get off again after something to eat and go and explore Old San Juan, but we began exploring the ship instead and didn't bother. Everywhere we went we were saying, 'Ooh, Aah, Gosh, look at this!' We set sail at 11pm.

Sunday saw us arrive at St Thomas. We took RCCLs Ultimate Island Tour. Well worth the money. We travelled all around the island in open sided buses. There was time for shopping, sightseeing and a 2 hour beach stop. I think it only cost £22 each.

Monday was St Maarten. We'd prebooked Joyce Prince ($45 each). She took the 4 of us all over the island with stops for shopping, sightseeing, photo opportunities, and her knowledge of the island is extensive and interesting to listen to. She even took us to Maho beach to see the planes land virtually on top of you!

Tuesday saw us arrive at Antigua. A beautiful island. We got off the ship after breakfast and paid a taxi driver $60 to take us to Millers Bay beach for 3 hours, then collect us and take us on island tour for about 1 and a half hours. A lovely chap who again told us some interesting things about Antigua. We got back to the harbour at 3.30pm so did a little souvenir shopping.

Wednesday St Lucia . We'd prebooked Cosol Tours for this island. We paid for a private tour for the 4 of us. It was $240 for 7 hours. A brilliant day! There were many stops for sightseeing, photo opportunities and for food tasting. Although we didn't actually have a meal during the whole day, we were full from all the tastings of bananas picked from the tree, hot bread, cheese, johnny cakes, bread fruit, chicken, and other things I can't remember now. We also had a stop at Jalousie beach for some sunbathing, swimming or snorkelling. A beautiful island and a wonderful tour - if you are going to St Lucia definitely book a Cosol tour. It's $40 or $45 dollars each or $270 for your own private tour bus.

Thursday saw us in Barbados. Again we paid a taxi driver to take us on an island tour for an hour or so, then on to a beach. We originally went to Tamarind but weren't allowed on as it was full, so went on to Blue Monkey beach. That too was very crowded and not very nice unless you walked almost half a mile to the right to around the bend. There were no sunbeds left but one couple we spoke too said they were very expensive and didn't get a brolly for shade. We couldn't walk far along the beach as my sister has a walking disability, so we got back into the taxi and he took us to Carlisle beach which is a 10-15 minute walk from Bridgetown. We told him we'd make our own way back to the ship from there. It was great. Only about 10 people there. There were loungers and brollies - not the best quality but it didn't matter. There was a little beach bar there and the barman came over and we asked him how much for 4 beds and 2 brollies. 'Are you buying anything to drink? Even just water?' he asked. We said, 'Yes, we definitely want some cold bottles of water.' 'No worries then people. Your beds are free!' He high fived all of us and brought us 4 big bottles of water for a very small price. He also said to let him know when we wanted a taxi. You can't ask for more than that! The water was crystal clear and very calm too. We'd told our taxi driver to take us to Tamarind and Blue Monkey as they were recommended to us by a woman who was in charge of directing people to taxis at the port. The driver said that there are paybacks to taxi drivers and port staff by the big hotel complexes to send people to their hotels and beaches and that's why they were so crowded, so remember that if you're going to Barbados!

Friday was an at-sea day, so we sunbathed on deck until about 2pm. It was fine getting a sunbed up to about 10.15am then they were all gone. But people have no qualms about removing the belongings of chair hogs who put their towels and bags on the beds early in the morning and then don't come back for at least 2 hours. We saw a couple of arguments when people returned but other people just pointed the signs which say that beds must not be reserved. One American told us that 10 beds right by the pool were reserved by 7.30am and where still empty by 9.30am. Then two families of 4 (travelling together), gathered up all of the towels and bags and left them in a pile in a corner. The family group who'd originally hogged the beds came back at 9.45am and started creating about their stuff being moved. The families who'd taken the beds pointed out that they'd been reserved for over 2 hours and it wasn't allowed. It started getting heated and other cruisers joined in to back up the families who'd taken the beds! We were so unnerved by this that we took it in turns to go for lunch for no more than 30 minutes - we didn't want to leave all 4 beds unattended!

Saturday saw us back in San Juan. Sadly we didn't have time to see much of Puerto Rico as our flight back to Atlanta was at 2.30pm so we had to go to the airport by lunchtime. Our flight from Atlanta to Manchester was overbooked so we volunteered to stay overnight in a hotel (all expenses paid) and then fly back to Manchester the following evening in Business class. We had a nice day in Atlanta and a wonderful flight with champagne all the way!

One thing bemused us! The Americans rave about a game aboard ship called Quest. On the night it's played the lounge was packed out and the Americans were all so hyped up. We couldn't wait to see what it was all about. It turned out to be the game you see played at every Spanish holiday resort the British have gone too over the past 30 years - a group of men are on stage and are told to go and find a woman's bra, or a pair of knickers etc. Why the Americans think this so fantastic was beyond us!

So, a fantastic RCCL cruise on a fantastic ship with a fantastic itinerary!

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Cruise Reviewed by Bob

EMBARKMENT:

Compared to 2005 trip on the Jewel this trip was much easier and faster. However, the ability to get on the ship was later than the year prior. The cruisers with a disability and suites were let on around 12:10PM followed by Latitudes people.

Upon arriving at our stateroom deck 10 the room was not complete. A dirty dish on the counter, towels on the floor and the carpet was not vacuumed. However, we met our cabin Steward and he allowed us to put our carryon on the bed. We were able to lock our valuables in the safe. This is really not a complaint, but more for information.

THE SHIP:

The ship for the most part was very clean and very pleasing to the eye. However, there were a few area needing sprucing up. But it may have been a timing issue. The bar stools at the Maltings Beer and Whisky Bar needs replacing they are extremely uncomfortable. I was very please with the viewing area of the Bridge. It was Very Educational. Thanks AVERY for your 26 years of Navy Training. You explained a lot to me.

I will add more about the ship as I progress.

RESTAURANTS:

The only main restaurant I attended was the Tsar's. We had two dinners and one lunch. Dinner the first night with a party of four was fine. The waiter was good and the service was acceptable. However, the food selection was just okay. Had lunch was totally unacceptable? The menu was just awful. I settled for a Portabella burger and received a hamburger that was petrified. The waitress never came back on a timely basis to see how things were. When she did return, when everyone else was just about finished she asked was there something wrong and I told her you brought the wrong meal. She then asked if I wanted something else, well since everyone else was just about finished I said no. My wife also stated her meal was luke warm and not good at all.

Now the best for last. The last day of the cruise I called my concierge to find out if I would have a problem with a table for eight with out a reservation (being a main dining room I didn't think they would accept a reservation) well to my surprise the concierge was very happy to make the reservation. This was the best part of this meal. Arrived timely at 6:30PM. Had a rectangular table for eight. I would have preferred a round table as they are made for talking and seeing all at the table, but not a big deal. Members brought two bottles of wine to share. The menu selection was not very good. Orders were taken after some time. Dishes left on the table in between course for quite some time. The follow up by the waitress and busboy (person) was just awful. The main entry I had (lamb) was cold actually the sauce over the lamb had jellied. Potatoes were ice-cold. My wife?s fish was just okay (taste), but was luke warm. The service became so bad one table member had enough and started to confront those with the responsibility. I must admit the higher up she went the ruder the person became. All in all our satisfaction was not met. They just did not understand what our young voice was trying to say. Our young voice was saying what can you do for the group rather than settle on reducing her wine tab (only $15.00 an up grade). They just didn't seem to care. There seemed to be more assistants and matridee than waiter and busboy (person). My wife and I are convinced the specialty restaurants are the places to eat. I'm so glad we only ate at the main dining rooms 3 times.

GARDEN CAFE

We found the Garden Cafe to be very good for breakfast and lunch especially the days at sea. One night we we're not very hungry and caught the Garden for a little snack I think it was around 8:00PM, wasn't bad.

LeBISTRO

Has been my favorite the last two years. Attended two evenings. Formal night attended to with another couple. All of us found the service to be the best. All had appetizers; my escargot was the best actually had a double portion. The filet mignon with the foie gras was outstanding. While I?m not a desert person what the others had seemed very good, especially the chocolate fondue. One of the table members asked for lobster tail (not being on the menu) was able to have it with his steak. Good size portion. The second night it was just the two of us and was a repeat performance by a different wait staff.

CAGNEY?S STEAKHOUSE

We went there once last year and once this year. Both times we were dissatisfied with the meal and the service. It took over and hour to receive our main entry. We did however, have many visitors to the table apologizing for the lack of service. What are could not understand the restaurant was not full (very busy). Upon receiving the entree my steak was very tough, not very palatable. We never received any of the condiments to go along with the meal that we asked for ex. sour-cream for the baked potatoes along with extra butter. I might try it again.

TEPPANYAKI

If you want a fun evening this is it. You need to go there with a group. However the night we went we were a group of four and the other four at the hibachi were nice. The food was good and plentiful. However, the only negative thing the chef was not entertaining. Actually he shook the salt and peppers shakers a few times and tapped his fork and knife a few times. That was it. Yes he attempted to catch something in his chef hat never made it was caught by the floor. But we think he was in the learning stage. This was okay by us. We had a great time with the group, would definitely do this again.


ENTERTAINMENT

Jean Ryan Co finally got their act together with the production of Second City, compared to last year (same) it was 1000% better. This is not to be a negative against the Jean Ryan Co more of a comparison to last year. We have always enjoyed their productions. The Cirque Bijou was also great. It was easy to understand the story behind it.

The Magic Show just okay, I thought it rather cheesy, would not sit through this again.

Crew Member?s night was very entertaining, some very good voices.

CASINO

I really can?t write much about the casino, I?m not a gambler. I did pass through the casino a few times. People seemed to be enjoying themselves was clean and roomy considering the number of people and machines. The only thing I notice there was no one sitting in the high rollers area at anytime I passed through the casino.

DISBARKMENT

My wife and I had VIP status meaning our luggage was placed in an area by it?s self and we would be the first off after the express people. There was a delay caused by customs. Apparently a few people did not pass though the customs area timely. Once we had clearance, it was great. Walked off the ship to our luggage, found the luggage right away and was through the customs agent and in a taxi in less than 10 minutes. Great Job NCL.