Quick 7 day on NA 4/7 and new cruise log

[GRACECRUISE]

We decided to take a quick 7 day cruise on the NA. 4/7 to 4/17. We are not normally 7 day cruisers but could not beat the fare.

 

3 of us in the cabin. Me and my folks 86 and 83. We had a balcony cabin and took dads walker for stability.

 

Embarkation was quick and easy. I got him wheel chair embarkation an disembarkation. He could walk it but it would really tire him out and then he could stumble. Better safe than sorry. Since we were out of Ft Lauderdale, they picked him up as we entered terminal rather than after check in. Check in, 4 star fast and easy then upstairs and quickly on the ship. We got to the terminal about 10:30 am.

 

Cabin 5016 with a nice balcony. Dad loves to sit outside so he enjoyed it most of all. The exploration cafe was above us so each morning I got him a large coffee while mom and I went to breakfast and then we brought him back breakfast and he ate outside. He is spoiled.

 

 

The dining room was open on embarkation day and was not busy at all. Love to have that quiet lunch on embarkation and not have to fight for table in Lido. The luggage was delivered when we got back to the room. Lifeboat drill was very short. We waited in the cabin for all of the different levels and headed upstairs when told. Most people were there. They scanned our cards and about 10 others and then the demo of putting on a jacket began. I don't think we were there 10 to 15 minutes. Sail away was from balcony with 3 nice horn honks.

 

The ship was nice. Missed the crows nest but they do have nice seating and game tables there. Quite a few people used the game tables and they did have a large selection of games. The Explorations cafe is there. There is no longer a nice case of goodies. I was surprised. Miss those wonderful cinnamon rolls served there with coffee in the morning. Some times they had a plate of about 10 of the large chocolate chip cookies. In the morning the young lady making coffee was really sweet. I would take a cookie when I got the coffee and when she would not have them she would apologize that her delivery was late!

 

The interactive tv was a nice. We could look at daily menus for all dining options. The movie selection was up to date. Each night we would put on a TV episode as we got ready for bed. They even have a sleep timer.

 

We missed Half Moon Cay do to 4 - 6 ft swells. The Captain tried for about an hour to position the ship so we could tender but no dice. We did hit, Grand Cayman, Cozemel and Key West.

 

The food on the NA was amazing, We had breakfast and lunch in the Lido. Love the made to order omelets and raisin buns. They ran out of raisin buns in the Lido on day 6 . I asked the Lido manager if there were more in the back or dining room. He said we were just to late that more people came to breakfast in Lido in Key West day. Now, mom and I ate in the lido at the same time every morning. It was about the same as usual. He was just lazy. I asked a server behind the counter and she went and found us 2 of them and put more out. It was a shame that someone who is serving guests had to to leave her post and go searching while the Lido Mgr stood around. Normally they are more reactive.

 

We did have a great Lido encounter with a server who went above and beyond to go downstairs on day 3 to see get us 2 ripe avocados for lunch. Great service.

 

Tararind - Fantastic as ever. The wasabi crusted tenderloin was amazing. Mom had the wok seared lobster and loved it. Alot of the diners that night had the lobster. The thai doughnuts were hot little doughnuts of love with chocolate dipping sauce.

 

Pinnacle - Another night of great food. The Ribeyes and souffle was delicious.

 

Main dining room - We had anytime dining do to booking late. I went to the reservation desk when we got on and we could get 5:30 on a 4 top. It was all they had available for reservations. They would only make 2 days at a time and we had Pinnacle the next day. Went to dining room for lunch and there they would make reservations for anytime dining all week. She signed us up for either 5:30 or 6:00 (depending on what they had) for the nights we did not have specialty reservations. So I learned that if we ever get Anytime again, go to dining room not reservation stand. Every night we went to dinner there was a long line for those who did not have reservation. We had the same table 311 with Oky and Mark Ryan every night. There was family of 8 that had a standing 5:30 reservation next to us.

 

 

The food in the main dining room was excellent. The beef dishes were some of the best. Our server suggested the duck appetizer one night and it was wonderful. First time eating duck. They had a nice choice of desserts and ice cream in main dining room.

 

Ice cream in the Lido was chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. Some days they had a guest flavor. Each side was different. One day we lucked out with butter pecan.

 

The Dive in and Pizza Place were very good. Now they sell milkshakes for $4.25 at the Dive In.

 

The mainstage show with the cast were great. The comedian was good and we did not see the two guitarists. The BBC show with the band was a new one from last year and we really enjoyed it. The showed some BBC show films in the BB King lounge at 1pm They were also good.

 

 

BB King was packed for every show. Billboard duo pianos were alot of fun. Not the best singers all the time but they know how to put on a good show and the themes changed for the 3 sets they did each night. The casino was packed all the time.

 

The second formal night was the chocolate parade. We were down by the casino and billboard piano bar and it was a great location. We had macaroon, cake pops, cupcakes, rice crispy squares, chocolate shots, chocolate dipped marshmellows and a few other items. It was all delicious.

 

We did get the new cruise log on the last night. It is much bigger than the other one and very nice. The information for breakfast on disembarkation day is on information with your luggage tags and assignment of disembarkation time.

 

Disembarkation was a breeze. Again we had the wheelchair for my dad and mom used his walker so I did not have to carry it. We met in the Pinnacle bar at 8am and they took us right out. I got a porter for the 3 suitcases and breezed through customs. From the time we went down to the bar to getting on the Park and fly shuttle easy, about 10 to 15 minutes.

 

The only negative for the week was the fact that the same person vomited in the adult pool 4 times doing the cruise. (The Captain discussed it during the Captain Q&A). Once that happens, it take 12 ours to drain, clean sanitize, refill and chemical check of pool. It was the same person around 1pm each time. What the Captain did not say but another passenger added was that alcohol was involved. That part was elevator gossip. This crowd was a much younger crowd than a normal HAL crowd. I really expected more kids to be on due to the time of year. The children we did encounter were very weel mannered. They managed to keep their pool clean and open..

 

Overall it was a great 7 day getaway for us. We still prefer a true 14 day or longer cruise. The NA was a beautiful ship and a great place to recharge the battery.

[Daisyloo]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a great time.

 

That's ridiculous that someone vomited in the pool so many times. !!! He should have been banned from using it after the second time. What a lot of extra work for the crew, and a big inconvenience for the rest of the guests.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

If the man was so drunk by 1 PM that he was sick in the pool, drinks should not have been served to him.

[erewhon]

Thank you for reviewing your cruise.

 

Appalling that a passenger vomited in the pool on four occasions .

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review!

[ski ww]

Enjoyed reading your review, thanks.

Allan

[summer slope]

Great review. Thank you!

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for taking the time to post your comments.

It was nice that you could spoil your dad! (lucky man)

Glad you enjoyed most of your cruise.

[tbogie]

Thanks for the review. We were on the same sailing. Not sure we believe that someone got sick 4 times in the aft pool. We were at the pool each time it happened, most of the talk around the pool was it was a filtration problem. Never saw anyone get sick in the pool

 

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