Travelers: Jerry and Barb Hoehn
Ages: Mid to late 40s
Experience: 14 total cruises - CCL, RCI, Premier, HAL, NCL, Celebrity, Windjammer, and Princess
Traveling with: Friends Mike and Beth (Mid Forties, First Cruise)
Stateroom: 9076 Category AC Penthouse Suite, Portside, Aft
Agent: Barbara Coe, BestPriceCruises.Com
I'll give you the Summary first and save many of you the trouble of reading my rambling and ranting.
(Not perfect, but nobody's complaining!)
- Aft Penthouse Suite
- Concierge Service
- Cleanliness
- Food in Dining Rooms
- Embarkation
- Veranda
- Price
- Tender operations
- Entertainment
- Freestyle Dining
- Disembarkation
- The Passenger Mix
- Did I mention the Penthouse Suite?
- Pool Games
- Pool Deck and Show Lounge Bar Waiters
- Drink Prices
- Not enough time to do it all!
Bottom Line Assessment: Whatever slight irritations there may have been were very minor and not worth a second thought. Sometimes you couldn't find bar service on the pool deck and you had to go get your own drink. But that was just another excuse to walk around, chat up the other passengers, use the WC or graze at the barbeque for some spare ribs. Everything is an opportunity for fun on a cruise if you look at it the right way!
- Early Embarkation: Get to the port early. They always say they won't be boarding until 1 PM, but the truth is, if the ship gets cleared early enough, they will start boarding as early as 11 AM.
- Drink Orders: When you ask for a drink, specify the size and the type of glass you want. If you don't specify, you might get a large expensive drink or a souvenir glass.
- Restaurant Reservations: Make your alternative dinner reservations early. Suite passengers can make reservations for the whole week in advance. Others can't. Make the call EARLY the MORNING BEFORE you want to go there.
- Bug Protection: Put insect repellent containing DEET on BEFORE leaving the ship in Roatan or for cave tubing in Belize. The bugs know the cruise ship is in port and they start swarming just like the hawkers.
- Temperature Warning: It's cold in many of the restaurants and lounges. Especially the Observation Lounge. It's VERY cold in the caves in Belize - water is about 65 degrees.
- Deck Chair Strategy: Get a deck chair near the pool early on sea days. Our favorite spot was starboard side forward - less noise, better breeze, near the bar and barbeque.
🎭 Ladies and gentlemen, the full MrTractor review... 🎭
"Good evening fellow cruisers and thanks for listening! Tonight I'm inviting every one of you to embark upon a voyage to exotic and exciting places never before seen by grumpy whiners who don't know how to relax and enjoy themselves."
We had seen the 360 degree tours on the internet and knew pretty much what to expect. It did not disappoint us and the pictures only did it partial justice. This is possibly the best on the ship. Not the largest or the fanciest I suppose compared to the owners suite, but considering the amenities, services, size and especially location, it was the favorite of all who surveyed it.
The Veranda: The balcony--scratch that... the veranda, was truly that--a veranda. I was about 8 feet deep and 20+ long. It wrapped around about a third of the width of the ship. The veranda floor was made up of the same blue decking material you find on the upper sun decks. Really very soothing and it dried instantly.
The Bathroom: The bath and dressing area was bigger than the last stateroom we stayed in! The whirlpool tub was big enough for a family of four (although two seemed to fit perfectly! HA!). A separate shower, separate commode, 5 foot long marble top sink, separate dressing area with vanity and phone.
Living Areas: The living room was separated from the bedroom by two frosted French doors. It had a fridge, plenty of extra glassware, a large sofa, two chairs, a large high coffee table, 25-inch TV and entertainment center with DVD. The surround sound speakers were mounted around the room to an amazing effect.
Location Advantage: Later that week, we met the couple that was staying in the Owners Suite at the Captain's reception. They wished they had their cabin in our location! They much preferred the stern location. Also, our room was between passenger decks while theirs was directly under the Observation Lounge where dancing and music was played until very late.
We had been there numerous times on past cruises, but our friends had not. Stingray City is a must for first timers, so we finally decided to do it together. Since we had to use the ship's tour, we hoped it wasn't sold out. It was. We enlisted the help of our concierge Julie. She sprang into action and managed to slip us into the first group.
Beach Club Experience: When the tour boat returned to its slip, we didn't even get back on the bus. We walked to The Beach Club. They tried to charge us $8.00 just to walk in as a cruise passenger. We were highly indignant. We snuck in. HA! They didn't know who they were dealing with!
We had planned something unusual this cruise. After seeing all the poverty in these third world countries, I thought it was time to do something nice while there. We arranged to meet with Brad Warren, director of Child Sponsorship International in Roatan to deliver school supplies, children's medicines, toothbrushes and cash contributed by generous fellow cruisers.
The Orphanage: We met the energetic Brad and his charming wife Debbie at the orphanage he is building for 40 orphaned and abandoned children. The Warrens shared their thanks with us and we felt like we made a positive difference in the way the people of this area saw Americans.
Resort Experience: After our humanitarian mission, we went to Bay Island Beach Club for snorkeling at the famous Spooky Channel. This port is known as a dive and snorkel paradise!
More info: www.csiroatan.org
The harbor is very shallow and the ships must anchor far from the pier. The secure pier area is new and nice. Lots of shopping for almost anything you would want to bring home. Try the 190 Octane smoothie at the food court if you feel daring. Smooth, but kicks like a mule!
Reggie Cave Tubing: We went with Reggie Cave Tubing after hearing recommendations. The ship has a similar tour, but we figured on living dangerously! Our guide Rudi told us about the international feel of the city with many ethnic groups including Chinese from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
It rained all day, but we still got off the ship. To a real cruiser this was just "liquid sunshine." My wife quickly came up with a plan B (the B is for Barb). No little bit of rain was going to prevent MY wife from exercising the traditional rites passed down for generations from her foremothers - SHOPPING!
Carlos and Charlie's: We spent time at Carlos and Charlie's for some authentic debauchery. If you haven't been there, it's a real experience. Lots of tequila shooters, wild dancing and mayhem. And this was 2 o'clock in the afternoon! Ah, the tasteful ambiance of it all.
Anniversary Surprise: Tonight was a special night - LOBSTER NIGHT! What's that honey? Oh, yeah. It was also our 21st wedding anniversary. Sure I remembered, Suitie, er, I mean Sweetie.
Jane L. Powell was entertaining as usual and had great fun bantering with the audience. Billy Prudhomme juggled and joked to the delight of all. The lounge acts were simply great. Roger Hernandez in the Windjammer sounded more like Billy Joel than Billy Joel does!
Best Places:
- 🍸 Best Place for a Martini: Windjammer
- 🕺 Best place for Dancing: Dazzles
- 🍹 Best Outdoor Bar: Champs
- 🥂 Best Bar Service: Champagne Bar (ask for Roberto!)
- 🎤 Best Place to see MrTractor Look Silly: Karaoke in Observation Lounge
There was an ugly scene in Penthouse Suite 9076 the last morning of our cruise. A man was holding a Penthouse Suite HOSTAGE! A negotiating team of four cabin stewards, three executive chefs, a sous chef and a five man security detail had to talk him down from his veranda.
Finally an executive chef came up with a plan. He coaxed him down by tying a medium rare slice of Beef Wellington to a stick and leading him quietly down the staircase. As if in a dream state of disbelief, they led him through the atrium, past stunned passengers and crew alike and down the gangway.
Women screamed! Mothers shielded the eyes of their children. Grown men openly wept. It seems I had forgotten not to pack the clothes to disembark in! By the time I realized what was happening... it was too late. MY CRUISE WAS OVER!
Relax, would you? That didn't really happen. Well maybe the part about walking naked off the ship in a trance. But it didn't look that bad in the newspapers. They got my good side! HAAA!
Let me finish by saying that this will go down as one of our most enjoyable cruises. Someone asked me once to rate my top five cruises. That was hard to do, since I've never had a bad one! What I found was, that it was the people that made one cruise a little better than another.
The People Factor: Most importantly, it's the people that we meet and the family and friends that come along that make a cruise great. People like Mike and Beth, John and Cynthia, Crysta and Chris, John and Sue from Manchester U.K., Raul and Diane from San Luis Obispo California, Rene and Carlos from the Dominican Republic, Anne from Sumter, SC, Niki and Jeff from Cincinnati and all the nice folks we met from Cruise Critic.
The Secret: All these people and more completed a voyage which the grumpy, whining, crabby people that don't know how to have fun will never sail!
