Just back from Navigator....

Just back from the 4/15 NOS sailing and I thought I would give my own mini review....One thing that is evident on these boards is that perspective is everything- and I know mine definitley shaped my opinion of this trip- I had been on 2 previous cruises: Voyager when she has a few months old in a D1, and Celebrity Summit in a Celebrity Suite for a 10 day cruise. That trip definitely spoiled me for life.. Who wouldnt love a butler taking care of your every whim for 10 whole days!?!?!

This time we brought my son, who turned 9 while on the ship, so we wanted more off a family friendly ship with lots of activities for him. We also brough my in laws along... So we felt this ship would have something for everyone- which it did. But it also fell short of my expectations in many areas as well. Again, probably due to my Celebrity experience, so keep that in mind as you read on.

Embarkation was really quick and easy. I had brought along a notarized document from my ex for my son, as I had read that they sometimes ask for that. They never questioned it until came back home and were passing thru customs yesterday... They just asked my son if we were his parents and he laughed and said yes.. end of story.

The ship in general was nice, but lots of wear and tear. Much differnt that Voyager when she was new.

Our room was a Grand Suite- The size was great and the bathroom was awesome- Perfect for 3 people.. But that was all I could say. The beds were very lumpy and uncomfortable. Each night there were loud bangs on deck 11 (the pool deck)at 2-3am- almost like someone was dropping an oil barrel on the deck!! Also the buffet one night was held by the pool and that was pretty noisy as well. The deck was very large with a louge chair and a table withh 2 additional chairs. We also had an adjoining room with my inlaws which worked out very nicely. We did not really find much value with the concierge servive. The louge was nice- We had coffee 2 mornings, but alwasy brought it back to the room. My husband had a drink there one night before dinner, but that was it. Becuase we had early seating, we barely had enough time to come back from shore excursions and get ready, let alone go tot he lounge.. and dinner ended between 7-7:30 pm- so once we got my son changed and up to Adventure Ocean, all of the "perks" were put away. The concierge was very nice, but he was never able to "pull strings" for us, such as help us move a reservation at Portofino's back 15 minutes or get us on a full shore excursion. That was not a big deal for me, but if folks think they will get special treatment becuase of the concierge, that was not our experience.

My son loved adventure ocean and it kept him busy and happy every night until 10pm. He also loved the arcade- But at an average of $1.50 per game, it is very easy to blow thru $50-100 in a week if not careful.

We also bought hin a soda card- which we did not really get the value out of. We were ashore 4 of the 7 days, so that didnt help. They also put mostly ice in the cup, so that is a nice money maker for them. Again, not a big deal, but I will think 2x next time about spending $33 on soda for him.

We ate in the main dining room 5 of the 7 nights. Custodio was our waiter and he was really great. The bad news was the ship's winen delivery was held up due to security and they never got their wine shipment for our trip. So we had very slim pickings on wine, which was a huge disappointment for us. All of the best bottles were gone, as were most of the moderately priced selections. We were able to get a bottle of stag's lepa when at Chops, only becuase our waitress called down to Vinatges where they had 1 bottle left. The food in the main dining room was fine. I know a lot of people complain, but I had no problems. We are very spoiled when it comes to eating at fine restaurants- so although it was no Maxim's of Paris, it was certainly fine cruise food. The only meal I did not enjoy was carribean night when I got an indian dish which was far too salty. But everything else was great. I loved the chilled fruit soups!! My son got shrimp cocktail quite a bot, andn was able to bounce between the adult and kids menus to pick what he wanted which was great. Windjammer was OK. I hate buffets, especially when there are so many kids. People were constantly dropping tongs and kids using their hands, which really grosses me out. We went thu for a walk on night after dinner and noticed that they were serving the exact same choices as the dining room- So i think it would be a nice alternative for those who dont mind buffets and arer too tired to get dressed for dinner after a day ashore.

Chops was very good and Portofino's was by far my favorite. I would eat there eveynight!! (If anyone has their risotto recipe, please share!!)

Shopping- The shops on board were overpriced.. But heck, arent all of them that way!?!?!

Went looking for a blue diamond ring- Found amazingg deals in Jamaica at the Taj Majal shopping center. Kicking myself for not getting what I saw there. I did manage to find a very nice one in Cozumel, but paid more for it than I would have in jamaica. Wish Jamaica had been the last stop. Oh well!! Grand Cayman ahd beautiful stores but was the most expensive of the islands. No deals to be had there. Also very expensive to eat there. A small unch for 2, with no drinks was $70. Cozumel had good shopping and was easier to bargain.. But beware of exchange rate haggline. Some stores charge in Pesos, and not USD. I was able to talk them down on my ring, but what they quoted in USD was not really relevant as the store, which was rerputable, charged my credit card in Pesos, and use what ever exchange rate they wanted to use- So they ended up jacing up my ring another $60 that way. So if you are in a store that uses pesos, make sure you know the exchange rate before negotiating prices in USD.

In Grand Cayman we went to Stingray City, which was beautiful. But the only stingray that anyone was able to touch was the one the guide caught for us to see. The rest stayed under the baot and away form the tourists. They were beatiful creatures, and my son loved it, but for whatever reason, they were not as firendly that day as I had read. Maybe they were full!!

In Cozumel we also went to Playa Mia- It was a beautiful beach and a nice way to spend a few hours. The "Deluxe Beach Break" was a rip off, and if I had to do it over I would have taken a taxi myself and paid as I went. The buffet was lousy and we are not big drinkers. Caveat emptor i guess! This was outr faulkt as we did not reasearch thhis in advance, but if I can save someone else a few bucks, I thought I would mention it. The destruction in Cozumel was so sad. Pretty much all trees were dead, and very little green vegatation. Homes and many buildings are still destroyed. Someone who had been there just in February could not believe how much clean up had taken place in the 2 months since they had been there last, but for us it was still pretty shocking. Also beware of food and drink in Mexico. The staff was saying they were deluged with really sick people after they ate and drank in Mexico.

Labadee remains my favorite stop. I love the relaxed atmosphere and activities. The beach area was beautiful and my son snorkeled his heart out all day in between a Thriller boat ride and jet skiing. I could do 3 days there and be happy!! Also not alot of people hounding you to buy things, which is nice too.

In Jamaica, we went horeseback riding which was nice. But be prepared to be sore. When in the water you are basically bareback.. and that horses spine is HARD!!! I heard some horror stories of people who took their own cab- with the cab company recommended by RCCL- the drivers would promise a trip to see sights,m but would instead bring them to groups of street merchants who would surround the cab and push goods at them. This happened several times and the folks never saw any of Jamaica. I also heard a few teenagers tried to get Pot back on the boat and were caught.. It was their lucky day though becuase that was Tuesday and the court was not readjourning until Monday- so they ende dup letting them go in their parents custody.. So if you have teenagers, you may want to warn them not to try anything that could really ruin the trip.

The weatehr was sunny and beautiful every day- so no complaints there.

My in laws had a great time too.

So overall I would give it a 7 out of 10. It was a vacation, and we had loved it, but next trip will definitely be back on Celebrity....or possibly Freedom when it is still new if we bring my son.

I hope this was helpful, and I would be happy to answer questions people may have....

Thanks for the review.

Just wondering, where did you see the wear and tear? Every other Navigator reivew I've read talks about how well RCCL is taking care of the ship.

The noise comment is also odd. We had a GS on the Mariner near the pool and never heard anything!

Cheers,

Wear and tear was everywhere- The room was filled with scuff marks, and the carpet had what looked like red nailpolish spilled on it. The beds needed new mattresses. In thh Metroplis the big screeen TVs had panels that were burned out, and some of the lighting was not in working order. In the Nutcracker Dining room the wood was scuffed and nicked- Same story in Windjammer. So nothing major, but in comparison to Voayger when new and Summit, I noticed a big difference.

As far as the noise, I was VERY surprised too. I had done a lot of reading and everyone said it was very quiet on deck 10. But both my inlaws and my husband and I were awoken every night several times by this noise. It could have been kids (teenagers) running amok on the pool deck... Security had their hands full with underage drinking and fights all week long... I was amazed at how some of the teenagers were acting- and the lack of parental supervision/concern. So that may have been the cause if it is an aberration- which based on most accounts it was.

Can you tell me what had to be included on your letter for your son. My sister is looking to cruise soon with children and is wondering what needs to be included.

Thanks.

Wear and tear was everywhere- The room was filled with scuff marks, and the carpet had what looked like red nailpolish spilled on it. The beds needed new mattresses. In thh Metroplis the big screeen TVs had panels that were burned out, and some of the lighting was not in working order. In the Nutcracker Dining room the wood was scuffed and nicked- Same story in Windjammer. So nothing major, but in comparison to Voayger when new and Summit, I noticed a big difference.

 

As far as the noise, I was VERY surprised too. I had done a lot of reading and everyone said it was very quiet on deck 10. But both my inlaws and my husband and I were awoken every night several times by this noise. It could have been kids (teenagers) running amok on the pool deck... Security had their hands full with underage drinking and fights all week long... I was amazed at how some of the teenagers were acting- and the lack of parental supervision/concern. So that may have been the cause if it is an aberration- which based on most accounts it was.

Care to share your cabin number? (As long as it's not mine! :D)

Cheers,

Our cabins were 1586 (GS) and 1588 (D1). Again- Hopefully it was just kids, but it was pretty bad. I am a very sound sleeper.

As far as the letter, mine read that as mother and joint custodian, I had permission to take my son on NOS, and included the dates of the cruise and the countries we would be travelling to. All of one paragraph.

It was then notarized . No one questioned us leaving- just the passport agent when we came back. And all she did was ask my son (Who is 9) if we were his parents. She never asked to see the letter.

Just a comment on the beds. It's been posted here that there will be new & better mattresses on the Freedom and on the rest of the fleet within the next year. If you get a bad mattress, ask for one of the egg crate tops. Never used one, but others here say there work well.

Our cabins were 1586 (GS) and 1588 (D1). Again- Hopefully it was just kids, but it was pretty bad. I am a very sound sleeper.

 

As far as the letter, mine read that as mother and joint custodian, I had permission to take my son on NOS, and included the dates of the cruise and the countries we would be travelling to. All of one paragraph.

 

It was then notarized . No one questioned us leaving- just the passport agent when we came back. And all she did was ask my son (Who is 9) if we were his parents. She never asked to see the letter.

Not my cabin...yay! :D

Sorry to hear you had some negative experiences. I am going on the Navigator in 2 weeks and hopeful the spring break trips will be over. As far as Portofino's any specific recommendation? Sounds like the risotto was good.

Dont get me wrong- it was a great trip. But not as good as the other 2 I have had. I am sure you will have a great time!!

As far as Portofinos: We all had the bread- The offer a nice EVOO and some balsamic vinagar, and grind fresh parmesan into that for you to dip your bread. i could have filled up on that! They also had 3 tapenades for the bread. I tried the artichoke selection and it was excellent. I had the carpaccio appetizer, which if you like carpaccio, was yum-o!! That was followed by a wonderful salad with pears and gorgonzola. I requested the risotto appetizer as my meal- it looks like they doubled the appetizer portion size, as my husband has the same risotto as his appetizer. It was a risotto milanese with saffron, delicious shrimp, and a lobster sauce. Very rich and very good. I actually had no room for dessert!

My husband had a steak which he really liked. My inlaws had the eggplant appetizer and loved that... They both had a seafood skewer for tehir meal- and both said that was really good. We all cleaned out plates and loved everything.They all had a dessert plate that had 4 mini portions of the desserts available. That was a nice way to try everything.

So my only recommendation would be to save lots of room and get a little of everything!! I liked it betterr than chops, although that was good too!! Much nicer ambiance than the large dining room and if you get it right, you can watch the sunset... we got it worng- when we were in Chops the sunset was on the Portofino side of the ship and vice versa when we were in Portofino!! But ask for a table by the windows. You will NOT be disappointed!!

This is THE FIRST NEGATIVE post I have ever read on this ship. I so enjoy reading them as we are going in Sept.

Due to have my yearly eye exam in July. Think I'll wait until after the cruise. Don't want to see the scuffs etc.

I cant say enough that we had a really nice trip and the ship is certainly beautiful. I really do think that it my perspective, more than anything that made me notice the negatives more than others. Celebrity really spoiled us when we sailed on Summit- so it is a high expectation to meet!! Just to give one example- On the Summit, one day the butler sprinkled red and yellow rose petals from the doorway to the bedroom, annd then had rose petals scattered on the bed for us.. and had champagne waiting. It was pretty amazing.

NOS was the right ship for us given the fact we had my son, and he keeps saying it was the "best week of his life"!! Lets face it- No cruise is ever a bad vacation!! (it sure beats work!)

i was just wanting to be honest and hopefully help people make decisions or get an idea of what our experience was...

I cant say enough that we had a really nice trip and the ship is certainly beautiful. I really do think that it my perspective, more than anything that made me notice the negatives more than others. Celebrity really spoiled us when we sailed on Summit- so it is a high expectation to meet!! Just to give one example- On the Summit, one day the butler sprinkled red and yellow rose petals from the doorway to the bedroom, annd then had rose petals scattered on the bed for us.. and had champagne waiting. It was pretty amazing.

 

NOS was the right ship for us given the fact we had my son, and he keeps saying it was the "best week of his life"!! Lets face it- No cruise is ever a bad vacation!! (it sure beats work!)

 

i was just wanting to be honest and hopefully help people make decisions or get an idea of what our experience was...

Yes, the rose petals sound hard to beat! Glad your son enjoyed his trip.

Thanks for the Portofino recommendations - sounds great. Kind of puts the Sunday dinner I am preparing to shame.

I am a very "picky" person and I didn't notice the wear and tear mentioned here. I thought the ship was in top condition and saw people cleaning and scrubbing the ship every day. We did notice some screens not working in the Metropolis theater.

We were on Deck 4 at the Coppilia dinning room and that was just fine.

The beds were not as comfortable as they could be.

My two biggest complaints are as follows:

1 - Charging for the glasses at the outside bars. It's my belief that most people don't realize they are paying $1.38 for a glass that's probably being re-used. I'm not talking about the fancy glass that the daily special is in; I'm talking about a regular glass. I had to ask EVERY time, pour in a regular glass I'm not interested in paying for the glass. This is a SCAM from RCL. A few times I was charged for the extra glass and I simply said re-pour the drink in a separate glass. The charge for a Strawberry Daiquiri should be $5.46 not $6.84. Of course my kids got taken by this SCAM, because they didn’t realize this and they were buying virgin Pina Colada’s

2 - The constant up-sell. They have a beautiful promenade on deck 5 and what do they do; they fill the deck with tables stacked with their merchandise and Sale signs. How tacky is that!

The worst day is; in case you didn't buy anything on the promenade deck, they move tables up to deck 11 at the entrance of the Windjammer again stacking the tables with watches and gold chains to purchase in lengths.

This was actually causing a bottle neck trying to get into the Windjammer area. This resembled a "Flea Market".

We were also on this sailing and did see some of the wear and tear...didn't think it was real bad. Our mattresses we Ok. We had LOTS of wine at our table of 16 and were always able to get what we asked for. I thought the food was OK, definitely not like it was a few years back when I sailed RCCL but I wasn't cooking or washing dishes so I didn't complain.

Lots of teenagers on the ship...spring break. I never really saw any REALLY drunk but my son said there were many up by the pool area late at night. He said the crew were trying to get a handle on it but weren't very successful. The 1:00 curfew is not enforced. As we were waiting for the tender back from Cozumel there were many very drunk teens but after we boarded the ship we didn't see them. In Jamicia we did the Canopy Tour....a must do!!!!!!!!!

Graham Seymore (SP?) was GREAT! By far the best cruise director we ever had!!!

Entertainment was OK. The Quest was the best...don't miss it.

We did a stingray city tour booked independently and saw many stingrays. Our guide let us hold them and we took lots of pictures.

In Cozumel we rented a jeep and drove around the island. That was a really good time...don't miss Coconuts!

Overall it was a really good vacation. We went with a large group and have many wonderful memories!

I was going to wait until the middle of the week to do this, but I'll do it now, and although this is my third RCI cruise this is the first ever review I've written, please bare with me.

We left Boston on 4/13 on Song airlines at 7:55 pm. Boy, there isn't much open anymore in the Delta Terminal. Arrived in FLL around 11:00 pm. We had received a phone call from another member of our party, to go get a taxi cab inside the terminal, as they were cheaper there than outside. It must have been the time of day, because we were the only one's in the terminal when we arrived. We ended up getting the shared ride, $18.00 p/p, from FLL to Holiday Inn, Port of Miami.

We stayed there 2 nights, did South Beach Friday day.

Saturday morning, we had breakfast in the hotel, left there around 10:45-11:00 am for the short trip to the port.

Upon arrival, a porter came over to our van assisted the driver with our luggage, and that's the last time we saw it. We tipped the porter well (15 pieces of luggage)

When we entered the cruise terminal, there was a short line waiting for security to open. They take your "boarding" photograph before security, not on the gangway.

Once through security, we were met by an agent, wanting to see the "Set Sail" paperwork, and we were sent to a counter rep for our deck number (9). Check-in went pretty quickly, and I think the entire process took about 30-45 minutes. We were on the ship by 12:30-12:45. When we got on ship, we went to our stateroom, not ever having a balcony, we wanted to see what it looked like. We were greeted by our cabin steward, Rhino, and were asked to come back after 1:00 pm, when the cabins would all be completed. We dropped our carry on baggage off, and headed to the Windjammer for some lunch.

The Windjammer was clean, plenty of items to choose from, although, tough to find a place to sit and eat.

We then started to explore the ship. We had sailed on the NOS 2 years ago to the Eastern Caribbean. I also thought she appeared a little worn in some areas, the carpeting in the elevators, and stairs appeared to be not well taken care of. Also, the glass on the balcony was streaky/dirty.

Believe it or not, we received most of our luggage (4/5) rather early that night. If we had received all of it, we would have dressed casual for the night, however, my wife hadn't received her suitcase until after dinner.

First night in the dining room, we met our head waiter, waiter and assistant waiter. they were all very good. However, on previous cruises they waitstaff remembered our names from the first night on, and they never wrote down our dining choices.

The bar waiter was very pushy with the after dinner drinks. We saw him just one night, and he never returned.

That night went to the Schooner Bar for the Sinatra singing. This gentleman sounded like Sinatra as much as I did. He was also mean to the waitstaff, yelling for water, blaming others for equipment malfunctions. I left there and went to Two Poets Pub. The music there was more tolerable.

The first sea day was Easter, and they offered an interdenominational service as well as a Catholic service, which was well attended.

The first sea day was good, weather was perfect.

there were allot of "young adults" on this cruise. Seems there was a senior class trip on board. I don't know how many, but they were definitely not well behaved. It was evident that their parents signed the waiver allowing them to drink beer & wine, and allot of them drank to excess. I saw a young man passed out on the pool deck one night, with vomit running down the front of his shirt, and half way to the pool.

LABADEE

Labadee is a tender island. Tenders were in good supply, went to the island for the obligatory barbecue. Food was good and plentiful. Activities on the island were plentiful also. Island was clean. The market place is a place to cautious. One of my son's friends was approached to buy marijuana three to four times.

Know what you are willing to pay for something. You can barter with the people in the market place.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

We docked at the pier, and walked off the ship. Wanted to go to Jimmy Buffet's place to shop. Got wrong directions from local people, and we ended up almost at the Taj Mahal. We got accurate directions from one of the bartenders from the ship to where we wanted to go.

After shopping, we separated into two groups: one went to the falls, the other went to do the canopy zip line tour. We got a taxi from the terminal area, $8.00, US round trip to Dunn's River Falls. When we got there, the driver escorted us to the entrance, told us where and when to meet him. A couple of people did the falls climb, while my wife and I relaxed on the beach. If you go to do just the beach, get one of the plastic chairs to sit on, do not put your towel on the ground and sit on it, it will absorb ground water that smells very foul.

When we left the falls, we met the driver where he told us to meet him. The van had dark tinted windows, and one of the ladies that was with the group didn't feel comfortable being in that van. He made arrangements for another vehicle to pick us up, however, we deferred to another van.

That second driver asked everyone on the van where we were going, we told him we would like to go back to Buffett's place, he then proceeded to drop us off at the Taj Mahal. Oh well. We actually did some shopping there!

Grand Cayman: Did not want to do an organized excursion, went to Hell with a friend of mine. The unfortunate thing about this, we couldn't;t find a taxi to bring us just to there. They all wanted to go to the Governor's House, Turtle Farm etc etc etc. We ended up withe a short tour, $20.00 p/p.

Other we were cruising with, went on the sting ray adventure, saw lots of rays, and go to feed them, as well as touch and get "massages" from them.

Cozumel: This placed is destroyed! The international pier is open, only one ship may dock, about 1/2-3/4 of the pier is at the bottom of the ocean. Allot of the shops have reopened in the "International Pier Marketplace". And allot are in the process of rebuilding. We shopped around for a while, then went on the Catamaran snorkel party boat. We did this four years ago when we visited with the VOS, and had a great time. This time though, we were taken to a different place to snorkel, due to the shallow reef we went to before, being destroyed by the hurricanes. After the snorkel, went to a beach area, had lunch ($8.00 hamb/cheeseburger, potato salad, pasta salad) beer margaritas and soft drinks were free, after swimming. We stayed on the beach for about an hour, then returned to the catamaran where the party continued. Beverages and loud dancing music were plentiful. The crew got in on dancing: "YMCA & Electric Slide".

Our last day was at sea, and as with the first day at sea, events were plentiful.

The cruise director Graham Seymour was fun to be with. From the Welcome aboard show, to the Quest game, to the Farewell show.

Dining Room: We had 32 people in our cruising party, and werre able to get tables rearranged so we could all dine together. We had second seating on the fifth deck. As I mentioned earlier, was disappointed that they didn't take the time do remember our names.

Food was plentiful, however, it was just ok, nothing out of the ordinary, some vegatables not warm/hot.

My wife & I had supper one night in Portofino's. This was one the greatest dining experience I've had on board. Last time on VOS, my wife and I went to Chops. The food & atmosphere was fantastic.

One night they had Rock-A-Rokie in the Ixtapa Lounge. (Karaoke to live band) This was different, however, they allowed the high school group to take it over.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask them. I also have all the cruise compass's from the week, if you need some information from them. This is from the Western Caribbean.

Unless RCCL changes the ports of Call for the Caribbean, this will be the last time I visit here.

Medic-

Sounds like we had some similar experiences. It was a shame how some of the teenagers acted. My son was dying for me to let him walk the ship alone but after seeing those kids, I was afraid to do so..

Next time I will probably choose a different time of year- but wish I didnt have to... Maybe RCCL will have a better handle on security in the future,, but I am not willing to bet my vacation on it!

Next cruise- EUROPE!! :)

Now I know who drank all the wine!!!

:)

 

there were allot of "young adults" on this cruise. Seems there was a senior class trip on board. I don't know how many, but they were definitely not well behaved. It was evident that their parents signed the waiver allowing them to drink beer & wine, and allot of them drank to excess. I saw a young man passed out on the pool deck one night, with vomit running down the front of his shirt, and half way to the pool.

 

There were several large groups of seniors from several high schools on this ship. From what I have found out many were there without their parents yet the parents signed the release...(another topic...another thread)

You would think after what happened with Natalie Holloway parents would be more careful with these types of situations...

Maybe I am just an old stick in the mud!

Would love to see that other thread on the topic Rosieo...Maybe RCCL should have a ruke that unless parent are actually accompanying the child, no waiver will be granted!

There were several large groups of seniors from several high schools on this ship. From what I have found out many were there without their parents yet the parents signed the release...(another topic...another thread)

I have cruised twice with spring breakers and grads on board and never again. I learned my lesson.

Having JUST gotten out of the car (2100 miles round trip from my house to the pier)... I will try to share my experiences tomorrow... when I can actually function again. But I will say this... this was probably the WORST experience of my cruises (it wasn't ALL horrible, but bad enough). I had even talked my mother into going, saying how WONDERFUL RCCL is... and she won't cruise with them again. Things were SO bad, and Guest Relations were aware of it... one night I came back to a plate full of chocolate covered strawberries.

Having JUST gotten out of the car (2100 miles round trip from my house to the pier)... I will try to share my experiences tomorrow... when I can actually function again. But I will say this... this was probably the WORST experience of my cruises (it wasn't ALL horrible, but bad enough). I had even talked my mother into going, saying how WONDERFUL RCCL is... and she won't cruise with them again. Things were SO bad, and Guest Relations were aware of it... one night I came back to a plate full of chocolate covered strawberries.

I can't wait to hear what you have to say...please post soon.

Sorry for the pun, RCL should be hammered. As this was already mentioned, the other family that we traveled with saw the young kid at the pool deck lying (passed out) in the lounge chair covered with vomit. Kids were drunk and hanging out every where. I saw a young girl sitting at the pool deck with her skirt down to her knees, drunk out of her mind; she was on a chair in the middle of a bunch of kids.

I will never cruise the Western Caribbean either. The ports of call were disgusting.