Cruise Review Oct 2023

[ttnc4me]

2pm arrived. Just a few minutes wait for valet $57.

Too late for luggage porters so had to carry our own luggage on. 

Probably 15 employees checking in. Several apologies for just a 5 min wait. One of the quickest checkins ever. 

Walked right on ship and straight to room. 

The robes in the room are a nice touch. I appreciate having shampoo and conditioner. Whoever thought just having a shower curtain in the shower was ok should be fired. It’s an itty bitty space and water floods the bathroom floor. 

 

Lunch buffet not great. Salad. A few stew looking type dishes pasta and burgers were the choices. 

The juices available are the same as other cruise ships except the ice machines were always out of ice.

 

Went to top forward deck and immediately started to experience the worst part of the whole cruise. Smokers everywhere. Cigarette, vapes and weed. All outside decks, each level outside, both sides of the ship and out back at the buffet also. 

No employees around to even try to ask to ask them to go elsewhere and when one was found, he said to leave it in the review. <shrug> 

 

Love that the casino is no smoking but BEWARE that all other outside decks seem to be fair game. 

 

Dinner at Fins was very short on food options with many spicy dishes. Opted for the buffet and was ok with chicken fingers, shepards pie, carving station, green salad bar,  potato bar, pasta bar. Only one station had all juice drink options. One had ice. 

 

Night one went to margaritaville stage show production. Fantastic talent but the sound in the theatre is unbearably loud. Like, need ear plugs at a concert if standing right in front of a speaker loud.

 

Latin dance night was fun. 

Quest adult game show was similar to other cruise lines’ and fun. Prizes for all activities/games is just a free drink. 

 

Dinner at Fins. Not sure why 100+ people are held in the hallway at 7:45 and all allowed in at the same time?!? The waiters were overwhelmed. Very slow service. The food was decent though. Had pineapple chicken, & macaroni and cheese (was spicy), and key lime sponge cake. No two entrees allowed to be ordered unlike free on other lines and a second would be $7. 

 

Love and marriage game show was decent. I like how all 3 couples stay on stage and answer more questions than other lines that take turns with spouses off stage. It moves faster. 

 

The comedian / magician Rich Purpura bases his comedy on racist jokes and denigrating guests when they enter the theatre and in the audience. 

 

The casino stays open until 2am the 2nd night which is longer than other lines’ 10pm. Love that it’s non smoking. 

 

I never found where they were passing out pool towels. The band that played at the water pit open to all (can’t really call it a pool because the pool in my backyard is bigger) was good, but the singers were awful. 

 

Orlando the cruise director is great. 

The assistant cruise director Venus comes across fake, forces her excitement and isn’t very entertaining. 

 

Employees seen in hallways, on deck or inside do not greet unless spoken to. There aren’t enough employees in the buffet cleaning off tables for people to sit. The mixed drinks at the adult pool bar were weak. 

 

Disembarkation was haphazard. Early flights off first. VIP next but no one is checking. Folks before security saying no liquids allowed off but that wasn’t true as long as it was in a bag/luggage. Passport line flowed decently. Valet took longer. Got off around 8:40 and on the road at 9:30. 

 

The $24/pp fuel surcharge after the fact is ridiculous to not simply be in the cruise fare as is the $32/pp gratuity service charge that they refuse to adjust. 

 

Even though we could sail free in the future, we won’t ever return. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Shower curtains were what ships had in 1991 and, as Oceania found it when they refitted their R-ships with glass doors, sometimes the solution is worse than the original design!

[joe/jack]

On 10/13/2023 at 10:36 PM, ttnc4me said:

2pm arrived. Just a few minutes wait for valet $57.

Too late for luggage porters so had to carry our own luggage on. 

Probably 15 employees checking in. Several apologies for just a 5 min wait. One of the quickest checkins ever. 

Walked right on ship and straight to room. 

The robes in the room are a nice touch. I appreciate having shampoo and conditioner. Whoever thought just having a shower curtain in the shower was ok should be fired. It’s an itty bitty space and water floods the bathroom floor. 

 

Lunch buffet not great. Salad. A few stew looking type dishes pasta and burgers were the choices. 

The juices available are the same as other cruise ships except the ice machines were always out of ice.

 

Went to top forward deck and immediately started to experience the worst part of the whole cruise. Smokers everywhere. Cigarette, vapes and weed. All outside decks, each level outside, both sides of the ship and out back at the buffet also. 

No employees around to even try to ask to ask them to go elsewhere and when one was found, he said to leave it in the review. <shrug> 

 

Love that the casino is no smoking but BEWARE that all other outside decks seem to be fair game. 

 

Dinner at Fins was very short on food options with many spicy dishes. Opted for the buffet and was ok with chicken fingers, shepards pie, carving station, green salad bar,  potato bar, pasta bar. Only one station had all juice drink options. One had ice. 

 

Night one went to margaritaville stage show production. Fantastic talent but the sound in the theatre is unbearably loud. Like, need ear plugs at a concert if standing right in front of a speaker loud.

 

Latin dance night was fun. 

Quest adult game show was similar to other cruise lines’ and fun. Prizes for all activities/games is just a free drink. 

 

Dinner at Fins. Not sure why 100+ people are held in the hallway at 7:45 and all allowed in at the same time?!? The waiters were overwhelmed. Very slow service. The food was decent though. Had pineapple chicken, & macaroni and cheese (was spicy), and key lime sponge cake. No two entrees allowed to be ordered unlike free on other lines and a second would be $7. 

 

Love and marriage game show was decent. I like how all 3 couples stay on stage and answer more questions than other lines that take turns with spouses off stage. It moves faster. 

 

The comedian / magician Rich Purpura bases his comedy on racist jokes and denigrating guests when they enter the theatre and in the audience. 

 

The casino stays open until 2am the 2nd night which is longer than other lines’ 10pm. Love that it’s non smoking. 

 

I never found where they were passing out pool towels. The band that played at the water pit open to all (can’t really call it a pool because the pool in my backyard is bigger) was good, but the singers were awful. 

 

Orlando the cruise director is great. 

The assistant cruise director Venus comes across fake, forces her excitement and isn’t very entertaining. 

 

Employees seen in hallways, on deck or inside do not greet unless spoken to. There aren’t enough employees in the buffet cleaning off tables for people to sit. The mixed drinks at the adult pool bar were weak. 

 

Disembarkation was haphazard. Early flights off first. VIP next but no one is checking. Folks before security saying no liquids allowed off but that wasn’t true as long as it was in a bag/luggage. Passport line flowed decently. Valet took longer. Got off around 8:40 and on the road at 9:30. 

 

The $24/pp fuel surcharge after the fact is ridiculous to not simply be in the cruise fare as is the $32/pp gratuity service charge that they refuse to adjust. 

 

Even though we could sail free in the future, we won’t ever return. 

We recently had the same experience last month. Never to return to the

Margaritaville of the Seas.

Trying MSC next week for a 3 night which turned out to be the same amount of money. 

[AllgoodOnTheRoad]

Thank you for your review.

 

Smoking outside designated areas would certainly be a reason for me not to return to MAS, I hope they get that under control. I love that the Casino is non smoking, I would often spend more time there if it was. Shower curtains are still common across the cruise industry on older ships.

 

 

 

[ortech]

Ok even tho reading reviews late I’m going to give it a shot … SIL has done this cruise plenty of times and loves it … and she is VERY  picky lol

so my question is (SIL) didn’t have the answer so I’m asking here can we bring on water bottles to keep in room? Or bottles of wine?

[AllgoodOnTheRoad]

On 10/25/2023 at 11:39 PM, ortech said:

Ok even tho reading reviews late I’m going to give it a shot … SIL has done this cruise plenty of times and loves it … and she is VERY  picky lol

so my question is (SIL) didn’t have the answer so I’m asking here can we bring on water bottles to keep in room? Or bottles of wine?

Sorry, no, you cannot bring either of those on a MAS cruise.