We are at about the halfway point of the cruise but it has been amazing so far! We are in a 2 bedroom Haven suite for this cruise. We are somehow surviving with no hashbrowns as occurred with the sailing before ours and also on the Joy.
We arrived a day early and stayed at the Hilton Midway in NYC and enjoyed a great lunch at PizzArte which was about a two block walk and is highly recommended! There were plenty of other restaurants in the area and convenience stores. Due to rain, we stayed at the hotel lounge/bar for dinner. When we asked for the check, the waiter told us a woman in the restaurant paid for our dinner (which was not cheap!) as she liked how my husband and I sat close together on the same side of the table at dinner. That was so unexpected and kind. We did meet her and thanked her. She asked us to give the waiter a generous tip as she had stayed at the hotel for several days. We did of course do what she requested and tipped very well.
The next day, we left for the cruise port at 10:00am and arrived shortly after. The processing through the Haven line was very quick. While we were told that boarding may begin at 12 Noon, we were surprised when it was announced shortly after that we could board. We were on the ship and in the Haven just after 10:45am. I think this was the fastest time ever from the hotel to the ship!
After enjoying some time in the hot tub and Haven lounge, we were allowed to go to our rooms. The two bedroom suite is quite amazing and we love the windows in the bathroom. We do miss the windows that we would normally have in a club balcony that we could view the ocean while in bed. We were encouraged to eat lunch in the American Dinner. We did enjoy the lobster and shrimp rolls as appetizers but they could be their own meal. I had the spinach salad with grilled shrimp and my husband really loved the Mahi Mahi Rueben. We shared an amazing carrot cake for dessert.
We realized our room steward was the same room steward we had on the Encore on February 2000 before everything shut down due to Covid. We also were excited to learn that Prelude Duo - a very talented music du this shio was on this ship. We enjoyed listening to them in the Sugarcane lounge.
Will add more photos and the dailies.
We have been told there are 1029 passengers on this sailing and the next one leaving on Sept. 22nd will have 4000 or more guests. While we can see that the ship is definitely not full, we have been surprised that the atrium and other venues have been full as the passengers have been getting out to enjoy the music options. We have not gone to any theater events but hear there are plenty of seats and there is no need to use the Haven concierge to get premium seating.