03/10 Opera Cruise Review

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Hello Everyone...

 

We just returned from the March 10th Opera Cruise and I am happy to report that we had a great experience. I can't remember a vacation in recent memory where we had more fun. Below are our ratings of the various aspects of the cruise:

 

Cleanliness of Ship - 5 stars

 

Itinerary - 5 stars (San Juan, St. Martin, Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, & Tortola)

 

Entertainment - 5 stars

 

Cabin - 4 stars

 

Ship Common Areas (lounges & bars) - 5 stars

 

Workout facilities and sauna - 4 stars

 

Helpfullness of Staff - 5 stars

 

Food - 4 stars overall

 

 

The ship was absolutely beautiful, everything from the elevators to the lobby were immaculate and shined as if the ship was sailing for the first time. They put a ton of effiort into keeping the ship looking new and clean.

 

The entertainment was a highlight of the cruise. We actively participated in the games and dance lessons led by the Animation Team and couldn't of had more fun. They try hard to get people engaged in the activities, my recommendation is that you help them out by participating. The more people that particpate the more fun it is for everyone.

 

The shows at night were fantastic. They offer lots of variety, everything from magic to singing to acrobatics to comedy. The shows and I mean all of them are a not to be missed experience. There is a new show every night.

 

Our cabin was immaculate the entire cruise because of our cabin attendant and because the storage was so well planned that we were able to put away all our clothes and luggage. The shower is small but certinaly tolerable. I am 6'2 and med build and I was able to make it work without too much effort. As an alternative, you can shower in the workout facilty locker room.

 

The common areas of the ship were all very stylish & comfortable and had good sight lines to the stages. The entertainment in the lounges was also very good.

 

The equipment in the workout facility is good quality equpment. A few more treadmills would be helpful, the demand for them in the morning was high.

 

The quality of the food ranges from fair to excellent. I never had anything that I would consider to be bad food, I do not consider food that is not to my own personal taste preference as bad food.

 

At breakfast, I usually had hot oatmeal or cream of wheat or the cold cerals (rice crispies, corn flakes etc.), bananas, bacon - the taste was very good despite that fact the bacon stuck together in the serving pan, eggs - the grill outside of the dining room will make you an omelet or make your eggs sunny side up or whatever your preference. Waffles, pancakes, bagels, english muffins, toast, yogurt, were available as well as a plethera of other food items that were a bit foreign to my usual breakfast fare. I tried some of them and they all tasted good.

 

At lunch I tried the pizza - very good!, the hamburgers - also good, an assortment of salads - also good, meatballs - incredilbly good, various other pastas - all good.

 

At dinner, the pasta dishes were consistently excellent. My advice is that you stick to the pasta dishes as much as you can. Many of the appetizers and hot soups and side dishes were also excellent. I tried several of the cold soups and none were to my liking. On most nights by the time I had enjoyed the appetizer, salad, soup and pasta, I didn't have much room left for the dinner entree. I usually just took a few bites and left the rest. The meat entrees I tried were often dry and lacking in flavor. I know some folks like bland well cooked food so perhaps to them it was okay. The bread was hard crusted with a soft airy interior. The desserts were usually italian sponge type cakes or tarts. A few nights were had New York style cheese cake and that was very good. Ice cream was avaible as a dessert option each night and was also very good. I heard very few complaints about the food and observed that most tables seemed to be having a good time. The service in the dining room was excellent and efficient.

 

There was never a time when I wanted food that it was not available. The pizza station and the grill are available from noon until 9pm at night. So if your busy touring the islands and come back to the ship hungery, you should not have a problem finding something to eat.

 

The ship offers a late night buffet or food that usually is served between 11:15pm and midnight. On some nights they offer a buffet and other nights they offer a snack. One night they offered the buffet in the ship's kitchen,that was a fun experience. The kitchen was spotless. On another night they offered a pastry/dessrt buffet with at least 50 different kinds of patries and desserts. The display was just beautiful and each that I tries was fastastic especially the cream puffs. On the second to last night they offer an grand buffet with a great vareity of pastas and desserts all beautifully displayed with very artisitic carvings made out various fruits and vegetables. It was so beautiful many people were taking photos.

 

It is my opinion that in order to enjoy the food you must come with an open mind and be willing to try pasta dishes that you are not familiar with. Of all the pasta dishes I tried, there were only two I was familiar with and that was lasagna nd meatballs, they were excellent but so were all the others I tried. If your food preferences are usually confined to meat and potatoes or your not open minded to trying and enjoying new dishes and food is the main indicator whether or not you will have a good cruise, then I say book another cruise line that you know specializes in meat and potatoes.

 

 

Below is a description of our experiences at each of the islands:

 

We love San Juan. Having been there before we spent most of our time shopping, finding good deals at the Gant Store and the Polo Store. We also walked the sea wall and up down the streets in the Old Town. The colors of the buildings are vibrant, you really feel like you are in the Caribbean.

 

We took at taxi to Orient Beach in St. Martin and had a lovely morning at the beach. The beach is beautiful and very clean. We shopped the second half of the day in St. Martin. The majority of the stores were selling electronics, cologne, alcohol, and jewelry. We were shopping for cologne and alcohol and found good deals on both. We didn't make is to the French side of the island. My recommendation is that you not try to cram too many activities into your day on St. Martin. It takes a while to get from place to place.

 

Grenada is a very colorful port and a very lush island. I loved all the colorful roofs on the buildings. We took the Mandoo tour and I would rate the tour was fair. My opinion was swayed by the fact it was hard to enjoy because the van accomodations were tight. My knees were in my chest the entire time. They should of put us in a larger van. The tour was interesting but I would not rate it as fantastic. We visited the spice plantation - note it is not a working plantation. We also visited the waterfalls and the Grand Etang Lake. The lake was really nothing spectacular to look at, it looked like still green lake from the Midwest except for the lush surroundings. The variety of spices and the deals on spices were better at Grand Etang Lake than they were at the spice plantation tour.

 

Barbados was fun. We rented a car and were able to manage despite inadequate road signage. We went to Crane Beach and Paynes Bay. I highly recommend both. They were both beautiful but different. Crane Beach has big waves that are mesmorizing to watch and play in - although you shouldn't go out too far because of the very strong undertow. I recommend having lunch at the Crane Resort. The view of the beach and ocean from the restaurant is fabulous. I would rate it as as a not to be missed experience. The cost to access the beach from the Crane Resort is $13 US per person. They apply that fee to the cost of your lunch so it's not a bad deal. The beach at Paynes Bay is a long beach lined with nice hotels and resort. The hotels and resorts are not very high and sit back from the beach a bit so they don't intrude on the natrual beauty of the beach. Payne's bay is a great place to sit out under a palm tree and great for swimming.

 

We took at taxi tour of St. Lucia. If I had to do it over again we would of taken a water tour. We tried booking a water tour with Mystic Man tours but it didn't work out. The taxi tour cost $130. The driver originally told us he would do it for a $100 but then increased the fee to $130 once we were on the road. He had sudden amnesia when it came to remembering our agreement to a $100 fee. He took us to see the Pitons and to Marigot Bay. The roads are very curvy and up an down so if you are at all suseptible to car sickness I would suggest that you take something for motion sickness. On the way to see the Pitions we went through a few downs where poverty was very evident. It was very hazy the day we were in St. Lucia so the view of the Pitons was not very clear. Marigot Bay was very quaint. I would rate it as a not to be missed experience. The setting is just beautiful, you can swim, have lunch and shop. There is French bakery in Marigot that has great bread and patries.

 

On Tortola, we took the cruise sponsored excursion to the Baths at Virgin Gorda. I would rate the Baths as a not to be missed experience. The caves at the Baths are really incredible - almost indescibable, something you need to experience. They are just spectacular. The water is amazingly clear, great for swimming.

 

My advice is that you don't try to cram too much sight seeing into any one island. Take it easy and just enjoy of a few activities.

 

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

 

Thanks.

[surrocruiser]

Wow, great review.

 

What time did you arrive for embarkation?

[joybaby]

Hi Dave - Great review. We did have a fabulous time of this ship, didn't we?

 

We did embarakation at 3 - lunch was waiting.

 

Enjoy this wonderful ship.

 

Joyce