We took our 3 children and our son in law on this cruise as what would probably be our last family vacation together. All four of them are older than 21 so even though they're are children, they aren't really kids. We chose this cruise because my wife and I took the exact same cruise in September, 2016 and really enjoyed it.
The ship and the crew are fantastic. Our cabin steward, Joel, was terrific in taking care of us and making sure that we had everything we needed. The venues were very nice and the Alchemy Bar was a very nice surprise with the different types of drinks that they made. The live shows were pretty good-a few clunkers here and there but for the most part very entertaining. Dining was terrific as always. The main dining room has wonderful food and the staff there (we had several different ones) were all on top of their game. It's nice when you get friendly and good service from multiple individuals and not just one person.
The only real drawback to the cruise were the number of younger (18 or less) on the ship. We chose the Memorial Day holiday week thinking that most kids would still be in school but we totally missed that one! Lots of kids on senior trips and taking vacations with their parents. It made it very hard to get a place at the pool or find seating in the Lido buffet. I think the next cruise we take, we'll probably do a little more research and find one more appropriate for our age.
Very nice cabin. The extended balcony made it very nice for our whole family to sit out there with a drink and review the fun that we had that day. Our cabin steward Joel was terrific. The towel animals were a blast and he did everything he could to make our stay pleasant. He even gave me a $50 credit to the spa for my birthday which I didn't use because I'm not really a spa guy but I definitely appreciated the thought!!
Went early so the kids could experience Bourbon Street for the first time. Very wild and different from what we are used to but just not my cup of tea. Too crowded, smells like swamp and lots of very intoxicated people.
Just did some shopping and had drinks and lunch. Very beautiful island.