Well, we chose this cruise because it was listed as $590, which sounds like a good deal, especially over new years. This was a huge mistake. Speaking exclusively to the price, yes it was $590 initially, but then you can expect a service charge of 12.50 per day, per person charged to your cruise card. So really, not $590. Not to mention, everything on this ship is paid. Pizza, ice cream, deserts etc. You can expect to incur a whole boat load of inexplicable charges on your card. I received a print out of my charges the evening before I got off the boat, and somehow I still incurred an additional $40 worth of charges the very next day (when i was pushed off the ship by 9am). I call the cruise line, no option for english, and the service person says that I have to email the cruise line because he doesn't have access to that information. I told him not a chance, since i have no confidence that I will even receive a response-- then suddenly he has access. Still, nothing he can do.

About the cruise:

Food: the food on this boat is atrocious. I'm not even the sort of person who goes on cruises for food, its not high on my priority list whatsoever. But the buffet is exclusively rice, pasta and deli meats-- and it is the exact same at every station every single day. There was so variation and the food that was available, was barely even edible and only available for a few hours a day. EVERYTHING on this boat, closes before midnight, you cannot find anything to eat after midnight. Not to mention, the beverage stations, are consistently closed . You might find one open station in the middle of lunch-- and here's the best part, there is never any ice whatsoever. At the single open beverage station, you can receive warm water, (sometimes) coffee and tea. I resided on this boat for 8 days and did not have one ice cube-- and not a single staff member cared. To make matters worse, this cruise ship does not have sufficient AC. You can expect an 80 degree climate in the buffet area, but yes they still have the gull to tell the ladies to cover up. In addition, the pizza (which they pride themselves on apparently) is cheeseless, topping less, saucey dough, Truly the most disgusting pizza ive ever had-- the good pizza is apparently only available for pay (12.50). My family and I consistently dined in the dining room for diner. This is always such a pleasant experience, on other boats the servers and assistants were truly the most amazing service workers. That was not the case here, and I'll get into the staff shortly but sufficed to say that our server was inattentive, explicitly rude (can i have another salad? Maybe after your pasta), lacking knowledge on the menu and unwilling to accommodate. He never had answers to our questions regarding the menu, he regularly forgot items, and not once did he offer coffee. He would serve melted ice cream after approximately 40 minutes of waiting, and then upon our request for coffee, would just disappear. So bizarre. But beyond that, we were given one bottle of water for a table of 5, and the server was evidently reluctant to get us more. As per the food, well. On new years eve, the feature item was a hot dog with shrimp fried rice. On the final night, a burger with like 6 fries. The food was truly disgusting and inedible. The salads regularly came undressed, and with perhaps 5 leaves of lettuce. The fried mozzarella was 90% fried dough and a little taste of mozzarella. The pastrami on rye had only one slice of meat on it, and a whole boatload of sauerkraut. Its sufficient to say that every available corner was cut to save a dollar. Read more