Here’s what I wish I knew before I went. Excellent location for access to the front of the ship, spa, wet steam, dry sauna, hydro pool, gym, kid-free sundeck on deck 12. The food was excellent everyday except the first day in the Lido. On that day I got the lasagna from the buffet that was not very good. However I was told the lasagna in the dining room was much much better. In fact the lasagna was a so popular in the Italian specialty restaurant that they added it to the dining room menu. Just don’t get at the Lido. Because we stayed in a Neptune Suite we had access to the Neptune Lounge on the 7th floor which was open daily from 7a to 8:30p and has an excellent cappuccino/ latte machine (the real deal that grinds the beans) that you can add extra milk froth, warm milk or get hot water for tea too. The lounge has excellent fresh fruit (much better than room service fresh fruit) strawberries, blueberries, bananas, apples, pears 2 types of cereal for breakfast, an assortment of pastries, bagels or toast in the morning. In the afternoon and evening you can get hummus, fruit, celery carrots, grilled/plain pita bread, muffins, and cookies in the evening. We got the Signature beverage package thinking we would need for cappuccino’s and that was a waste because we don’t drink sodas and the “purified” water in the Sig pkg has soda in it and it’s served in a can. We would’ve been better off to have gotten the gallons distilled water pre-paid and delivered to our room. You may have to tell them you have a c-pap machine to get it. They asked us on board if it was for a c-pap we just said yes because I need to drink lots of flat water for my kidneys. We paid about $5/gallon for 5 gallons but that’s cheaper than the signature beverage package and specialty teas and coffees are free in the Neptune lounge. O-K. We ate every meal in our room ordering room service and it was excellent! My only complaint is scrambled eggs are powdered, no matter where you dine on the ship, so always order fried eggs, either over easy or well done, and if you get a waffle just know it will not be soggy by the time it arrives. We filled out the breakfast door hangar every night before midnight and called in our lunches and dinners at night. I highly recommend using the app to order pizzas from deck 11 and burgers from the DiveIn.(They will alert you on your phone when it’s ready, but be ready to head up when you get the notice) If you don’t order pizzas, hamburgers and hot dogs from app you may end up waiting up to 45 minutes in line while everyone else is enjoying the sun! Didn’t think the burgers were worth it, but gave it a try because people on here raved..French fries were excellent though.

The Lido is the place for breakfast but my travel mate refused to leave the room. Hence room service every meal. I cannot tell you how surprised I was at the food. Even the salmon which was a nightly staple on the menu was juicy, not dry. The prime rib and lamb chops were cooked medium rare. And our food never took more than 30 minutes to arrive although when we ordered they always said 40 minutes. We started watching great movies just after ordering at dinner time so the time passed quickly. After the movie at night about 8:30p I’d go to the steam room, sauna, and hydro pool. We purchased a week pass in the thermal suite (just in case it rained everyday, which it did the week before). The spa is open until 10p each night and after dinner no one else is in there. Early port mornings I like to be on deck 12 just before sunrise to take pictures as the ship docks. To get up there take the forward/aft elevator to deck 11. Get off and push through the doors leading outside to the Retreat area. (Even though there’s a rope up on the right side preventing Retreat non-payers to go out), the left side door will let you out, and you’ll see a staircase up to the 12th level or sundeck. Very few people know about this so take advantage of this area. There are plenty of lounge chairs, fresh towels, and showers on both sides to cool off. A windscreen blocks the best photographs but head back towards the top of the stairs for a break in the windscreens to take your pictures. If I’d been in an inside cabin that’s where I’d park during the day to get sun and a break from all the people and noise. Don’t forget lanyards to get your cards punched at guest services. Also if you need to bring back coffee and snacks to your roommate, take the tray that’s underneath the water pitcher in your room with you to the Lido or the Neptune lounge. I bought a bigger tray on Amazon and packed mine , put my name all over it because I knew I’d be getting food and bringing it back

Navigating the remote control to get the movies and see the menus at night could be easier. I let Holland know. And don’t get frustrated if your key card doesn’t work on the first try. I can’t tell you how many times I had to put it in and take it out to get the green light.You need to be quick and don’t put it in until you’ve got a firm grip on the card to pull out quickly. I also went through all the movies the first day and separated favorites so that we’d have a shorter list to choose from at night. We watched Amsterdam, The Outfit, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Moneyball… all movies we’d been wanting to watch anyway. We’d seen many of the others. If I would’ve had it to do all over again I’d do the morning whale watching excursion in Grand Turks. It was $50 more if you waited to book on the cruise. And I’d probably do a couple of sightseeing trolleys on each of the Islands. If any single travelers are looking to split room costs let me know, I’d do it again in a heartbeat!