We arrived at Miami the day before the sailing, we rented a car to go around. Did some sightseeing and return the car to the airport, because you have rented a car (Dollar). You can get a free shuttle from the airport to the cruise terminal, hassle-free. We also did the same when we disembark from the cruise as we had time to do stuff before we caught our flight home.
We boarded after 1pm, boarding was fast and smooth (there was no line up). The room was ready when we got onto the ship and we headed straight to our room. We loved the room with the port side windows, nice to have natural lighting and it comes with a good amount of space where you can put personal stuff on the shelf next to the port side window. Like the rest of the reviewers said, the ship's decor was based on American theme. The decor is alright, however the wallpaper along the cabin corridor is somewhat scary and interesting. The wall paper has faces of American (who had made history). However, there is no name and you are left guessing who is that person? Some are more obvious, wearing spacesuits, astronaut but who? Then some are downright scary, women in "Little House on the Prairie" costume, scowling and looking downright scary.
Most of the time, we have our meals in the Dining room. Selection for breakfast and lunch was good.
We had the cabin on Forward, when the sea is rough, I think you feel the intensity of the swaying of the ship. However, it is much quieter, even we are underneath the Ivanhoe Theatre, the sound proofing is good, we did not hear anything.