We just got back from a 6 day cruise to Bermuda leaving from Baltimore. The cruise was celebrating my grandmothers 80th Birthday and the whole family was onboard (about 30 people ages 8-80). All of the family members live within an hour of the Baltimore port which made this cruise easy to get to. Bermuda was on Grandma's bucket list which is really the only reason we chose this port. This was my 5th cruise and our 2nd cruise as a whole family of 30.

Boarding was awesome. One of the easiest boarding experiences I have had. We drove to the port and between parking, going through security and getting checked in, we were on the ship within 30 min (about 12:15pm). Although you cannot get to your stateroom until 1:30 we were able to go eat lunch in the cafe and explore the ship. One issue we did have was with what liquids were allowed on the ship. We had heard from the cruise line that only open bottles were allowed on. When we got to the cruise ship we were told the exact opposite, if it was open it had to be tossed. We were also told before hand that no wine could be brought on the ship (many other cruise lines allow one bottle per person). However we were told mixed things during boarding. We called family members not yet at the dock telling them to buy wine to bring on but then when they got to the ship the wine was confiscated. Bottom line, its luck. Some of us got bottles on but most didn't, its really not worth the stress.

Another problem we had was theft from our suitcases. I had some necklaces taken out of my suitcase while it was being loaded onto the ship (they were cheap which was why I put them in my suitcase). Other members of my family had small items taken as well. I suspect this was before the luggage even got onto the ship. One person in our party lost about $60 and the response from RCCL onboard was basically tough luck. I understand that valuable things need to be kept with you but the principal of my stuff not being treated properly reflects very poorly on RCCL and will definitely affect my cruise line choice. Read more