First, a little background: We are a couple in our early 60s. This was our 13th cruise together, and my 17th cruise overall.
We decided to take a bus to NY from our home in South Jersey. Other than having to leave home at 6:30 a.m. to get there on time for the 7:30 bus, it was a painless process, and leaving our car there for a week was free. We met another couple--she and I "knew" each other from our roll call--taking the same bus, and since we really arrived too early for embarkation, they and we stopped for coffee in the bus terminal to kill time, then shared a cab to the cruise port.
Embarkation was quick and easy, but we had to wait a bit after checking in to get onto the ship. Like I said, we were early! Once we boarded, we headed to the buffet until our cabin was ready.
Located midway between front and mid-ship elevators. Under a walkway; sounded like elephants stampeding every evening at bedtime! Mattresses had big gullies, leading to difficulty getting out of bed and morning backaches.