I booked this trip for him and I in Oct 2011 with the hope that this would be the first of many trips together. We wanted to try to save some $$ so we picked a cruise port that was close to our homebase of Philadelphia, PA. What really sold us on going out of NYC was that our neighbors had just returned from a Bermuda cruise on Norwegian that left out of that port. They said it was easy to drive to and super convenient not having to fly or pay baggage fees. They sold us, and I'm so glad they did - some of the best views of NYC I've ever seen. More on that later...

So my boyfriend and I booked a balcony room (my first balcony room!) and my parents also booked a balcony. We woke up Sunday morning and left around 9am. It took about 2 hours to reach Manhattan and find a parking spot. One word of advice - we actually parked at the cruise pier. It was $260 total for the week, which was pricey, but it was nice just walking off the ship and to our car in less than 10 minutes. Being from Philadephia, we all wore Phillies gear much to the dismay of the Yankees fans!! Check in was the simplest check in ever! I gave a compliment to the lady at the check in guest and she gave us a group 3 boarding tag (the folks in front of us had group 9!!). As soon as we got out of line, the final call for group 3 passengers came over the loud speaker. It was a great start to our trip!

Once on the ship, the atrium really is beautiful. All the glass and light pouring in through the staircase and against the elevators was a welcome site against dreary NYC. Our rooms were ready and bonus - since our rooms were together, the Guest Relations folks were able to open the door between our balconies so we had one big balcony. Apparently there is a special bracket needed in order to do this, and the ship only has so many. So if you are traveling with friends in adjoining cabins, ask before you get on the ship or DIRECTLY when you get on the ship. Read more