Travel To Port of Embarkation / Hotel We were staying at the Hilton Riverside which was a great location and received a great price through an online hotel site. On embarkation day we just rolled our luggage to the streetcar outside the hotel around 1030 (we weren't sure what time the streetcar would arrive) and got off at the next stop (Julia Street). We crossed the tracks and walked into the terminal building after leaving our luggage with the porters. We got into a very short line and within minutes we had our shipboard cards and were walking on the ship amidst a very loud and colourful cruise staff who were welcoming everyone. It felt somewhat like a circus - I thought I was getting on the wrong cruise line. After a brief look around, we noticed some rooms open so we went up to deck 9 to see if our rooms were ready so we could drop off our carry-on. The side doors were closed so we had to wait. We decided we may as well grab lunch in the MDR Versailles. Going up to the buffet is usually a gong show, and it being Thanksgiving Week cruise I figured the place would be swarming with kids (we were 2 adults - 55 and 39). It was nice to have a civil lunch without congestion and no panic looking for a table.
Stateroom
We booked an inside guarantee (I usually book a balcony but this was last minute and money was tight) and received inside mid ship (9613) which was the perfect location for the week. Our cabin steward was Henry and he was terrific. We had towel animals each night. I even wrote him a note hinting for a bunny rabbit and monkey for my roomie - that night we had 2 animals. Henry, unlike any other CS in the past, let us keep our animals so we had quite the zoo staring at us by week's end!
9613 - inside midship
perfect location to mid elevators
tiny nite stands
great shower with shower door