I travelled with my 87 year old mother and booked the trip two weeks prior because the price was so good.

We arrived in Miami a day early and rented a car at Dollar car rental for a great rate of $23.00 total, much cheaper than taking a taxi, plus we had the car for a day to travel around. The next day we returned the car to the airport and they provided a free shuttle to the cruise port. We were there around 12:00 p.m. and there were already quite a few people there, even though our ship wasn't sailing until 9:00 p.m. We were quickly on board and went to the 9th floor for something to eat until our rooms were ready, which was about 2:00.

I have previously travelled on Princess and Royal Caribbean and have always booked an inside room, except for a 12 day Mediterannean cruise that I took with my husband where we booked an oceanview room. It never made sense to me to spend money on the room as we only sleep and change there. However, I really did enjoy the balcony. I kept the curtains open and woke up to a view of the ocean. I also kept the door open at night so that we could hear the sound of the ocean. In the morning I would go on the balcony and read a little before going for breakfast. The room was a good size and our room steward was great. I still wouldn't pay a lot extra for a balcony in the future, but this was only $40.00 a week more each person and it offered an onboard credit of $100.00. Read more