Departed Old San Juan on the Brilliance after spending one pre-cruise night in the Milano hotel, where our room cost $150 and was no bigger than our cabin on the ship. Yes, and an inside room, with no window, 50-year-old furniture and mushroom carpet. The hotel was okay because right in the heart of the old city. All we did was sleep there, plus have the breakfast for $5.50 per person on the rooftop the day of departure - excellent, almost cancelled out the mushroom carpet.

This was a sentimental cruise for me (my fist ship was the Radiance) as I wanted to sail again on this beautiful class of ship before the re-fit/expansion. And, it was my hubby's fist cruise ever, as I had press-ganged him into taking one (just one, you never have to do it again if you don't like it) cruise with me. The cruise hit a home run for both of us.

Can't cover it all, but here are the highlights, with a couple lowlights at the end. We did DIY at all ports, and that worked for us, cuz we don't like lots of people around us and we do like to walk the road less-traveled. Loved Magan's Bay in St Thomas - been on many Caribbean beaches, but this one deserves its rep as one of the ten best. I hate swimming if I think my feet are going to touch something sharp or mucky. Win! I loved swimming there. Hubby had a great time walking the whole beach end-to-end with the binocs, watching the waterfowl. Read more