We arrived from Oklahoma on 10/30, the day before sailing. After a night at the Ramada on the seawall, we made our way to the port. We had arranged for parking with EZ Cruise Parking (I recommend them highly), and we started getting on the boat around 10:45 a.m. We went through all the usual embarkation procedures with ease and finally, entered the Empress Deck of the Elation. I was very impressed with the decor. Everyone was smiling and telling us to the the Lido for dinner in Tiffany's. You didn't have to tell us twice.
One thing I noticed early on was how clean the ship was. Everyone was great... smiling, wiping tables, sweeping, etc. This was very good for our family since we're clean freaks.
We set sail around 4:30 and were off to Progreso and Veracruz (Wilma wiped out our original destinations of Cozumel and Calica). We did the usual first night stuff... went to dinner, casino, to a dance club and room service at 1 am. (this is a must).