Embarkation.

This was a real pleasant surprise. I read that most were arriving at 11 or 11:30. Our tickets said 1:00PM and by the time we dropped the car off at the airport, (Did you know that Alamo and National provide a free shuttle to and from the port if you have your receipt?) and got to the ship, we had our cards and were on board in 20 min total. I will defiantly wait till a little later next time too. We dropped our bags off in our cabin, opened the balcony and enjoyed the view. We had E731, which was dead on the stern. No hope of sun, but no one looking down on us either. Met up with our friends and off to the Horizon grill to eat. For a buffet, we found the grill a great place to both snack and eat. We had a few meals there, and if you like beef short ribs, they were absolutely GREAT!! I wish I wasnt trying not to become cargo, I would have had more than 4.

The anytime dining was fine. We ate in the Portofino most days, and only had to wait over 5 minutes on the Friday Formal night. We took a pager and had a drink at the pursers bar till it went off. The lobster was just great, and they came by twice to give us more. We never even had to ask, but I stopped at 4. The rest off our group all agree that while we enjoyed anytime, the service, while it was not bad at anytime, still didnt seem quite as good as sitting at the same table each night. They are getting a portion of the tip if they earned it or not. We had one waitress that must have been having a bad day, because she was quite miserable. But, Roxanne at the pursers bar more than made up for it. She was a real sweetheart, and remembered my name from the first time we met. I have to say, she made the trip special. Read more