Background: First time cruisers - solo mom and high school senior daughter.

Travel to Port: Flew into Tampa using free flight miles (Miami was not available), rented a car and drove to Miami. Took an overnight flight from Denver to Tampa then had plenty of time to drive to Miami, turn in the rental car at Thrifty, and take their shuttle to the port. Upon return we took Thrifty shuttle to rental car station, and then drove through the Everglades and along the western Florida coast from Miami to Tampa. The rental car shuttle is free, although we did tip the driver $5 each way.

Stateroom: Booked an interior guarantee and thought we would be on the bottom of the ship but ended up on the 8th (Verandah) Deck. Great location! All the outside rooms are balconies. We found that many families were booking a balcony and an interior room, but their entire family was staying in the balcony room. The room was plenty big for two persons. Large closets, two vanities with mirrors. The bathroom reminded me of an RV but it did have a decent sized vanity with shelves to put things. It worked out just fine for two women. Flushing the toilet is scary! Read more