This was our first cruise and we loved it!! My husband and I went with 3 other couples to celebrate our 30th birthdays. It was the 1st cruise for 3 of the couples and the 3rd for the other. We flew from Chicago to Miami and stayed at the Marriott (nice hammocks near the pool to relax in at night) and took a cab to the port on Saturday morning--very easy.

We checked-in online, the process at the port was very easy, and the lines seemed to move quickly. We arrived at the cruise ship around 11:30 or noon and headed to the Windjammer for a buffet lunch as the rooms aren't ready until 1:00pm. Tip: bring a small carry-on with you so that you'll have access to sun screen, book, sunglasses, hat, contact lens solution, glasses, etc while you're waiting for your bags to arrive.

We had our luggage before dinner and we sent all of our clothes to be pressed (great tip from another cruise critic reviewer). If you send the clothes out on Saturday, they're returned to you by Sunday at 5:00pm. We paid about $35 to have most of the clothes in our suitcases pressed. You won't have an iron in your room as it's considered a fire hazard. Read more