Good day all; we embarked on April 7th for a 4 night cruise to Nassau, Bahamas, Castaway Cay, and a day at sea. We traveled with just my wife and I, and another family member with 2 teenage children. While this cruise was taken during spring break and we expected a crowd, this far exceeded what we anticipated. Even before the sail away party the pool area was packed.
We had rented a vehicle from Orlando airport to the Cocoa Beach area to stay overnight, and this worked out well, except for the car rental place in general. The process was a bit slow with them, and they certainly did add any staff for days ships were sailing; but they did provide a free shuttle ride to the ship.
Embarkation went smooth, Mickey and Minnie were in the terminal to greet you and take photo's, and this would be the first of MANY opportunities to see the characters. We quickly boarded, (it was open boarding and so they did not adhere to the assigned boarding times even though we were about an hour early from our assigned times). Once on board, expect a crowd for the entire time. There is no escaping it. Expect to be stepping around little ones, waiting for them to enter the elevator even when you are trying to exit. Strollers are ever present. Children stepping in front of you either at the soda machine, buffet line, or entering the theater. Just kids being kids really.
Inside cabin was located just off the main hallway. It was small, and we were very impressed with the energy conservation feature, where when you enter your room, you place your room key card in a slot, and this will enable all the power in the room; the thought is when you leave the room and take your card with you, everything powers down, nice feature. Our stateroom also had the video porthole with a live feed; very impressive and very handy to have. Otherwise the room was a bit small, not many drawers for storage; adequate closet space.