Getting to the port: Let me start by saying that this was a complete and utter nightmare! Since we are lucky to live in Florida we opted to take a bus service called Cruise Connection. It was only 69.00pp round trip to go from Ocala to Miami which is about 350miles. This was definitely the cheaper option, as putting gas in my SUV and paying 12.00 per day to park at the port would have set us back almost 300.00, plus we would have had to drive! That's the good part, here is the bad. We got up at 430am on Sunday morning to be at the bus stop, a local Waffle House by 530 because they recommend u be there 30mins early. 6am came and I called cruise connection, thank goodness I was smart enough to bring the number with me. They said they would call dispatch. 5 mins later I get a call from them saying that they were running 30 mins late and would be there soon. We were the only ones getting on in Ocala. 7am we were on our way. Well, come to find out we weren't on the list!! Can you believe this? If I hadn't of called, they wouldn't have come for us at all. Then after 4 hours of driving, they tell us we have to go pick up some people that were going to another port, as a favor!!! Here we are, already late, and we have to go get some other folks going to another port as a favor? Come on now!! Ok so finally we made it to Miami. Whew.
Embarkation: What a breeze. Got to the port about 2pm, should have been there at noon. Waited in the Fast Pass line about 15 mins, went and got our embarkation photo taken, my favorite and walked on the ship. Took about 30 mins if that total. Easy easy. Met our friends that we had met on cruise critic and started to explore.
Ship: Very pretty and nicely appointed. Some have commented that the dEcor is gaudy. Its not. Very tasteful and the colors flow wonderfully. The inlaid tiles and marble thru the ship make an elegant feel, then the colorful dEcor depicts a fun atmosphere. Only place I thought was kinda out of place was the Ivanhoe theater. It was decorated in medieval dEcor and didn't really fit in with the rest of the ship, tho I understand the Ivanhoe theme and that he was a medieval hero. There was/is something for everyone. Lindy hop for the piano bar lovers and also one small step disco for the club crowd. The eagles lounge for big band sounds at night and the Caboose which is a top notch video game arcade. Great air hockey. Lets you play unlimited for only a dollar.