Embarkation  The cruise left from Venice and we live about an hour away so my husband and I took the train. Since it was raining the day we left, we got off at the Mestre station, which is the last mainland stop before Venice. From the Mestre station we took a cab directly to the port. The cab driver dropped us off directly at the luggage area where we tipped the porters handsomely. From there we followed the Royal Caribbean signs to their building. We got there about 10:30 so there were no lines.

Once inside we showed our passports, got our Sea Pass cards and maps etc. At about 11:30 they let us on the ship. **Disclaimer** -- This was our first cruise so I might be a little inexperienced about cruising in general but I thought our whole trip was fantastic. It was exciting being one of the first people on the ship.

We explored for a little while and went to the shore excursion desk to make a reservation. They were closed but there was a table with staff set up between the excursion and the pursuers desk. The staff there took my spa and our shore excursion reservation. Read more