My reviews are sometimes a little different, because the focus of my cruises can be different from others there may be things I write about that are of little interest to some, and there are things I may not write about at all that readers may have wanted to know about. Hopefully, at least parts of the review can be helpful or interesting, even if they don’t always apply to your own cruise priorities! I don’t hold the food onboard, or entertainment, to be important, I don’t do any ship tours at ports of call, and often photography is a primary focus of my self-guided walking tours…while onboard my primary focus is relaxation, reading, and photography. So, here goes!:

Port Everglades boarding on Nov 9 Our ship had a somewhat unusual 4pm scheduled departure time, rather than the more usual 5pm so my 1:30pm arrival time was pushed forward to 12:30pm (it’s just a 20 minute drive to the port for me, being a S. Florida local). While I was worried this might put me in a longer line with the bulk of the passengers, surprisingly, it didn’t…I had a porter waiting for the luggage, walked inside to the ‘sick declaration’ paper with just a handful of folks, over to the Mariner priority line where I walked right up to a desk, checked in, and walked aboard in a grand total of 14 minutes from exiting the car. Onboard, it was pleasant to hear that the cabins were ready so I headed up and unloaded the luggage. Then while everyone hits the lido to eat (99.9% of the passengers seem to go there first), I roamed the ship taking photos of the empty lounges and public rooms below.

Cabin 8075 SS Class minisuite My favorite category of cabin of any ship, any line I’ve never quite felt the need for the large suites, but the SS is a significant step up in size and space over the standard cabins…I consider them perfect. This cabin is on Navigation deck 8, starboard side, under the deep overhang of Lido, protected from most weather and nicely shaded (unless sailing southbound in the late afternoon!). The only note to make about this cabin for those unaware is that it is a connecting cabin with 8077 next door ''" not anything of great concern to me, but the door connecting through to the other cabin does take away one bank of closets, leaving you with two rather than three closet sections. Those with lots and lots of clothes, take note! Read more