Just returned from a nice sunny and warm cruise to the Western Caribbean. What fun to leave the February snow behind and within a couple of days to be basking in the hot sun as you lounge by the pool and sip a cold margarita!

This was my lovely wife and my 15th cruise and 12th with RCI. We have sailed on the Grandeur three times before. So you might ask why sail on the same ship over and over, the answer is simply that it is a great bargain, with a convenient port location, and a ship and crew have always exceeded our expectations.

We drove from Middle TN to New Orleans on Friday and spent the night at the Hilton Riverside which is adjacent to the pier. We booked the Hilton through Priceline.com and received a great rate for a 4 star hotel. Be aware that the parking garage for the night is quite pricey at $25 per night (I remember when you could get a good hotel room for $25). We boarded the ship at 10:30 a.m. the next morning. The embarkation process was quick and efficient. Since we are Diamond Level members of the Crown and Anchor there was a special line for us, but we opted to stay in the regular line with my sister and BIL with whom we were traveling but it didn't matter since we were through in less than 5 minutes! Read more