In January 2014, my sister and I began looking for a vacation spot that we could both enjoy for our first "sister's vacation". She would be travelling from Washington State and I from Minnesota so many options were considered before we settled on this Royal Caribbean cruise. The package we purchased included a 2-night stay in Manhattan at the Sheraton NY Times Square. The idea of having an agent along during this trip was appealing as we have rarely traveled without our spouses. I am a fanatic planner so in hind sight the use of the agent was really not necessary and once I found Cruise Critic, all my travel concerns received immediate attention by many caring, experienced cruisers. Thanks to all who supported me through the planning process. Your answers made for a very successful trip.

We both flew into LaGuardia Airport and used SuperShuttle to get to the Sheraton. The shuttle seemed to take forever to get to our destination. We are not use to the traffic of such a large city. Once at our destination, everything was in walking distance for us. We had 2 days to play in the city that never sleeps and we took it all in from theater (Book of Mormon) to Central Park, it was all fabulous!

We arrived at Cape Liberty via coach. Only 2 buses at a time were allowed into the unloading area and we had about a 45-minute wait on the bus. This gave us time to take in the vastness of the Explorer which was docked right in front of us. The port was heavily under construction but all seemed to be flowing well and most travelers showed great amounts of patience. I'm guessing Cape Liberty is not currently the best port experience but am sure it will improve when the construction project is finalized. Read more