Dh & I booked this cruise as a quick, last minute getaway as his plans fell thru with his best friend. It was our 2nd cruise; but we didn't expect it to be the same. Our first was on RCCL Navigator during it's inaugural season and we were awed by everything.

Embarkation - we drove from Tampa so we dropped our luggage curbside then did a semi circle back to valet park the car. We prepaid the parking and went in to embark. It was pretty quick - but we were there around 2pm and the woman who checked us in said that they were missing alot of passengers. Got our S&S card and was disappointed to see that we were bumped from the 8pm dining that I had confirmed to a 6:15pm. Planned to talk to the purser's desk once on board.

We went straight to our room (empress E80 inside) which was right down the hall from the computer cafe- very easy to find. I was disappointed in the the furnishings- it really looks worn and rather out of fashion- lots of oranges in the cabin which seem more like the 70's than the 90's and seem off key with the bright white down of the bed linens. I didn't think that it felt bigger than what we had on RCL but I know the square footage is larger. The bathroom was a 'semi' handicapped- had a folded metal chair and the water would have wet the entire bathroom floor when I showered if I didn't lay the large beach towel on the floor at the shower opening. It was a comfortable size room, very comfortable bed- loved the linens and pillows. Also enjoyed sleeping in till almost 8am every morning since the room stayed so nice and dark. It was kept neat and clean; found two towel animals and enjoyed the chocolate mints during the turn down service. Read more