Our shuttle dropped us off at the port of New Orleans just after 12pm. It was busy but the line moved swiftly and check-in was even quicker. The only delay was in getting on to the ship as the lines to have your photo taken for your seapass card were backed up on the gangway bridge. They moved quickly though and we were on the ship and at the Windjammer by 12:30.

As is almost always the case the WJ was packed for the most part but being the brave souls we are, went out to the open area of the WJ along the back where there was plenty of open tables. It was in the low 50"s on embarkation day and quite windy but we had jackets with us so it didn't bother us. Considering it was in the 20"s when we left Ohio, 50's felt pretty good at the time. As for the food it was all the usual fare on sail-away day including honey stung chicken.... (wings). Guess thats as close as we can get to the original we grew to love over the years. We thought overall there were enough choices and everything we had was tasty.

After lunch, we headed to the centrum area to have a look around at how the ship was decorated, and to see some of the changes since Serenade was updated in 2012. We liked the more vibrant colors and they did a nice job decorating the entire centrum area for Christmas. Next, we headed for the MDR to check out or table for dinner. We had requested a table for two as we always do. We were assigned a table for four but a quick stop to the dining room manager got us a move to a table for two. Read more