EMBARKATION / DISEMBARKATION: Embarkation at the Port of Miami went very smoothly. However, we were not happy to receive multiple e-mails the prior week, instructing us not to arrive at the pier until after 2:00 pm. According to these e-mails, the only people who could board at any time other than what was “assigned” to their deck, were the suite guests, along with Elite-Plus and Zenith passengers. Our hotel check-out was 12:00 noon, and it’s earlier than that in some of the area’s hotels. I’m not sure exactly what we (and all of our luggage) were supposed to do, for that two hour time period! So, we simply proceeded to the pier a little before noon, as we usually do. We found no problems with the Elite check-in line, and were onboard by 12:30 – with rooms ready shortly afterwards.
Getting off the ship was a lot easier at the Port of Miami than it has been the last couple of times we disembarked in Port Everglades. For one thing, finding a porter is much easier at POM. Also, the luggage comes out on an airport-style conveyer belt, rather than just being piled up in the terminal. The night before, we did have to make a trip to the GR desk, to get luggage tags for earlier disembarkation. We never received the usual questionnaire in our cabin, re: our travel / flight times. Consequently, we received tags for the latest disembarkation group – which would not have worked with our flight time out of MIA.
SHIP: The ship is lovely, and was beautifully decorated for the holidays. The ship was constantly being cleaned, and appeared to be well-maintained. Although the ship sailed full, the public areas never seem crowded. The Solstice Class ships have a nicely designed passenger flow.