Our sailing date was 3/23 for a 3 nighter. This was my husband and I's first cruise. We are both 33. We went with my husband's brother and his wife (his first, her second). My husband and I flew from Philly to Ft. Lauderdale the day before and took Tri-County Express to the Biscayne Bay Marriott in Miami. We chose to take a private car for $64 instead of waiting for the share-a-ride van, it was worth the extra money to get to the hotel right away. The Marriott was beautiful. We asked for a bayside room and were given one on the 17th floor where the view was breathtaking. We were able to open the balcony door and feel the warm Florida breezes, it was paradise! The hotel is really not a great location for activities. We did use the convenient, free people mover which is right across the street to get to Bayside Market, the only thing really to do without taking a taxi. I don't know how people say they walk there, it would've taken forever. I can't say that I felt really safe getting to and from the people mover but we saved a lot of money!

Friday morning our brother and sister-in-law (who drove from PA) picked us up and we went to Bayside for breakfast. We had a really nice time eating next to the water in the beautiful weather. We headed to the port at 11 and were some of the first people on the boat at 11:30. I didn't know what to expect being my first cruise but it was really beautiful. You would never know the ship was built in 1992, the renovation was that complete. We were all very impressed. We ate lunch at the Windjammer. They had only one side open so it was very crowded and confusing but once the other side opened it was ok. The food was good, I wasn't expecting so much variety. We went down to our rooms at 1 and most of our luggage had arrived already. The porter saw us and said he would go find the rest which he did. We were so impressed by how friendly and helpful the staff was. Our room was small but clean, cozy and comfortable. What a treat to leave a messy room and every time you come back it is cleaned up, I could get used to it! We went up to the pool where we were met with A LOT of wind. I was a little annoying how many times people asked me if I wanted a drink. You try to be polite to everyone and say "no thank you" but then you just learn to politely ignore them! The muster drill for me was long and uninformative. Unlike the previous reviewer who got to sit inside we were outside in the wind and rain and could not hear anything at all over the loudspeaker. Oh well, a small necessary nuisance. I also was already dressed for dinner and kept entertaining people with my skirt flying up all over!! Dinner was great! Our waiter Keith and assistant waiter (sorry, can't pronounce your name) were awesome. We were overwhelmed with the service. Since we were the first ones in Keith quietly switched us to a table of four next to the window, what a blessing! My brother-in-law and I were really feeling the rocking of the boat since the water was so rough. We got thru but I know others didn't fare as well. Dinner ran late so we caught the middle of the comedy show which was so-so. At the end a guy came out who I thought was funnier than the comedian and later found out he was the cruise director Hamish _______. He was so great, he added a lot of fun to the cruise.

Saturday was CoCo Cay. This was what I was looking forward to the most since I heard so much about it. We really didn't think they would let us off because the water was so rough but they did a few hours late. The tender over was fun, like a small roller coaster. I was in awe of the beauty of the island, it was everything I hoped it would be. We walked around to a less-crowded part of the island and found hammocks in the shade and put our stuff down. We walked a little on the beach taking pictures and since it was 11:30 we decided to head for lunch. To make a long story short, by the time we ate (lunch was late but really delicious) the ship's horn was blowing and they were making us go back. I can't tell you how disappointed I was. My husband and I decided to wait as long as we could and got one of the last tenders over. Let's just say the people in the front were soaked thru by the time we got back, it was quite an adventure. But thank you to RC for at least giving us a chance to see the island, you can't blame them for the weather! I would go back there again in a second. We hit the pool again and were disappointed to see just one hot tub open. That would be my only complaint against RC -- one hot tub with a limit of 3 people allowed for a ship of 2,500?? Oh well. They had fun activities going on and we enjoyed people watching. We also enjoyed having a different snack every hour like soft serve cones or pizza from Sorrentos. Sat. night at dinner I was disappointed because I am a simple chicken and pasta person and the duck, steak and seafood options did not interest me. I begrudgingly ordered just the alternative chicken breast option but was nicely surprised at how good it was. And the staff was always quick to bring extra gravy whenever I asked! My husband was torn over the mahi-mahi or the steak. He ordered the steak but the waiter brought mahi-mahi by accident so he was happy to have to eat both! It was amazing to us how our glasses always seem to refill themselves and the bread that we chose kept reappearing on our plates (without them being reminded of what we liked). It was great service, nothing compares. Sat. night we arrived in Nassau early. My in-laws took a taxi to Atlantis but we stayed to see the Motown show. It was fun and everyone had the opportunity to live out their singing fantasies if they wanted. The Love and Marriage game followed which was really funny. We stayed up for the midnight buffet which was awesome. It seemed like the wind affected everything but RC managed to overcome without much effort. My favorite part was the chocolate fondue, I dipped everything I could find!! Read more