We flew Southwest Airlines from Baltimore to Tampa. This was our first time flying on Southwest and we were quite impressed with the inexpensive airfare, their 2 free checked bag per passenger policy, and the overall level of service by the airline staff.

The embarkation process at Tampa was very easy and quite efficient. We would suggest, however, that you be sure to have a light jacket or windbreaker available in your carry-on luggage. You will not be reunited with your luggage until later in the evening and the breeze on deck can be quite cool in the winter months - especially important to remember, since you must attend a mandatory safety drill on deck before departure. In general, if you think there is anything that you might need before your luggage is delivered to your stateroom, be sure that you carry it on to the ship with you.

We booked a stateroom with a balcony and we are happy that we did. The stateroom was decent in size - plenty of room for both of us - with two twin beds (pushed together to make a queen size bed) and a nice size sofa for relaxing. The bathroom was somewhat small, but it was quite functional and suited our needs well. There was adequate closet and drawer space for our clothing and it was possible to store our empty luggage under the bed. Having the balcony available for relaxing was a nice feature, although we can't say that we had a lot of spare time to use it. Read more