ok well here goes as this was our first time on a ship besides my dads little 36 ft crisscraft named after my daughter on lake ontario. well we had a little trouble getting to the ship due to the weather our first flight out got cancelled, then the airport shut down, then our new flight got delayed about an hour luckily our connecting flight waited. and our cab driver from the airport had me a little worried when he didn't take the first exit that says to the port everglades. but we made it there right at last minuet 3;30 pm and we weren't the only ones. got all of our luggage checked in no problem, went to get checked in the lady was a little frustrated by then got credit cards and each of us all mixed up, finally got on ship went to our rooms 8222 8226 , then the muster drill right away, which b4 it was over we were already set sail so we missed any sailaway party that may have happened a little disappointed. we walked around the ship getting to know where everything was nice beautiful vessel. everyone greeted us with smiles. over the course of the week only caught a couple people not smiling and I told them to smile!! and they did. our rooms were inside cabins and seemed big enough for us as we only planned to be in them to sleep. bed was very comfy! found the pillows to be too firm, so went to the closet and got out another pillow which was nice and soft!! the first couple nights for dinner we ate in the raffello restaurant late sitting then changed to the Michelangelo restaurant for early sitting table 93. we sat with another family and chatted with them each night. at both restaurants my waterglass was never empty they filled it up b4 i even finished a glass. our waiters were very friendly and always had smiles, and it was fun dancing with them too. tried some new food really enjoyed the chocolate souffle and baked alaska. had the beef and steak most nights and they were cooked to perfection first time by accident did get another person at our table meal which they had ordered it rare and they got mine which was medium cause I forgot to tell them how i wanted it. so always order your beef either medium rare or rare . medium is way over cooked. crab legs were so delicious didn't need to crack them. just sad i missed the escargots. but learned if there is anything you want again see the maitre'd at least one day in advanced as they need time to prepare it. only ate at the breakfast buffet once the first morning at sea and found the food cold, so after that ate at the raffelo restaurant every morning which was deliciously good with pastries, orange juice, hot chocolate, some had cappuccino (for free only at breakfast) bacon is delicious but salty everything made so fresh. one of the girls serving the pastries was unpleasant and looked like she really didn't want to be there. one day woke up a little late and thought everyone had gone of to breakfast without me so I went by myself and sat at a table with 5 other people one couple was from orlando (mom & daughter) another couple from Puerto rico, and an elegant lady in her 80's who was on her 54 th cruise(i believe, she did 39 with her husband). usually had lunch at the buffet/grill and was so happy to see gnochi first sea day. never had a bad pasta dish everyone was great. the only bad thing to me was having the icecream machine too readily available, ate too much lol. oh the midnight buffets weren't always a buffet sometimes they were waiters each carrying something different like strawberries and cream or sandwiches fruit kabobs etc and get there quick if u want anything I found they sometimes closed after about 10 min. if you don't usually go to midnight buffets makesure you go to the last one after the talent show and bring your camera!! and watch it cause you just can't believe all these people shoving to get in even b4 the doors opened. beautiful creations. the activities seemed like fun, played the ring game, u can tell who has played horse shoes b4 !! chocolate is a hoot he sure will get you going in any activity!! also played bingo but found it too much for $20 u only got 2 games the first being just a line and the second continuing on to a full card. though one young boy kept winning quite a bit. the casino was fun and they did try to enforce getting the kids out of the casino one young boy think his name was max with a mohawk chatted with me in the casino until they asked him to leave once again but it is hard as the disco is right there that the kids go to. I liked the 4 machines that u have to put coins in and it pushes them forward and there is a stack of$100 in one dollar bills I played for a few hours on that game with only $10 its a fun game of physics. the shows and lounges were good, lot of couples up dancing, you even get to hear max sing and play. the adult games weren't too bad the people tried to watch what they say as there was some kids in the audience but some answers have to be said lol. missed the acrobat show which wanted to see as my daughter amongst her many talents is an acrobat in fact chocolate was trying to get her to give him her resume for her to work on costa as a performer(u can hear her and see her in a couple videos on her myspace page www.myspace.com/alexianniapearson )

as for the ports: san juan - we went on our own walked down the streets with all the shops, went the the church which was closed took some pics, did a little shopping, saw a performance in a store by a woman named Lady bought her book and she autographed it for my daughter who just loved her stuff next door to starbucks which we just had to get a drink, at night it is beautiful, with all those christmas lights lit up, on the way back to the ship stopped in to senor frogs got our free blue shot which was more like half a cup, our free beads then back on to the ship. st.thomas- we did the ultimate island tour - which took us to a few stops that u could see all the islands and the ship, conveniently the stops were usually little souvenir stands, we had 2 hours at maegens bay which is the most beautiful beach and water I have ever seen, the fish swim right up to u. then we went to blackbeards hill where we climbed a tower the stairs might scare you a little as they move while u walk up or down, statues of some of the pirates, walk down part of the 99 steps (or all of them if u wish) into a few old houses/museums to see how they lived down to the rum factory where u can buy souvenirs and have either fruit punch or rum punch for free. there was also 3 swimming pools if you wanted to swim. then into town to shop mostly jewelry stores, went to the belgian chocolate factory they deliver to your ship which was nice but didn't find they taste as good as godiva , my daughter made me walk all the way back to the ship from downtown which sure felt like a long way. dropped off our bags in our rooms then went shopping by the ship at the grande they have this really cute store for your pets just so sweet had to buy something for my dogs, then to havensight mall bought our alcohol and my fav perfume. went in to this little grocery store called gourmet foods bought some chips(after seeing those pringle chips in the fridge in cabin) and drinks (their alcohol is cheaper then a ii rise). mom and her friend did the st. johns tour and loved it- though they were mostly on a bus and wished there were more chances to get off and look, they also said a lot of people got sick on the ferry over to st. johns and some even got wet. catalina island - what can I say it was a beach day, went all the way down the beach as it was a little quieter and not so crowded, some went topless down that way and a lot of the crew also went down there having fun. saw some people get flipped over while on the water rides. bars down there weren't as busy to get drinks as the other ones. la romana/caso de campo - went to the kandela (kandy - la) show it was very good, sat down at the front the fire kept us warm, dd got chosen to dance with one of the male dancers, she enjoyed that, we saw a little of the village b4 the show. nassau- we did the atlantis excursion - though i would recommend doing it on your own as it took us 1 1/2 b4 we got to atlantis then they tour u around, u see about just as much as the aquarium from the free side as from the inside except the one room that leads u to their gift shop , then out to their beach/pool which we were allowed to use. we skipped ahead of the tour group and did it on our own, saw the huge stingray getting fed, then hopped the ferry back towards the ship and looked through some of the stores. if you are looking for body jewelry the silver shop the ship recommends is really good they had some nice ones we don't see everywhere daughter picked up a belly ring and got diamond stud earrings for free.

the only topless bathing we saw was little girls on the ship and on catalina island but only way down the beach which was also the best part of the beach to pick up shells and coral. we had a great room stewardess Rowena who talked to daily and kept our room clean (not that we are messy lol) gave us chocolate mints on our pillows, cookies,. showed us how to work the shower as we had cold water the first couple nights. met tons of people through out the cruise either at dining, shows, casino,hot tub, bingo, my daughter(19) met lots at the smoking lounge, disco, casino, bar, deck. Read more