Background: My partner and I were cruising with my parents. We're in our late 30s, and have cruised before on Royal Caribbean and Holland America. My parents are in their early 60s and have cruised before on Royal Caribbean and Princess.

Embarkation: This was one of the smoothest embarkation processes I've experienced. We showed up at the port around Noon and were on the ship having lunch in less than 30 minutes!

The Ship: I thought the ship was very nice. It wasn't quite as flashy as the Royal Caribbean mega-ships I've sailed on, but was understated and elegant. The ship is very clean and well-maintained. The layout took a day or two to get used to, but once you figure out where the important things are (food, pools, theatre), you're good to go. One thing I absolutely loved about this ship was the Great Outdoor Cafe. It is a large outdoor dining area on Deck 11 aft of the ship that is nicely covered by a tall tented canopy. It was wonderful to dine outside while shaded from the intense Caribbean sun. We also played cards out there a couple of times in the afternoons. I felt like I spent more time outside on this cruise because of this awesome outdoor dining area. Read more