This was our sixth cruise, third from Southampton and second with Royal Caribbean. We arrived at the terminal at 10:45 am after a leisurely 4 hour drive from our home near Liverpool.

As we approached the cruise terminal the sheer size of the ship was visible. We were swiftly directed to the luggage unloading area and then after unloading proceeded to the parking area, which was just 2 minutes walk away from the terminal building, check in was quick and efficient having pre completed the online forms, no waiting at security and then straight onto the ship - in total from leaving the car it took no more than 10-15 minutes, top marks for organization.

After checking out our dining table we went up to Windjammer for some lunch, we then spent a little time exploring the ship before going to our room at just after 1pm. Three of our bags had already arrived and our fourth turned up a few minutes later. Read more