This was my husband's & my first-ever cruise. My parents -- frequent HAL cruisers -- had invited my family & my sister's family on a cruise as part of their 45th wedding anniversary. My husband & I had been cruise skeptics in the past, preferring to take trips where we could spend a good amount of time in a particular place.

We arrived in Boston the day before the cruise and stayed at the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We wouldn't have paid full-price for the hotel (despite its good location), but we were using my husband' Priority Club points. The morning of the cruise, we took a cab to the embarkation point.

Check-in went smoothly. We seemed to arrive a bit earlier than the bulk of the passengers did, so we got through the process quickly. Read more