Our adventure started on 7/4/08 one day prior to sailing along with my 2 sisters, niece & Mother who was celebrating her 70th Birthday while on board. We chose the whole package from RCCL with air, pre night hotel stay & transfers included. When we arrived in Miami, there was a cruise representative there to meet us. After gathering our luggage, she took us to a man sitting behind a counter while she gathered up all other arriving guests. 30 minutes later we were all still standing there waiting for someone to tell us something, the man ignoring us the entire time and not willing to tell us anything. The welcome lady had us move about 5 feet every 5 minutes to make it seem like we were accomplishing something. A long flight, crowded airport, lots of luggage & this did not make for a good first impression. Finally we were taken outside & shuttled to the JW Marriott which was a very nice hotel. After talking to several people on the Roll Call, we opted not to wait for RCCL to pick us up at 12:00 the next day, and ventured to the pier on our own around 11am. 15 minutes after arriving at the pier we were onboard the LOS. I was shocked at how fast & easy it was. Going early was definitely the way to go. Once onboard we went directly to the Windjammer which did not open until noon. We waited for it to open and my sister & I left everyone there to go make Chops & Spa reservations. We had no problems getting our desired times in either place. About 1:30 we went to check out our cabins. We had 2 deluxe balcony rooms & 1 Jr suite all next to each other. Our luggage had already arrived. We met Cheeto our room steward who took excellent care of the entire family. One family in 3 rooms was not easy but he made it seem effortlessly.

Food was far better in the Windjammer than I would have thought it to be. The dining room food was good, but not excellent. Our waiter Linus was on top of every thing. My mom has a gluten-free diet and every night before we left the dining room he would bring my mom the next night menu to discuss what she could have and in what ways it could be prepared for her. He is as good as they get. Our dinner in Chops was the most enjoyable evening by far. The atmosphere, service and food were well worth the extra cost.

The ship itself was magnificent. Laid out in such a way with so much to do I would have never guessed there were 3500 people on board. My mom was a huge fan of the Salon/Spa and Ms Campbell made her feel like she was her only client on the ship (She made 7 visits in all) while the rest of us all opted for a hot stone massage which we all raved about. Read more