My wife and I left on July 6th in Miami for Western Caribbean destination. My wife and I were cruising virgins and so everything was new to us. We arrived around 2 pm and gave our bags to some guys at the port for "expedited check in" when we got out of our rental car shuttle. Went in and got our tickets and they assigned our dining table with issuing our sign and sail cards. Everything was very smooth. Next went on to the ship and got in line for boarding. The entire process took about an hour as there was quite a large number of people.

After doing the safety presentation, it was time for fun. We headed to the top of the ship to watch us leaving the port. Very nice view of Miami. They had a very good Reggae band playing as we were leaving which set the mood for a Caribbean party. They were excellent! We grabbed some drinks and the party was under way.

The SHIP: Interior room had more room than I expected. VERY comfortable bed. Plenty of amenities. The fridge was continually stocked with beverages. Not a big room, but plenty of room/closet space for two people. The bathroom was adequate with stocked razors, etc. if you forgot something. Baja was our room attendant and was excellent. We had towel animals every night with mints. The place was cleaned and made up TWICE a day! I can understand how some people would be frustrated with the layout of the ship, but it wasn't a big deal and was easy to figure out after a while. There are also maps everywhere to give you an idea where you're at. My biggest gripe about the layout is the Cigar Bar. In order to get to the internet cafe (which is strangely hidden in the side of the cigar bar), people have to walk through the Winston's Cigar Bar. Also, if you're on that level, to get to one of the dining rooms, one has to walk through that level or go up or down a level to avoid going through the cigar bar. This created two problems. One, a guy like me enjoying a martini, cigar, and some jazz music is interrupted by kids playing and running through the place. 2. Kids and adults who don't want to breathe cigar smoke are forced to walk through there and we become equally annoyed with each other. The Jazz band was really good, but they would take a break for a half hour and play for a half hour. So every time I ws there, it seemed they were taking a break. Then the last night of the cruise they took a break and never came off it. It was interesting to watch them booze it up in the bar while they're supposed to be playing. One of them even commented to another band mate, "Is it 11 o'clock yet?" I guess that is when they get off. I can sympathize, poor guys working so hard, being forced to do a gig on a cruise ship sailing the Caribbean. The piano bar usually had a skeleton audience and I couldn't figure out why until the after a couple hours. My experience with piano bars, is a raucous crowd having a good time making requests to the player in a great atmosphere. Well, that can be a problem when the pianist is uncomfortable with most requests except for Elton John. I've now heard more Elton John at a piano bar in over an hour that I think I've met my quota for a lifetime. I made a request for a Door's song (any song). He made it half way through "Rider's on the Storm" before stopping as he couldn't get the song right. He was a nice guy and a fantastic pianist, but his repertoire is very limited. My wife was in heaven since she is a big fan of Elton, but I'm afraid all Elton does for me is get me ready for a nap. It didn't seem there were that many Elton fans on the ship either. The disco looked jamming, but we never went in. The lounge was nice, but packed to capacity during the adult comedy shows. The ship is huge and has more than enough room for the 3,000 people on it. I used the gym frequently and found it satisfactory. A decent number of treadmills, but are heavily used in the am hours. Usually it seemed to be less busy during the afternoon. The free weight area has just dumbbells and is small, but with a good number of different benches. There were also a decent number of machine weights, but again one often had to wait to use them. Overall, adequate place to work off some guilty pleasures of the dining room. Don't go there expecting to bust out a body builder type work out. Who would do that on their vacation anyway? The top decks were huge with plenty of room to find for your self a place in the sun. The pools were fairly small and busy, but adequate. The restaurants were all great. We ate at Rosies a few times. Food was good to excellent. Negative would be the lines could get a little long at times, but not bad. We never ate at the fish and chips. We were in the Washington dining room and liked it so much we ate there every night. Our head server was Rohan. Him and his crew were fantastic and accommodating. Greeting us by name every night and getting to know our preferences early. These guys work VERY hard and give great service. They also put a show on every night during dinner. They are very enthusiastic and made for a fun atmosphere. As for the decor, I really liked it. I thought it was unique and not overdone. I enjoyed the patriotic theme. I also watched the video in the cabin where the designer was interviewed and thought the entire lay out was pretty original. Most of the decor is one of kind made specific for the ship and serves for a particular theme which made sense as we ventured through the ship. The entertainment was EXCELLENT: We saw one adult comedy show. It was so funny, I can honestly say it was the best comedy I've ever seen. We saw an 80's review show and the dancers were fantastic. The break dancers really got the crowd going. We live in Vegas and feel the shows would probably compare to a mid-level Vegas show in quality and are very good entertainment. The comedian show I saw is better than any comedy I've seen in Vegas. Ports of Call: Grand Cayman was tendered. Very beautiful island. We booked the Stingray tour through Moby Dick Tours. Good price for the money. We had the second tour around 10:30, so we were able to sleep in and get off the ship at our leisure. Looked around town, bought some T-shirts and did the tour. Fantastic time!! It really goes so quickly. I highly recommend that tour company. Read more