This was my second cruise with Royal Caribbean and the first on this ship. We traveled as a group of seven: myself, my partner, three members of my church and their two guests. We traveled to Key West and Cozumel. This is as honest of a review as I can offer.

THE NIGHT BEFORE: My partner and I stayed at the Fort Lauderdale Grande, directly across the street from the port. We had a tower room on the 9th floor overlooking the Causeway. We found the service here to be somewhat lacking, as demonstrated by one front desk person being on duty at noon - which is check-out time - handling about 40 people. The line snaked around the entire lobby and almost out of the front door. Took us about 20 minutes to check-in. Then, the hotel decided to place a $100 deposit on my card - even when notes in the system and calls from management specifically directed AGAINST that. Needless to say, the hold was immediately released after I realized it was there and complained to the hotel manager.

EMBARKATION: We arrived at the port at 11:15am, and checked in and was ushered to the "blue chair row". Sat and waited for about 15 minutes before boarding began. Quick trip through security, a walk down a long hallway, and then through another queue line to swipe your SeaPass card to "log on" to the ship. Then up another escalator to the ramp level, where you stand in front of a backdrop and take your "welcome aboard" photo. Finally, up the ramp and you're on the ship! Read more