I never had an interest in the world to try a cruise. This past June my grandparents wanted to take a cruise for their 50th wedding anniversary. I decided to give it a shot. The group of nine of us total had 5 already cruise veterans so we had experience to guide us trough. We arrived about 5 days early but most of us taking the trip lived in Miami, our departure port, so we needed no hotel. We had picked the 4night 5day majesty of the seas Bahamas cruise. Prior to our trip I heavily researched the boat, line, ports of call, and onboard activities. Unfortunately we didn't partake in any onboard activities besides bingo and a cooking demonstration or two.
We had hired the Super Shuttle van service to transport us from a private residence to the port to avoid numerous parking fees. They were on time and got us to the port at around 10:30. I do have to point out that upon disembarkation we used the same service to the same residence and they were late picking us up due to a high volume of people reserving these vans also and a bad accident on Biscayne blvd. Boarding is fast but a bit confusing at times. People's sea passes wouldn't load photo ID and rooms had to be sorted out among the 9 of us. Once on board the ship was very clean and well kept. We ate at the windjammer which was never crowed food line wise. The table availability was limited and window seats were a commodity I was willing to wait 20mins for. A hint is pack a carry on with a swimsuit and anything you might need to make it through the next 24 hours because you aren't guaranteed you luggage until the next morning.
I had my own stateroom which gave me room to spread out. It was small but enough for me. The shower was small but I managed. I saw no difference between a level 4 oceanview room and a level 9 deluxe oceanview other than an old sofa and a little bit bigger of a closet. The dinner service on all 4 nights was outstanding. On afternoon one after boarding we tipped a Jamaican bar-friender as we came to call him a large amount. As a result he would find us at the pool and learned our favorite drinks and sodas so when we got to dinner they would be pre-pared and waiting for us. The food was defiantly a highlight. It was always good on time and the wait staff got to know us quite well. We had Neil from the Philippines and we discovered he had left his wife and two young children at home to come and work as a waiter.