As our only other cruise experience was a mere 8 months ago, we thought we'd give an inexperienced cruisers review for other newbies.

We sailed out of Miami on Christmas Eve. Our flight arrived at 8:05 am and the first bus to the port departed at 10:30 but we easily found Alfonzo at baggage claim who quickly helped us, even with our bags, to the right door and even helped us with our transfer arrangements, even though he was there for a different ship. Check in was quite quick and took little time. The ship wasn't ready for embarkation so we sat in the lobby for about 30 minutes until we were allowed on board around 11:30am, but we were met with champagne on deck 6 when we stepped on board. The rooms weren't ready until 1pm, so we sat on deck and drank a Bahama Mama and read until the rooms were ready. We carried on our clothes and essentials and only checked our dive gear. Miami was cloudy and rainy so not much sun on departure day.

There's not really a grand atrium on Century, so if you're looking for something like the Grand Foyer from Titanic, you'll be a bit disappointed. The main atrium is on decks 5 and 6 and emcompasses the coffee bar, the three small shops and the staircase. Read more