Let me confess...I am a cruise junkie. I plan, search the net for tips, deals, comments...it's my happy addiction to combat work stress. So, after nearly a year of anticipation growing (and growing uncertainty as the negative reviews poured in), I was actually nervous on embarkation morning.

We were lucky - a quick 90 minute drive, easy parking, rapid check-in - less than 45 minutes from pulling into the traffic circle to getting onboard. We were, however, the lucky ones - once the computers crashed, apparently chaos reigned. Even the Captain's family had huge delays. That being said, the first views of the ship were absolutely stunning - gorgeous, clean, shiny and new. Gigi was fun (but odd, honestly). Lunch was speedy, tasty, fresh and the room was clean as a whistle with great service. My feelings of dread lessened, and almost disappeared as my husband and son literally waited 5 minutes for bumper cars. Then it was onward to the room - spotless, again! One of the smallest rooms we have ever been in (superior stateroom with balcony), but it was a hump (7570), so the balcony was oversized, and the room itself, despite being small, had more than adequate storage, and a really well-appointed bathroom. My hubby is on the heavy and tall side, and he had no problem in the small facilities. Bed was comfortable, sofa was comfortable, but when opened up, literally left no room to walk, so we kept it closed for the trip - still very roomy for our son. Plenty of outlets, great unobstructed views, and great towel animals nightly. We enjoyed the variety of Dreamworks movies, if not the lack of channels, which was not a huge deal.

Kudos to Ajay, our stateroom attendant - great guy, always smiling, helpful, professional, and so nice to our son - I can't thank him enough, and he is a true example of professionalism and work ethic. Actually, everyone on board really tried their best, and were super friendly, but unfortunately, the staffing was so poorly ratioed to passengers, that it made essentially all activities challenging. Read more