I was on the 8 day holiday cruise from New Jersey. The first two and last two days were at sea with three days in port. We stayed at the HiltonAavenue of Americas pre cruise.

Embarkation - Terrible!!! I don't know why I even completed the pre boarding. There was no special line for past guests and we waited for over an hour. Once we finally got a representative, they scanned our ticket and said to go onboard. We waited so long just for a green stamp. It didn't make sense. Several guests got really irate during the boarding process. Some past guests reported waiting over four hours to board. It was a mess!!! My advice is to get their early and pack your patience.

Ship overall - The ship was smaller than the Allure and had several covered areas for winter cruising. It was laid out nicely and it was very easy to navigate. I liked being on the port side aft because everything was easily assessable using our elevator banks. The ship was beautifully decorated for the holidays too. Read more