This was a cruise for just my wife and me, the kids were with their grandparents. We hadn't done a New Year's cruise since Enchantment of the Seas in 1998 which, ironically, we happened to dock right next to in Nassau. Our more recent RCL cruises were on Oasis and Allure in late 2010 and early 2012, followed by a Celebrity cruise in 2013 and the Norwegian Breakaway in summer 2014.

Embarkation was great. We arrived at about 11:00 and a line of cars was already building, but it only took us 10 or 15 minutes to get to the unloading area. They take your bags right there, you proceed to the parking garage, and once you step out of the parking garage elevator you are already being checked in by RCL employees armed with tablets. Next thing you know you're walking onboard! Quick and painless. I am sure it wouldn't have been quite so easy if we had gotten there much later though...

This was the first time we cruised out of Bayonne NJ in the winter, so I was curious as to what it would be like to have to spend a couple of days in colder weather. There turned out to be only a day and a half that were too cold to enjoy the typical poolside cruise experience. We set sail on a cloudy and raw Sunday afternoon, so didn't have the usual upper deck bon voyage experience that we normally look forward to, but by Monday morning it was already 75 degrees. We began the northward return from the Bahamas on Thursday night. Only Saturday was cold, 55 in the morning dropping to 45 by afternoon. It was a unique experience to be on the aft deck enjoying the crisp air and sunshine, shielded from the strong wind that was coming out of the northwest over the ship's bow. Read more