This is my first time writing a cruise review. I have been on 4 cruises (three with my husband). I am 34 years old and he is 37. We took a similar cruise 5 years ago for our honeymoon leaving from Bayonne on the Explorer of the Seas that was 14 nights long and traveled to three of the same countries as this cruise. Like most cruisers, we did find ourselves comparing this ship experience to the old ship experience we grew to love. Comparing this ship to Explorer wasn't good because they are a completely different class of ship and completely different top to bottom, aft to forward.

I must admit, before I stepped foot on this ship, I read almost everyone's reviews on here. While I respect the opinions of all these reviews, I must say that I do not share the same opinion as most. Some things I do agree on, but I was pleasantly surprised by this ship and want to start off by saying we had a great cruise vacation. Please do not be scared by the previous reviews. They are merely the opinions of others and you may not have the same experiences they have had.

Embarkation went very smoothly and quick for me and my husband. We arrived at our scheduled times. Once they let all the Diamond Plus, Emerald, etc, etc people on the ship, they invited us Gold members on board. It didn't take long at all. I knew from the second I was stepping foot on the ship that I was going to be walking up the stairs instead of waiting for an elevator. I can not comment on how long it took to wait for one, because I rather just not wait and walk to explore the ship. You can't go directly to your room anyway, so just take the steps if you are able. Read more