My sister and I and our two husbands took this trip to get away from all the snow Upstate New York had gotten, and because we could drive to the port. At about 11:00am we drove right up to the parking garage, charged the $300 parking fee, unloaded the car (a porter was waiting up there for our luggage) and took the elevator down to the waiting area. Because the ship had arrived late we were told we wouldn't be able to board until 1pm. After registering there were chairs for waiting, complimentary hot chocolate and coffee to drink, and assigned numbers that didn't make much sense. Fortunately they started boarding about 12:45 and we were on the ship drinking champagne shortly after.  We went to the buffet luncheon area and then to our room.We had an inside cabin which we usually get. This inside was smaller than other ship lines we've been on, but we don't spend much time in our room. It was clean and the beds were real comfortable and it is dark at night! We had a different ship animal every night, including a monkey hanging from the ceiling!

At the Meet and Greet all the main ship officers, including the captain, were present. They answered all questions and gave out telephone numbers in case we had any complaints or suggestions. It was amazing to see how many of these officers were available throughout the ship all during the trip. I have never seen that before on our previous cruises.

We ate all our dinners in the two main dining rooms. We enjoyed the food and I thought the service was faster in the smaller Magenta Dining Room. I liked the smaller, cozier feel of that one, but my DH liked the larger, more ornate Grand Pacific. we always ate before 6pm and never had to wait to get seated. We ate breakfast at the buffet and most of our lunches and found the food surprisingly good, with many choices. If it's crowded they let you sit in the nearby Italian specialty restaurant. One night they had a chocoholic buffet at 11pm. The only other no charge restaurant was the Blue Lagoon which we ate at late one night for wings and fries. Read more