We arrived in Fort Lauderdale for the weekend prior to our Tuesday departure and had our usual good weather and nice stay prior to boarding.

Embarkation went smoothly arriving at the cruise terminal around 11 a.m. and being on board with our carry ons stowed in our stateroom closet by 12:30 p.m. We were part of a large cruise critic board that had arranged to wear Mardi Gras beads as a form of identification and as a result we met many fellow cc'ers while still in the terminal(great idea Enjoyinglife). We had a 2:00 p.m. meet and greet arranged by the aft pool & bar and over 60 showed up. Special mention goes to "papanh" for the special identification tags he had ready for everyone which included both our cc handles as well as proper names. The M&C was great and gave everyone a headstart in establishing new friends and excursion partners etc.

We found the ship quite beautiful and not over the top as many others have mentioned. Yes the decor was different but we thought it managed to stay within the themes strived for and we quite enjoyed it. I was expecting the ship to be showing more wear after five years of service but found it mainly in exceptional condition. Read more