A warning before you start: My reviews are long. This one may be longer than most because it was an 8-day, port intensive itinerary. I divided it into sections to help the reader find the information they need a little faster.
Embarkation
We left for Fort Lauderdale from Atlanta at around 3:30 am on the day of our cruise. Spring break traffic was pretty heavy all the way down there except for I-10. The almost constant rain did not help. We got stuck in traffic about 15 miles from our exit to Park n Fly. We eventually got here. As always, the shuttle driver at Park n Fly was waiting to help unload our car and take us to the ship when we parked. We got to the terminal a little before 3. The upside of such a late arrival was virtually no line. We were checked in and on the ship in about 30 minutes. The downside is we were among the last to get our luggage. It arrived well after 7.
8562 is nice but there was obvious aging in the bathroom, mostly. The faucet was no longer very shiny and had patina marks. There was rust along the bottom frame of the bathroom door. Our toilet seat had a brown stain on the front that would not come off. The toilet had black stains that appear to be permanent since they remained for the duration of our cruise. The wall cabinet had obvious age marks along the bottom. The cabin has a king bed with overhead Pullman and a sofa bed. Our coffee table was missing. On the plus side, the cabin felt pretty spacious. The balcony has an actual table instead of the little side table. Other than the age issues, the cabin is fine. We slept really well. The only noise really was the very loud baby in the room next to us.