We chose this cruise because it departed from Galveston, which meant we didn't have the expense of flying to the port. Actually our new daughter-in-law made the choice. She and our son got married in Galveston the day before we departed. This cruise was their honeymoon and they invited both sets of parents to join them. My husband and I had a junior suite for the first time. It was amazing to have so much room on a ship. We even had a true walk-in closet. The room also had a comfortable chair and ottoman, which was seldom empty when we were in the room. It was great for reading in. The balcony was large enough for two chairs, a small table and two lounge chairs. The bed was a little firm, but we still slept well.

The layout of the ship was new to us and we liked it. On most of the ships in our experience, pizza was served on the lido deck near the pool. This ship had the pizza shop as well as the coffee house on deck five. Actually deck five was reminiscent of a main street in a small town complete with the pizza shop, the coffee house, the ice cream parlor, cupcake shop, pub and various other shops. They even had musicians playing at times like street musicians. This was one of my favorite places on the ship.

Entertainment on board was much like other ships. If you have cruised often, a lot of the comics' jokes will be somewhat familiar. The singers and dancers were very good and we enjoyed the production shows. There were a couple of stand-out shows and entertainers. The aerialists were phenomenal, the ice show was very good and the ventriloquist was great. We also enjoyed how many and varied activities were offered. We are trivia buffs and the cruise director included many opportunities to play. Our only complaint was the venue where they were held. It was too small for the number of players. For those more inclined to boisterous activity, there were plenty of pool and other more athletic activities. Read more