We (husband and myself) flew in late the night before and stayed at the Intercontinental in Miami (very close to the port- only a $5 uber away). The hotel was very nice. I recommend paying to get breakfast included with your room as it would have been quite expensive otherwise (if you plan to eat at the hotel).

We chose this cruise after LOVING our 2015 Breakawy cruise to Bermuda. Despite the rating we still had a very nice time, however the quality of the food (or rather lack thereof) has caused the lower rating for us (I realize food is entirely subjective). The service was wonderful. The ship was beautiful. Any issues were addressed and remedied promptly. We had a few good meals (Le Bistro, Bayamo, Moderno, Food Republic). Cagneys was very disappointing as was Savor/Taste and the buffet. I hope that the lack of quality food was an abberation as I had read several other reviews stating how good it was.

We enjoyed the ports. I had pre-booking a zip lining tour in St. Thomas and the Virgin Gorda and Baths tour in Tortola. We had a great time zip lining, but did not enjoy the Baths as the trip there and back was too long given the amount of time you had to spend at the Baths. Read more