Our family of four ( myself, husband and 2 daughters ) along with my parents traveled on the Spirit departing 7/10.  This was a last minute idea, we booked just two weeks prior to departure.  Despite the short notice, I still had time to do a lot of research here on CC.  We had a great time - relaxing for us, fun and exciting for the girls.  One of the main reasons we chose this was the fact that it departs from Boston, which is only a short drive from home. 

Embarkation/Disembarkation - After all of my research, I have to admit, I was a little nervous about this.  However, it was quick and painless.  We arrived at the port by 10:45 and within an hour, we were on vacation.  Yes there were lines, but they moved along and everyone along the way was quite helpful.  Coming home is never fun, but this too went smoothly.  They were actually running ahead of schedule - we choose red - by 10:15 we were actually in our car and headed home.

Booking at the last minute has it's pros and cons.  One of the cons being room selection.  Not much left at the last minute for a party of four - only an inside cabin - and we were really hoping for a balcony.  After reading lots of posts here on CC, I realized that the Spirit does not have balconies that accommodate 4 and only a few OV that do.  Luckily with the parents joining us we were able to book 3 and 3.  Again, after more research, I was able to book one OV that is substantially larger  (8500) and the four of us did sleep in there.  I'm still confused as to why they don't sell it as a quad, but it worked for us - 2 lowers, 1 bunk, and 1 pull out. Read more