I apologize in advance for the length of this review, but wanted to pay it forward, to all those reviews I read to help me prepare.

Background: Our crew consisted of me (Dad, 44), mom (43) and our two adventurous, athletic boys (14 and 12). We are non-drinkers, non-smokers. We flew to Tampa Sunday morning.

Embarkation: We arrived in Tampa at 11:15. We picked up our bags and grabbed a Taxi and were at the pier by 12:30. The lines to pass through security and check-in were long, but moved steadily. We got our sign and sail cards and were ushered to the first of many 'voluntary' pictures and were at the Lido deck Unicorn Cafe around 1:30 searching for a table for lunch. The sign and sail cards don't list the cabin number, so be sure you memorize it or have it written down on something handy. By 2:30 we had checked into our cabin and were seated poolside with a drink. We explored the ship and went up top as it passed under the Sunshine bridge—not that exciting. And it took a lot longer to get to the bridge than I expected; a couple of hours. Read more