To put this in context, my wife and I (in our mid 60's but still very active) have been on 10 cruises including one European River cruise (Viking). We have used Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, and Princess. I would rate this cruise line as best overall (so far) I'll explain, try to keep it concise and try to keep it as objective as possible.

Embarkation- we had completed the pre-check in and once we arrived the boarding process was a breeze. We did not stand in line, period. We simply walked up to the check in counter, presented our passport, received our room key and instructions and walked onto the ship.

I'll also comment on the disembarkation before moving on to the cruise. The disembarkation too was a breeze. We were able to remain in our stateroom until our color/number was called. We simply followed the signs to get off, gathered our luggage which had been placed in sections that matched our color/ number, walked through customs (no wait) walked off the ship, got on the bus and departed. There was no herding us like cattle into a holding pen, having us wait several minutes, even hours to depart. We were even served full breakfast, not simply a continental breakfast (like we needed to eat again-LOL). Read more