This was our first cruise. My brother in law and his wife were celebrating an anniversary as well as his sister and I. He and I called ahead and had our rooms decorated in an anniversary theme. $30 well spent. My wife was absolutely overjoyed when she walked into the room. Simple stuff, but a nice touch.

We both ponied up for the "Romance" package. $250, not as great a value. You do get a good quality bottle of champagne and two of the waffle-robes to take home with you. I figure that was worth maybe $150. The other perks are a special in-room breakfast on one morning. Yawn. Okay, so there were two mimosas included, but that was the extent of the "special". On the two formal nights and one the first night, hors d'oeuvres were placed in our cabin during the afternoon. I'm a simple guy I guess. These appetizers were in the caviar category. Salmon paste of some kind, two small warm shrimp on a piece of rye bread,... I was pretty concerned about the temperature of these things when I tried a few of them. In lieu of getting sick, we didn't eat too many of them. I tried to place them into the small refrigerator in the room, but the room AC system was colder than that little fridge. Also part of the "Romance" package was the inclusion of chocolate dipped strawberries when we came back to the room after both formal nights.

Next time we go, I'll just buy a pair of robes, the bottle of champagne and the decorations and save the rest of my money. Read more