We began our vacation by driving from NC to FL on Saturday, January 9th. The east coast was experiencing a deep freeze and FL was included. We were unable to enjoy our short stay at the Radisson resort at the port due to the cold and wind. The hotel does provide a special cruise deal that includes breakfast, shuttle to the port and back, and parking while on your cruise. We will definitely use them again.

We boarded the ship around noon even though the cruise documents stated boarding would occur at 1:30pm. The entire boarding process was quick and painless. We discovered that power strips are no longer allowed on board but we managed without it. Once the cabins opened up, we went and unloaded some of our items and our heavy coats. The cabin was very neat and clean. The bathroom held a major improvement over other ships I have sailed on; there is a shower door instead of curtain. MAJOR KUDOS RCI!

We discovered that January may not be the best time to cruise the western Caribbean. The water was rough and the weather was cloudy the majority of the trip. The motion sickness meds were in high demand on Sunday and Monday. It did improve substantially Tuesday thru Friday. Friday evening the winds picked up substantially, upwards of 60mph. Read more