Our trip started out with a long drive to Jacksonville. We had planned to fly, but couldn't due to the blizzard in the D.C. area.
We arrived in Jacksonville the night before the cruise and enjoyed our stay at the Holiday Inn Express, Blount Island. We had a great Mexican dinner at a local place--I think it was called Viva, but I am no longer sure. The hotel shuttle to the ship was a little delayed, but otherwise the hotel was a good experience.
Check in moved pretty quickly through the Jacksonville port, and we were on board around 1pm. We found the buffet and enjoyed our first lunch. Our cabin was good sized, but had a sewage smell that never really left. We told our steward, but it never really got fixed (just smelled like air freshener in the morning).
U159 Strong sewage smell in the hall and in the room. I would avoid this cabin. The size was fine with a good amount of storage space. The cabin is located across from the room where the room service dishes are washed. There was a lot of clunking around noise pretty early in the morning.