My family has cruised once previously (NCL Dawn out of NY) which is our benchmark. This trip was booked at the last minute to coincide with my children's' spring break week. I write to give fellow family travelers a heads up on some of the things to watch out for and some of the things to not miss. We usually get just two weeks off to travel each year (like many people); we try to minimize the bad and maximize the good.

Port: The cab dropped us off in front of an extremely friendly and efficient porter. We had registered online so it was merely a matter of showing him the documents. He printed out luggage tags and sent us on our way into the terminal. Total time, maybe 3 minutes.

Terminal: Very organized. Lots of ship line employees directing you to where you need to be. Check in lines were segregated by where you were staying on the ship and no line was more that 5 people or so long. At check in, the clerk has to write down each passport name and number to cross check it with your online registration (where you have to provide the same data). This accounts for the bulk of the time at this stop. Total time, maybe 10 minutes. Read more