I booked this cruise for my parents and myself almost one year ago. We live locally to Boston, so at 11 am we left home and by 11:45 we were sitting in the coffee area just outside the Windjammer waiting for lunch. Embarkation had been a breeze, we had filled out all the documents on-line and check in went very quickly. At check in they were able to set up my sea pass card to my credit card, separately from my parents.

We had originally booked cabin 7588, a category E-3, what we didn't realize and what the travel agent hadn't told us was that the third birth was a bunk bed. I am over 40 and my parents are close to 70, so I climbed into the bunk bed on the first night. Getting up is much easier than getting down. The next morning, I spoke with guest relations regarding paying either for an upgrade for the three of us, or paying for a separate inside cabin for myself. Luckily the ship was not filled, however the only options were for $5000 for upgrade to grand suite, or $1200 for a separate inside cabin. Well this was a little steeper than we had hoped for. Finally the guest relations manager offered us room 8500 (a family ocean view). The two draw backs were it's location (far front) and the lack of balcony. These were quickly dwarfed by the advantages. The room was very large, and there was a separate sleeping area for me. Our room steward in 8500 was very efficient. The ice bucket was always filled, the room was always cleaned, and anything we needed was quickly provided.

My family and I very much enjoyed the variety in the Windjammer buffet. The food was always fresh and hot. The servers were very friendly and quick to get you any beverage, whether it was soda, water or coffee. The only draw back is that on this cruise, people were always looking for seats. In fact, while eating dessert, people would ask if we were going to be much longer as they wanted our table. Read more