We flew with Virgin into Newark airport the night before the cruise and stayed at the Country Inns and Suites on a cruise and stay package. On arrival at Newark, immigration was the usual lengthy process and it took us quite a while to locate the correct shuttle for our hotel. There was another lengthy wait at the check-in desk at the hotel when we arrived (due to a large wedding party!) but eventually we got to our room which was a nice size and perfectly adequate for one night. We were rather hungry by this time though and the only real option for a meal was the Ruby Tuesdays next door. It was very busy but we managed to get a table. The food and the service were nothing to write home about but at least we didn't go to bed hungry.

We woke the next morning quite early and we had quite a view from our room, we could see the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the port and even the Explorer of the Seas (so at least we knew she had arrived on time!). We went to breakfast, which was a slightly strange affair with not a lot of choice in my opinion.

The day was very cold and there was snow everywhere, in fact there had been a big snow storm only a few days before. The shuttle bus took a while to load but eventually we were on the way to the port by about 12.10. The journey took about 30 minutes and then we had dropped off our luggage with the porters and straight into the terminal. It only took about 10 minutes to complete check-in and then we were on the Explorer and heading for lunch. Read more