My wife and I booked through RCI website 8 months prior to sailing and we paid a total of $1,600 for a Superior Oceanview stateroom (9540) including round trip airfare and CruiseCare insurance. We received our documents about three and a half weeks before our sailing date of October 11, 2004. Just so you know the demographics we are looking at this from, we are a Caucasian American couple. We are middle class and I am 38 and my wife is 33. If you are looking for luxury, this cruise may not be for you. If you are looking for a party all night, meet singles kind of cruise, this may not suit you either. Those cruises are out there. You may just want to look elsewhere. There were a lot of younger couples on board who seemed to be having a great time as well as older couples that seemed to be enjoying themselves, also. Couples seemed to be the main demographic aboard, though there were singles and families also.

DAY ONE- We were on Delta out of Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport flying into Ft Lauderdale. There were Delta reps at Cinci airport that directed us through the boarding process. On arrival in Ft Lauderdale we were met by several reps holding Royal Caribbean signs at the baggage claim area. They directed us to a waiting area and after about 10 minutes we were given transfer passes and we boarded a bus for the trip to Miami. It is about a 35 mile trip and on the day we arrived it took about 20 minutes. We were told that on some days it could take up to an hour or more with traffic. We arrived at the port and a porter took our checked luggage at the pier. We were directed to the terminal where we checked in and received our SeaPass in a matter of minutes. You have to present the card you will be charging the SeaPass to, your passport or Birth Certificate, a picture ID and your Bahamas immigration card, which comes with your documents. From Pier to ship was about 15 minutes including walking time. We entered the ship and, as this was our first cruise, were of course in awe. The Centrum area is huge and impressive. As you enter the ship you insert your SeaPass into a reader and your picture is taken. From then on, any time you leave the ship, you insert your card into this reader and your picture appears to security so they can verify your identity. This makes getting off and on the ship pretty quick and easy.

We got to our room and opened the door using the SeaPass. We were pleasantly surprised by the size. Now remember this was a Superior Oceanview and, as such, is bigger than a normal room. I would compare this room size to a typical Motel 6, Days Inn, Red Roof Inn room. There is the bed, a small, comfortable corner seat and a small end table. There are drawers in two beside stands, 6 shelves in under counter unit, three drawers, several shelves behind the mirrors for toiletries, etc, as well as a closet with plenty hangers and three rods which provide quite a bit of hanging area. There is a small TV (about 13" diagonal) and, to our surprise, a very small refrigerator as well as a small safe. The announcement was made several times that there is to be no smoking in the staterooms yet on top of the mirrored cabinets, there were three ashtrays. I will not tell you if my wife chose to smoke in our room or not, but make your own decision. They definitely send mixed messages by having ashtrays in a non-smoking area. In general it IS okay to smoke on one side of the ship and in many lounges. If you are unsure where, ask any of the staff. The beds (which in our case were pushed together to make one) look like cots. We were not thrilled about this until we lay down and discovered that, despite their appearance, they are pretty comfortable. There are extra pillows in the under counter cabinets which were much needed. The bathroom is small. There's no denying that. However, it is functional. You can check out the pictures of all this at the link below. Read more