Combined the cruise with a detour to visit family. Flew in and out of Orlando from Philly and rented a car. Flew in on Friday, stayed with family Fri.-Sat., then drove to Miami Sunday morning. Hertz seems to be the only car rental agency servicing the port on Sundays. Their staff was friendly and expedient.

Embarkation was a breeze. Maybe 20 minutes from entering the doors we were on board. Read cruise reviews and headed for Great Outdoors in the stern for lunch. Great weather and beautiful views of Miami, we took lots of pictures. Room call was about 1:40, our bags were waiting for us when we arrived. We had a mini suite stateroom on deck 11 with a full tub and balcony. Totally worth it. Plenty of storage space and bathroom vanity space for two people. Closed in toilet area was a little cramped but otherwise ok. Plus, deck 11 is one deck away from buffet dining and spa and only two decks away from the Spinnaker lounge, very convenient not waiting for the elevators. We changed and headed to make reservations and get our spa pass. It was nice to get that all out of the way at the beginning. There was a soda package available but no alcohol package. I'm not a Pepsi fan, so we skipped it. We videoed sail away from the sun deck, then hung out and unpacked until dinner.

First night dinner at Indigo. Crowded. If you want to sit alone you'll be waiting. We opted to sit with others and waited maybe 5 minutes. Had an enjoyable dinner, the best part of which was dessert. Said our farewells and headed off to Welcome Aboard Show. Can't say we were very impressed by this show, it's skippable. Shows are usually about 45 minutes each, so you don't have to worry about missing an activity in the next hour. Watched some football in the Crystal Atrium and then went to bed. Read more