Let me start out by saying this was our very first cruise and we enjoyed it. We loved the ship (well most of it, later on that). We originally booked category 1C (not C1), but upgraded about a month before the cruise when the Aqua Class price dropped to about $110 more than what we paid for 1C. I'm glad we upgraded, we thoroughly enjoyed eating in Blu.

We flew into FLL Sat, the day before sailing. We used Priceline and got a room at the Westin for $85. It was right on the beach strip about a mile walk from bars/dining/shopping.

Embarkation was a breeze. We were on the ship at about 1 pm. Rooms were ready at about 1:30. We had read on this site that the buffet would be crowded and went with the recommendation to go straight to Bistro on 5, well worth the $5 charge. We had great crepes, paninis, soup, salad and dessert in a very quiet setting. Read more