We arrived around noon, and embarkation was easy.

Our Concierge Class stateroom was on the "hump," which afforded us an over-sized balcony. Our stateroom attendant, Desmond, was excellent. The stateroom was roomy, the bedding exceptional, the bathroom large and comfortable.

The ship is absolutely breathtaking. The art/architecture throughout the ship is fantastic. The layout, however, makes for very crowded hallways in the public areas. For example, the Martini/Ice Bar is stuck in the middle of a main thoroughfare, as are other entertainment areas. The bars were sorely understaffed. Bartenders were always leaving their posts to get more supplies. Many people bought the beverage packages and overwhelmed the servers with lots of time-consuming specialty drinks that sometimes were discarded. Read more