Surprised my wife with a cruise for her birthday. This would be her first cruise and my 3rd. Of course with any present you worry about how it will go over. Let me say that my wife is now hooked on cruises and is planning one for later this year. The only thing I would have done different is come in a day before and stay a day later at the embarkment port. That first day was a marathon trip starting at 4:30 am.
The embarkment was faster than I thought. We moved quickly through the boarding procedure. Thanks to comments on cruise critic, we bought our marriage certificate because we don't have passports yet. Next time we will have passports, but if you don't it's good for the ladies to bring their marriage certificates to easily explain the different last name. Our room was immediately available and I was pleased to see that it was fully stocked with the birthday and romance package as I had requested. The water bottles for the water package were very big (1 liter each). The juice package was also there. Our stewart was very nice and was very good.
Lunch was in full blast in the Windjammer when we got there. We sat down and had a great buffet style lunch (my wife loved the pork chops and mash potatoes).
Loved the cabin. Small signs of wear in the bathroom but room was just big enough for my wife's first time. Next time we are getting a balcony though...