My husband and I booked this cruise about eight weeks before sailing, something we have never done before. We usually plan our holidays well in advance. We booked a VH room, which meant that our cabin would be assigned shortly before we sailed. We were very fortunate to have a lovely room on Deck 10, portside. You should be aware that if you book a cabin that shows a black diamond on the deck plans, you will have a solid steel verandah instead of clear plexiglas and you will have to stand up to see the ocean when you're on your balcony. They all appear to be on Deck 4 forward - Upper Promenade Deck. I only found out about them because we had dinner one evening with a couple who were assigned to one of those rooms. Needless to say, they were not thrilled.

We stayed two nights prior to embarkation at the Doubletree Inn & Suites on East Sunrise, right beside the Galleria Mall, and a 5 - 10 minute walk to the beach. Perfect location - also Stop 2 on the Water Taxi route. The rate we got included a full hot breakfast.

The first part of embarkation went very quickly, but we had to wait in a holding room for our number to be called. That probably took about 20 minutes and then we were able to go straight to our cabin which was really nice because we were able to drop off our carry-ons and wash our hands before lunch. Read more