I took this cruise with my husband and several other people we had met online through CruiseCritic before going on our Panama Canal cruise 2 years ago on the Jewel of the Seas (hence the "Gem" Reunion). We had all agreed on this cruise because some of our group worked at schools and needed to go during spring break.

Pre-cruise: We took Around the Clock transit from the Orlando airport to our hotel, Country Inn and Suites. All went smooth with the transfer and it was quite reasonable, saved us money over renting a car. Checked in and enjoyed our stay, for the most part, at the hotel. Went to dinner at Grills the first night and Fish Lips the second night (both very nice places to eat and very accomodating even for a large group (made reservations ahead, though). Visited Kennedy Space Center the day before the cruise and enjoyed that, it was very interesting.

Embarkation: No problems boarding (although we were Platinum and bypassed a very long line getting on with our priorty boarding priveleges). We got to the port by 11:00 and were onboard by noon. Went straight to the Windjammer and had a very nice lunch (although this ended up being our ONLY time we went there for lunch for various reasons - none of which had to do with us not liking it there). After lunch, checked out our dining room table (on deck 5 of the main dining room) and by then the rooms were ready for us. Read more