I took this cruise with my first-time cruiser sister for our June birthdays. I will try to break it all down for you into categories.
We arrived the day before and stayed at the Holiday Inn, Bayside location. It was a tiny room but clean, and the location was perfect for cruisers. Right across the street from the Bayside shops and restaurants and close to a drug store for last minute purchases. Cost from airport to Holiday Inn- $24.00 and from hotel to port- $12.00.
Embarkation Process at Pier: Fast and well organized, on the ship by noon. No issues to speak of.
Room 8528- very tiny cabin but adequate space to hang clothes. Bath small too but worked fine. Safe was hard to reach in the closet. Outlets were a deal breaker!! I was so frustrated and mad that I couldn't keep the appliances in the wall- fell out constantly and about every 10 seconds while using! I talked to other cruisers later and found it was not an isolated problem. People I talked to (women) said they would not use this ship again just because of that issue alone. Too bad.