After reading some of the reviews, I was nervous that the atmosphere might not be perfect for families, but it absolutely was! It was a great mix of families, couples, and groups. I think the cruise is definitely what you make it and there is something for everyone! Everything went very smoothly. We arrived around 11:00 which I would recommend so you can get on early and beat the crowds. We went to the Lido deck and had a great lunch. I thought the food was very good and there certainly was a lot of it. Our rooms were ready slightly before the 1:30 that they tell you. We had an oceanview cabin and an interior cabin. I wasn't expecting them to be big and they weren't. The beds were sooooo comfortable!! The bathrooms were bigger than I was expecting and I liked that they had shampoo and shower gel dispensers in the shower. They also gave you a package of amenities - toothpaste, razor, cream etc.

We had the late seating in the dining room - 8:15 which gave us time during the day so we didn't have to rush back to the ship. I think next time I might do the flexible time dining option as it didn't seem as if there was a wait for tables. We were seated with another family with teenagers so it was perfect and nice to meet fellow passengers and share ship experiences! Our waiter was absolutely AMAZING! His name was Martin and he always remembered everyones names and preferences. If we saw him during the day he would always say hello to us by our name. We enjoyed our dinners. I thought the food was very good. It wasn't gourmet, but good quality. Each night they had a "Didja Ever" item on the menu. One night it was alligator, the next night it was escargot, etc. So it was fun for all of us to try some new things that we would have never ordered!! The waiters sang two nights and danced on night with the ladies at the table. It was cute. We also ate breakfast in the dining room which I would highly recommend. It was a nicer experience that eating at the buffet. We even ate lunch in the dining room one day (when my sons missed breakfast - teenagers!) I had the steak salad and the steak was amazing!! As for the wardrobe, because that was a big question for me before leaving, and I was wondering if we were going to be under or overdressed. There was one elegant night, and the rest were casual. My daughter and I had on dresses/skirts for elegant night, and they boys just wore dress pants with button down shirts which I thought was fine. There were people/kids in suits and tuxs, and there were also people less than casual. But I think the majority of people were pretty dressed up.

As for the shows, now they weren't of Broadway/Vegas calibre, but I thought for this level of cruising, they were good! We tried to see as many as we could. I thought the 80's show was the best. We also saw Curves, which was OK. The lead female singer was in the show way too much! The comedians were pretty good. There is a family comedy show and adult show. And of course we played Bingo! There was a karaoke competition, which we stumbled upon, but it was packed so we stayed to see it. Wow, was I glad we did. Theses singers were amazing - especially one woman who brought down the house. I wanted her to do a full show! I felt like it was an American Idol competition. Read more