Background Information: This was my first cruise. I'm a single mother traveling with my 5 year old daughter and booked this 30 days out.

Embarkation -- I took Metro-North to Grand Central Terminal. We took a cab from there, leaving about 10:00. It was about a $20 cab ride including tip, largely because we were stuck in lots of traffic going into and out of the port. My cab driver seemed a little bewildered by the entire process though (it's the only experience I've ever had with giving street coordinates and having the driver say "where's that?", which may have contributed to the longevity of the ride). By 1030 we were at the port, and we walked through the security and check-in lines quickly (less than 20 minutes total). Everyone was really friendly and made the entire process a breeze. After receiving our key cards, we went into the waiting area, which had a refreshment area and tables where you could make restaurant reservations for the week or book spa appointments. At 11:30 they started general boarding. We walked onto the ship and into the Crystal Atrium, where we were greeted by Kids Club staff, among others, with information on the children's programming for the week. The Shore Excursion desk opened at 12 and I rented a clamshell for Great Stirrup Cay and booked the excursion to Disney. The Garden Cafe was open, but we went to one of the main dining rooms, Tsar's Palace, on deck 7, to get our vacation started at a little more relaxed pace. After lunch, we explored the ship while we waited for the announcement that our rooms were ready, I didn't hear the announcement, so we ended up just going to our room around 2pm. Luggage was there by 3, just in time for muster, which took place in Tsar's Palace. It lasted about 10 minutes and was primarily a quick review of life jackets etc. I noticed the room was dead silent for the whole presentation though! After that it was time for sailaway,so we went up to the Sundeck and watched the Gem depart. They had a barbecue open so snacks and music were available on deck to get everyone in a festive mood, which was great.

Stateroom- I was worried about getting sea sick so we booked a Mid-Ship Inside GTY and ended up in a waaay aft family inside that faced aft rather than starboard or port (I don't know how else to explain it other than it faced the back of the ship, in a different direction from most of the other inside cabins). The cabin was perfect for the two of us. There were a couple of periods when I felt a little queasy, but they only lasted for about an hour each on the only 2 occasions when the boat was really rocking, and location didn't seem to have anything to do with it. Size-wise, it was on par with an NYC hotel room...definitely small but completely liveable! There was a bunk, which folded down from one side that my DD was thrilled about, and the two twin beds were lashed together to make a double. The beds were so comfortable and thanks to whatever padding they put on it, it felt like a regular double bed rather than having that sort of dip in the middle. The room says it can hold 4, but I'm not entirely sure where the 4th person would go? Storage was great, with plenty of room under the beds and in little cubbies along the wall. The bathroom had a shower with a lockout feature on the tap that could be adjusted to make the max water temperature higher. I work in a burn unit so I thought a little feature like that was great, especially in a room with kids. You can't have the bathroom door open and the closet door open at the same time, but once you get used to it, it's not a problem. Our steward, James, was great. He kept the room spotless all week and always had a kind word or towel animal waiting for my DD, which she loved. Read more