My husband and I celebrate our birthdays on the same day, same year. We usually try to do something over this time of year. My husband travels for his job and not only spends a lot of time in airports, but also in traffic. I work from home. We decided only three weeks before our birthdays to do something so our options were limited. We have cruised for years and a cruise seemed like the right choice, we don't have to drive, we don't have to fly anywhere, and everything is included.

I recommend arriving the pier after 1:30pm. RCCL does offer a lounge for their Platinum Members, but since we arrived after 1:30pm, we were able to walk right onboard. When you have 4,000 passengers boarding a ship, everything must run like clockwork and on RCCL it does.

Our cabin looked out over the Boardwalk and did have an oceanview that could only be seen from the balcony. This interior balcony lacks privacy. The Mexican Rita restaurant was below and it was loud (VERY loud) until 11pm every night. Imagine having a room above Carlos and Charlie's in Cozumel, or Senior Frog's in Mexico. Our cabin steward was "new" to this size of ship but he was always smiling and did an excellent job. I was surprised that an ice bucket is only available upon request. Once you request the ice bucket it is delivered and restocked twice each day. Two glasses are brought at this time, seemed weird, but oh well. The refrigerator on board is stocked with a couple of Cokes and some candy bars, but they are not free. The cabin is ample in size, but I would never again book a cabin with a balcony and a interior view, no privacy and to loud in to the evening. I spoke to some people that had a balcony faces the Central Park and they complained about the noise as well. Read more