BACKGROUND INFORMATION: We are a married couple, 35 and 39. This is our second cruise; we went to Alaska on our honeymoon last July on Holland America Oosterdam. While our cruise experience is limited, our travel/dining experience is not, and we found Oasis to be a truly incredible vacation.

HOTEL INFORMATION: We stayed at the Springhill Suites in Dania Beach the night before; great hotel, plentiful complimentary breakfast, very spacious rooms. I found the hotel on Hotwire approximately 10 days before and only paid $79, which included breakfast, airport shuttle and shuttle to cruise port. I would definitely recommend this hotel to others.

EMBARKATION: I was surprised how easy this process was; we had no wait to check in and obtain our SeaPass cards; once we had those, our wait to board the ship was approximately 20 minutes, but we were seated in a large waiting room, and didn't mind the wait at all. The only negative part of embarkation was beyond RCCL's control; it was POURING RAIN, which resulted in the gangway/ boarding deck (5) being slippery. There was plenty of staff to help passengers, but it was definitely a soggy start. Also, I suspect there will be a few reviews that complain about receiving wet luggage. From my vantage point on the gangway, I could see several bins of luggage that got stuck outside during the heaviest rain. Again, staff were hurrying to get all the luggage to a dry area as quickly as possible, but there were some bags that got completely soaked. Read more