Background: Two 30 year olds (husband and wife) from Anchorage, Alaska. First time taking a vacation without our 2 year old (missed her like crazy). This is also a good review to read if you are on the short side. I am 4'11 and was concerned with a few of the activities we had planned, but all turned out well.

Day 1 Boarding: We took Super Shuttle from our hotel (La Quinta LAX) to the port. It was $50 for both of us...I guess that would be cheaper than a taxi but if I am sharing with others all going the same direction then I think it should be a tad cheaper. But I digress. We got there about 1045. In my opinion the porters and general organization was A LOT better here than it was in Miami (we have cruised 3 times from there). Boarded around 1145. Enjoyed lunch on Lido and just walked around. Did the spa tour so we could go ahead and get a couple's week pass to their Thassotherpy (sp?) pool and heat rooms. We heard they only gave out so many so we wanted to make sure we got one. We also booked a couple of appointments for facials and massages. We don't normally "splurge" on stuff like that, but like I said it was our first time alone together in 2 years and we thought we'd go all out. Did muster drill, walked around more, got in our room (our first balcony, we always did interior before), yada yada. We had Any Time Dining (which I loved). Did not do the show, I usually think those first night shows are boring.

Day 2 at Sea: We both had facials at 0915. Yep, I talked my husband into one. He was nervous at first, but later said "it wasn't bad" lol. He said he enjoyed the old fashion shave part. The guy took his time and his face was actually the smoothest and least red I have ever seen. I thought the woman doing mine was very friendly and funny and she did a great job. She didn't try and hard sell me anything. At the end she did hand me a card with the list of items she used on me and said if I was interested in anything I could let her know anytime this week. I don't consider that a hard sell at all, just something that she had to do. Right after we used our passes and spent an hour in the T pool, steam rooms, and heated chair rooms. Read more