We left Seatac and arrived the day before our cruise. Being new to this whole process I wanted to make sure that there were no delays getting to the ship. We arrived in Houston and stayed at the Holiday Inn near the airport. Nice hotel, staff were very friendly, the room had updated decor and was clean. There were a lot of people in the lobby that day because of a cruise line that was delayed because of fog. The next day we took the hotel shuttle back to the airport to baggage claim and caught the Royal Caribbean shuttle to the port. The employees working the check in at the airport were very friendly! One employee Angela even took me to the Starbucks at the airport so I could get a cup of coffee before the shuttle! The shuttle to the port was easy and uneventful. There were quite a few people at the port and traffic was heavy. I would recommend bringing along a light jacket or vest if you are cruising in January! It was unusually cold that day ( about 39-40 degrees and very windy) we did have to stand in line for about 15-20 min waiting to go through the screening process and it got quite chilly. Once inside my mom and I went to a separate area to get checked in. She is disabled and walks with a cane and so I arranged to have her get help to the ship. This process went smoothly and quickly. We were given our sea passes and wheeled on board! We were greeted warmly and told right away that our rooms were ready. We were a little confused about where to meet for the muster drill and had a hard time understanding the instructions on the loudspeakers. We did however figure it out and were able to get there in time.

Stateroom:

We had a suite with a balcony on the 7th deck. Nicely appointed room with enough space for the both of us to move around in. Bathroom had enough space and the shower was easy to get in and out of. Ample closet space. The bed was a bit hard but nothing that was not corrected after the first night by an extra pad brought to us by our fabulous attendant Maximillian. Read more