This was my first cruise and it turned out quite well. We had fun and thought the cruise a great value.

We flew into Miami the day before the cruise and stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. Good solid hotel. Clean and the room seemed new (although the elevators were a bit run down). We paid 135 dollars including tax and thought the price was a bit high but still within reason. Ate dinner at Bubba Gump across the street. Seafood place. Pretty good as well, although service was really slow.

The embarkation process was smooth. We carried out own bags since we did not have a lot. Rather inconvenient as our room was not ready when we boarded and we were not able to drop our bags off immediately. However, I would probably do the same on our next cruise. Read more