We stayed at a hotel in Hallandale Beach (The Diplomat) prior to the cruise and took a cab to the port ($35). Embarkation was a breeze, cheery staff, well organized. We arrived at the port at 1130 and was on board at 1215! our cabin was ready at 2pm.

We booked a 6E oceanview cabin for this transatlantic sailing as have found that the balconies have little use mid Atlantic in april! 6E cabins are on the spa deck, tucked behind the gym/spa. They are roomy with floor to ceiling windows. Fantastic to just lay in bed and see the ocean! this style of ships best kept secret cabins!

Ship was not full, we believe there were 2050 guests, 1550 US citizens, 235 Canadians, 27 Brits and a mixture make up the rest. It was not the typical "fun Carnival" crowd, a more mature even "upmarket" crowd wanting to experience Europe. Read more