This is our 7th cruise, and my sister and her family's second one. Departing from New York was very easy; the dock was easy to find (much easier than NJ's Port Liberty), and parking was a breeze.

My partner and I booked a penthouse, my sister, a balcony and my 2 teen nephews in inside. At check in, since we were in a penthouse, we were asked to wait in a "VIP" lounge (which was not so VIP) to wait for the concierge to provide us with the keys and for the priority boarding. So, essentially we were separated from rest of our family. Pre-boarding was great; but the concierge took us a lounge, and hand delivered welcome letters and excursion information (which we did not need as we already pre-booked all our excursions) which took a while. After a while, we were directed to Cagne's for lunch. We asked if our family could join us, we were told no, so we found the rest of our family and had lunch in the Garden Cafe instead.

Our aft "Penthouse" cabin was very nicely setup, and had a coffee/cappuccino maker which we loved, and a large deck. My sister's balcony cabin was very nice as well. The inside was just an inside. Our penthouse cabin was serviced by a "butler", who seemed a bit nervous dealing with a same sex couple. He was very attentive though. Our room attendant was not friendly at all, and I question the cleanliness as I scrubbed the sink thoroughly off the black gunk. My sister and nephew's room attendant however was very friendly and cheerful. Read more