We did not get off to such a good start. We decided to drive to Miami which we will never do again. The ride from the Ft Lauderdale Area into Miami was traffic laden with a lot of thoughtless drivers. It stayed that way the whole time we were there, and we came in 2 days early for the cruise. We stayed at the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon (Very nice) and they let us park our car there for the week. It was so much easier letting someone else do the driving.

We got to the pier about 11 a.m. Saturday and were whiskedd through security and registration. Then we came to a dead stop. We were ushered to a place against the wall in the registration areas and there we stood for 50 minutes. There were no seats or much space. We watched as many, many people were allowed to go on boardd. We figured we were the "untouchables" of the cruise passengers and had to wait with the masses and get on last. More and more people were directed our way until there were several hundred of us standing in lines. By the time we were allowed on boardd, I had formed an initial bad impression of this cruise line.

But wait -- that really was the worst thing that happened all week. As we were offered a glass of champagne as we entered the ship, and we saw how beautiful this ship is, the bad impression melted away. We went upstairs to the buffet which was magnificent. If there was not something to your liking, then you are one very very particular eater. You name it, it was there, including a homemade ice cream parlor of sorts with some of the best ice cream I have had. By the time lunch was over so was the bad impression. Read more