Hubby and I met his brother and family for a week long get away. We flew to New Orleans from Oklashoma City on Friday before embarkation on Saturday. Taxi fare from airport to Embassy Suites cost $35 for us both and took about 25 minutes. Saturday, we drove two blocks from the hotel to the cruise ship terminal parking lot, parked, went thru the check in lines (previous RC cruisers have faster lines) and were on board within an hour! We were NOT allowed into our cabins until 1:00 even though we tried to get in at 12:15. A polite, yet firm RC employee was guarding the area. At 1:00 an announcement was made that the cabins were ready. Lunch was in the Windjammer dining area which is buffet style. Total chaos finding a table but the employees were very helpful clearing dirty tables and helping us find a seat. We ate in the WJ several times for lunch during the week and once at night. Overall, the selection of food was good, but the quality was so-so at best.

Day 1 was a chilly, rainy day at sea. Nothing much to report. Dinner was formal. We saw a mixture of people dressed very formal (tuxes and long evening gowns), dressy (suits and cocktail dresses) and nice (slacks and sundresses)

Days 5 & 6 were sea days. Day 7 was disembarkation. We used the self assist departure program which means we took all our luggage and left when we needed to. It took about 45 minutes to get off and thru customs. No problems there. Read more