We arrived at the port and were in the quite short Security line by 11:20. Had our documents handy for inspection which went quickly. After Security you need to pay attention as deck #s are broken out into different check-in lines, as well as lines by Latitudes or non-Latitudes or gold/plat/suites/vip. Quick check-in and we went right to our cabins.

We had a category BA balcony cabin forward on deck 11. Bed was near sliding glass door. Bathroom had good storage space and felt quite spacious for a ship. Closet is divided in two: half is hangers (we brought extra which was a good idea) and half shelves. Safe is on one of those shelves. There were 2 robes in the closet already. Counter top with phone, ice, glasses, and coffee maker which I loved. There was a shelf above this counter which came in very handy. Some more storage under the counter too, and a fridge. Very pleasant decor and good storage space. There had been talk about the balconies being tiny, but it seemed to be about the same size as Jewel, Gem, etc. Clean and shiny though! I would have liked at least one chair that had a reclining back. One oddity was there is a gap between the 2 sliding glass doors when closed. I wondered why we could hear outside conversations so clearly while in the cabin. Also made it a bit annoying when people had outside conversations at 2am.

Our Muster station was the theater, as it was for way too many others. The stairwells were moving very slowly due to the number of people. The theater was overflowing with nowhere near enough seats for all the people assigned to this muster station. We let the person at our # station scan our cards then we stood in the back as all seats were taken. Many stood in the back too. I cannot imagine what this would be like in a real emergency. At least it was quick. Read more