In sum, our cruise was wonderful. We had no complaints and no major mishaps until our final night. More about that later.

This review will be more of a cautionary tale than anything else because our experience was so positive. We did encounter a few things that could be improved, especially as newer and larger cruise ships are coming out. None of what I will describe will keep us from cruising in the future.

First, we were a group of six: two senior citizens, three adults, and a teenager. The seniors were in their own Junior Suite cabin (expansive!) on Deck 9, and the rest of us were in two separate Balcony cabins on deck 8. This cruise was chosen by the teenager who is a history/mythology buff and it was in celebration of her 13th birthday (her sister's 13th birthday was celebrated by cruising to Alaska). Read more