My husband and I had never cruised before but were beginning to think about it. We'd been to Hawaii twice and the hotels are very pricey and not always nice, and then you add the cost of food and it's very expensive. My aunt brought some fliers to a family function and was trying to get the whole family to book. We thought it looked great and booked in February. I probably should have done more research before booking, but I think we got lucky. Because it was a very nice cruise. The stateroom was small but reasonable(my husband is 6'4" and didn't hit himself on anything) we had a nice couch (that can fold out to a queen bed) and private veranda w/ rattan furniture. Quite charming. The shower had a removable wand which was very convenient and a small, but moderately deep tub. They don't have any non-smoking rooms, which concerned me, but there was no sign of previous smoking in our room.

When we arrived at the port a porter quickly took care of our luggage and directed us to check in. The staff seemed quick and efficient. We filled out forms registered our passports and took photos for room key data-base. Once on the ship there was plenty of staff to direct you to your cabin - and in tidy bell-hop uniforms w/ white gloves(a nice touch). Most of the crew is from Indonesia and they were all so friendly and helpful. Extremely nice! Leaving San Diego was really rough, but the front desk gives you free motion-sickness pills(nice!).

After the lifeboat drill there was a "fiesta" sail-away party on the lido deck. The lido deck had the family pool(inside w/ retractable sunroof), the buffet/casual dining restaurant spa and adult pool outside. They had a party every time we left a port but the buffet food served was not the best. Read more