My wife and I flew down to Miami the evening before setting sail on American Airlines. The flight was delayed by a bit over an hour because of toilet problems but was smooth once we were airborne. We took a taxi to stay at a Holiday Inn Express next to the airport which, although basic, provided us with a good night's sleep.

The following morning, we slept in, grabbed a quick bite to eat at the hotel and took a shuttle to the cruiseport. It only took about ten to fifteen minutes from getting out of the van to stepping foot on the ship. We went up to deck 15 to the buffet that they had at the Brazilian steakhouse in the solarium area for lunch. The menu here is mostly composed of fairly healthy choices but was not as much to my liking as other venues on the ship. At least it was fairly uncrowded. Afterwards, we went to our stateroom, unpacked and rested for a bit. That evening, we ate at the main dining room Adagio. The food was fairly good but the line to be seated was quite long. After eating, we went to the Oceanaria show which was excellent as usual.

Our next day was a sea day and I spent much of the day wandering around the ship, playing various trivia contests. It was quite nice to be able to sleep in for a change. Read more