First off, I'm a relative cruise rookie, having only done Caribbean Princess before this one. We also travelled with our 13-month old son, which any parent will tell you is not easy. Let me tell you - I didn't want to leave!!!

Ship: As we found out later, the ship was renovated last year. There was no sign of age on the ship and we loved the vibe on-board. Not too stuffy and everybody was having a great time. If you want water, Deck 11 is the place to be: three pool sections. The H2O Zone is great for kids and there was even a little water park for my son to play in. The middle pool is where most people gathered when onboard, but it never really felt crowded for us. One of the new additions is the big video screen above the middle pool area. It was good, but compared to Princess (which actually showed quality programming on it most of the day and night), it was severely underused. Most of the day they'd play this 'XY' show with music videos, most of which by artists I'd never heard of. The third pool is an adults-only solarium area, most tranquile if you want peace and quiet.

At night, most people hang out in either the casino, one of the bars nearby or the promenade level where all the shops are. Really nice atmosphere. Read more