My wife and I started our trip flying out from the Indianapolis International airport to Miami International airport on an evening flight. Our American Airlines flight left on time, allowing us to escape the twelve degree Indiana weather. We stayed at a Hampton Inn just outside of the airport and took a taxicab to the cruiseport at Port Everglades, arriving just after 11:00 AM. Embarkation was rapid and easy and we were onboard the ship within ten minutes. We had a quick bite to eat at Windjammers and wandered the ship for a short time while waiting for the cabins to be available at 1:00.

This trip was our first time staying in a junior suite. We appreciated the increased space that was available in our cabin (it was about three feet wider than our previous cabins, except for the times that we had previously had an ocean family suite with our three children. With just my wife and I this time, it seemed like quite a bit more space. There was a small walk-in closet and a bathtub in the bathroom instead of the usual shower tube. The cabin was clean and our stateroom attendant pleasant.

The first two days were sea days and we spent them relaxing and taking in a few shows. Our first port day was at St. Martin and we went on the See and Sea excursion. I got off of the ship early and took the water taxi over to town to wander around and shop for about 1.5 hours then returned to the ship to meet my wife for our scheduled tour. We took a bus ride over to the French side at Marigold. We spent about one hour wandering through the shops, getting a quick snack and seeing some of the artisan's stands. Afterwards, we drove to the shore to get on a semi-sub for an exploration of a nearby coral reef. The boat was OK except that the submerged seating area was quite cramped with uncomfortable seats. There were rivets on the walls on the sides of the seats that we're digging into my left leg as I sat in the seat. Our tour of the reef only lasted about fifteen minutes and the reef itself had a moderate amount of coral. A diver went off the boat and swam around the outside of the boat feeding fish so that they would congregate around the boat for our viewing. Afterwards, we took the bus back to the ship. Read more