I'd never been on a cruise before, let alone out of the Eastern US. I decided to take my kids on a cruise as a reward for such a hard year. A friend decided to join us.

Cabins: We upgraded from a family balcony to a family mini-suite and loved it. The bathrooms were a bit interesting but we managed just fine with four people in the stateroom. It just took patience and taking turns (but we all learned those things in grade school). The curtain acted like a changing room for us all. It was fun to say "and behind curtain number 2...." The beds were comfy and I shared mine with a friend. They seemed larger than a queen (and I'm used to having a king all to myself at home). The boy-child slept in the pullman and girl-spawn had the bottom. She was a little cramped but that's because she's nearly 5'10" and is also used to sprawling out on her own queen sized bed at home. Our steward, Michael, was beyond attentive. He went out of his way to make sure that he always said hello and greeted us warmly whenever he saw us. He even showed us how to make one of the towel animals. We always had ice, towels and the room was always clean and neat.

Shows: We did the Blue Man Group and Legends in Rock. Loved both of them. Would have gone to Legends a second time except that there were so many other things that we wanted to take advantage of before leaving. The music in the Manhattan room was great. Read more