First, I have never done cruise critic before, and I want to thank each and every one of you who responded to my questions on these boards. You were very informative and helped make my cruise more enjoyable. My husband is especially thankful to whoever suggested finding out the wine served in the dining room so we could carry it on board and not have a corkage fee.. A great tip when you don't have to fly.

So, here I am home, have attended to the mail and bought some food and unpacked my carry on and just can't bring myself to tackle the large suitcase that has the way too much clothing that I bought along and that now has to be washed and ironed, etc. But, I wanted to write this while it was all still fresh in my mind and before reality sets in.

Embarkation: I actually saw the ship arrive in port the day we left via the Intrepid web cam and that was so exciting. We left our home at 11:15, were greeted dockside by porters who took our bags and we went inside to get a number for boarding. We sat and waited about 20 minutes until we were called and then went to check through security and board the ship. The whole process took about 45 minutes. Read more