I received a "free" cruise through Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh - all I had to pay for was port fees and taxes. It cost each of us $319 plus $84 for the gratuities. We took the Mega Bus from Pittsburgh to NYC which was $50 each roundtrip. Total cost was $904 plus spending money.

We had a inside room #5831 category lB - it was small but clean and plenty of storage in the closet. It was very close to the elevators which was nice. We had the beds pushed together with 2 little end tables on each side. A small desk area with mirror, a flat screen tv with a small table underneath the tv and a nice size closet and a mini fridge that we were able to put a few drinks in. The bathroom had plenty of storage and the shower was roomy. We were a little disappointed with the choices of channels on the tv - there were a few sport channels, a few news channels, Nickelodeon, Favorite tv and Favorite movies which they played the same shows and movies. You could get free movies but there were only 2 or 3 of them and the rest were $9.99. We don't watch a lot of tv but like to unwind from the busy day watching before bed.

We got to the port around 10:00 - 10:15 and by 10:30 were waiting to go through security. It was really fast and easy. Since we booked with CAS (Casinos at Sea) we were able to board directly behind the disabled. We were on board by 11:30. We went to our room and dropped off carry on luggage and went exploring. The ship is huge and beautiful. We had lunch at the buffet - it wasn't too busy yet so it was nice. We spent the afternoon on the Waterfront watching us pull out of the port -- it was great, not crowded and you could see everything. Read more