This was my wife and I first cruise together. I took one about twenty years ago and I don't want it to count. We had the time of our lives. We flew into Miami a day before sailing and stayed at the YVE on Biscayne downtown. Loved the hotel! Great location, found a awesome Peruvian place to eat just around the corner. We spent some time across the road at the open air market and really relaxed. We felt fairly safe in the area. The hotel had a shuttle to and from the port for $6 (usd) per person which was fair it seemed. We had no issues getting to the ship.

We were amazed at how big the ship looked while in port. Once aboard we found we really liked the décor on the ship even though we had read online that it was outdated. The ship was clean, the service was beyond compare (we really had nothing to compare it with), and the food was awesome. We really like to meet people and this proved to be a great way to do just that. The couple we were seated with at dinner, well we couldn't have asked for a better couple. We hung out together at one of the ports and a few times on the ship. We had a good time just visiting.

We caught a few of the shows and they were good. the family friendly comedian seemed to struggle to stay in the family friendly zone, but that would be hard for any comedian unless that was your show platform. The variety shows were good, casino was easy to get lured into and spend a couple of dollars, and the bars were a good time. Drinks were pricey, but we knew that before we left so it didn't bother us. We did go to one of the art auctions and didn't like it. It was fun to watch it happen, but we felt like the auctioneer was baiting you to bid on something you might not want. Quite a few "mystery" rounds of bidding. It wasn't something we would do again. Read more