Our trip started with a few days in Cocoa Beach at the Best Western, nice enough place overlooking the sand for about $105 per night and walking distance to the pier. We took a side trip to Kennedy space center and were blown away with the rockets and up close look at the Atlantis space shuttle. There was aslo a rocket launch after our tour which was a once in a lifetime experience for people from Seattle.

Embarkation day was exciting, the new terminal was very nice and we were onboard in less than an hour arriving at 11am and following a very long line without any waiting around.

My wife, I and a friend sailed on the Explorer expecting to have an ok time at best based on the reviews but found the boat to be in great shape with excellent food in the dining room and buffet. Drinks are very expensive and they like to give you a sales pitch at every turn but this was not a big deal, just part of cruising. We had great weather on our trip to the ABC islands and Haiti. Most of the passengers on the 9 day trip were in theirs 70s and 80s but enjoyed them as we were in our 50s and didn't have to deal with the party crowd. The crew members were very friendly and greeted us with a smile and kind words at every turn. Read more