A little background about us. My husband and I are in our late 30's. I had cruised Premier Cruise Lines 13 years ago so this was technically my second cruise. My husband and I brought my 2 and 6 year sons. Our cruise was completely filled but I never noticed it was "crazy" crowded except at the pool, some dining rooms at popular times, and de-embarkation. This cruise was actually a gift for my husband and I and I think if I had paid, I would have been a little harsher.

We found the embarkation process not bad. There were lines but we found they went pretty quickly and the employees seemed to have a system that worked. We checked in at about 1:30pm and our rooms were ready so we able to go right to our cabins. As I had read in some past reviews, the ship was older and was slightly dated, but aren't all ships supposed to be a little over-the-top and a little tacky? Everything was clean, if a LITTLE worn. I found our cabins to be fairly roomy, especially the bathroom. Again, you could tell this was not a new ship (slight crumbling around window, cracked tiles in shower, etc) but I didn't feel anything was neglected. My husband and I each had a 6B Oceanview cabin and kept one child each. Adjoining cabins would have been nice but according to deck plans we couldn't find any on this ship. CABIN PROS: Nice large windows, great linens, blankets, towels, pillows, nice size bathrooms, good size cabins, nice robes provided. Reading lights for each bed were great. Safes in each cabin for valuables. CONS: The TV was terrible, very grainy and dark in one room, a little better in my husband's cabin. The curtains in my stateroom didn't quite reach the bottom of the window so light would shine in your eyes at daybreak if you didn't put towels or pillows as shades.

My husband as I disagree on the steward service. From my last cruise, I remember being out of my cabin and coming back to an immaculately make room. EVERYTHING was straightened up. Now I don't expect a maid to clean up after me, but I would have liked to have seen more than my bed made and towels replenished. My husband said his room was usually straightened out. The stewards and cleaning crew always had a presence and you could always see their cards in the hallway, usually right outside my cabin. Read more