Background Information: I am 50, DH is 49 and DDs are 11 and 14. DH and I last cruised 17 years ago on our honeymoon and DDs never have. We live in the western suburbs of Chicago; DH is from NJ and knows the Bayonne area well.

Hotel/Pre-Cruise Info: We stayed in Jersey City at the Courtyard Marriott ($200/night) and would recommend it. It was right next to the Path with great access to Manhattan. We enjoyed Jersey City, especially the riverwalk near the Hyatt: gorgeous! We took the Path into NYC, got ½ price Broadway tickets (info at www.tdf.org) to Chorus Line, (great) and ate at Lattanzi on Restaurant Row (fabulous).

Travel to Port/Embarkation: We took a taxi to the port ($35), left the hotel about 10:20 a.m. and were in the Windjammer eating lunch at 12:45 p.m., all positive considering that the ship ahead of ours was late, registration itself was delayed, and there were a couple of HUGE wedding parties waiting to be boarded. (a suggestion for RCCL: increase the communication at the waiting area a bit. It is disconcerting to get an information sheet saying that lunch starts in the Windjammer at 11:30, then see a sign that says boarding is at 1, then actually board at 12:25.) All in all, very well organized and painless. Read more