We live in Maryland. We left on Friday, stayed at a hotel in New Jersey, and drove to the pier on Saturday morning. We arrived around 11:45, dropped the luggage off with the porters, and parked on the pier rooftop. We were at the line around 11:55. They kept us off to the side while they were allowing the early arrivals in. It didn't take long for our line to be called, go through security, and stand in line by deck. For some reason, our line (deck 8) was the longest, and the slowest to move. The other lines had about 20 or 30 people at a time, and moved pretty quickly. Ours had about 150 people and was very, very slow. We waited for a long time, and finally checked in. We boarded the ship around 1:15. I think that the system can be improved, especially if the person supervising the lines sees that one line is getting too long. The cabins were not ready until 1:30, so we ate at the Lido's Mediterranean Cafe (the buffet line), and then went to our cabin.

Our cabin steward was Andres. He introduced himself to us and did a fantastic job overall. The cabin was always clean and tidy, and he kept our cooler full with ice for the water bottles. He helped us whenever we had a request, and kept our cabin well supplied with towel animals. The cabin was spacious enough for the two of us. We had plenty of closet space, and the bathroom was spacious too.

Sailing out of New York was fantastic. We went first to the Spa and Sky decks, but these were pretty full. Then we decided to go to deck 7 in front of the ship. Thanks to all who mentioned the "secret" doors. They were easy to find and not secret at all. The front decks were not full at all, and we could see ahead without having to crank our necks and look over other people. We could also see the pilot through the bridge windows, looking at the course and making adjustments from time to time. Read more