I love reading trip reports before a trip so I thought this might be helpful to some of you. This trip was my husband and I and our 8 year old son, Austin. We have taken two Carnival and one Celebrity cruises prior to this trip on the wonderful Navigator!
We started our vacation on Saturday, March 6, 2004 with a 4:15 AM alarm. We were at the airport at 5:40 (the recommended two hours early). There was the longest line for Sun Country Airlines that I have ever seen. As time crept along, everyone on our flight that was still in line was called to the front of the line so we wouldn't miss our flight. We were assigned seats in the back of the plane. We spoke to other travelers that were at the front of the plane. They arrived after 6:00 and used curbside check in; they didn't have to stand in the long lines.
Our flight arrived on time in Miami. There were plenty of representatives from Hobbit Travel (our tour company) waiting to direct us to our transportation bus. After waiting for all the travelers to arrive we were underway to the port. The Royal Caribbean check in was smooth, but we waited in line for at least 30 minutes. You checked in by cabin level. We were checked in and on the ship by 2:15. Austin was so excited to get on the ship; he kept asking tons of questions. We were in cabin 9658; ninth floor, aft and port side. The room was of standard size for cruise ships and the balcony was big enough for two chairs and a small table. The balcony felt private, as you couldn't see through to the adjoining balconies (but the doors could be opened if you wanted). The views while sitting on a chair on the balcony were wonderful and unobstructed. We had a snack at the Windjammer after exploring the ship a bit. I really liked the tortilla roll up sandwiches; they hit the spot after a long day of traveling.