This was our first cruise and it was the most enjoyable vacation I have ever had.

We started out having to fly from Salt Lake City to Miami. Air travel is such a curse. We booked on our own, not through the cruise line and flew on American. Other than an hour and a half delay coming out of Chicago, things were pretty uneventful. Took a taxi to our hotel, the River Park Hotel in downtown Miami. We loved the river walk downtown and just sat out in the warm evening, watched the sun go down.

Sunday morning, the hotel had a shuttle to the port, it was $6 per person, so not a bad deal at all. Got on the ship, no big hassle there, thought it was much better than dealing with the TSA at the airport (complete nightmare there). Once on the ship, we had lunch on the Lido deck which was actually very good. Of the Lido buffets, I particularly liked the Taste of a Nation. Read more