Our first cruise was a great experience for all four of us. This cruise was my 13 year old son's idea, to celebrate 3,000 consecutive days of practice on his violin, and his 15 year old sister's practice on piano.

I looked at many cruise options, but the deal-maker was what might seem inconsequential to some: the rock-climbing wall on the Royal Caribbean ships. The next decisions were how long (5 days was max, since we were taking them out of school to do this) and where (Key West was my choice, Cozumel and Belize theirs). The choice kept coming back to the Enchantment of the Seas Western Caribbean itinerary.

Having nothing to compare this cruise with, we were dazzled by the food options and presentation, the quality of performers on the nightly shows, the beautiful surroundings on board. We booked, on the advice of our AAA travel agent, a stateroom with balcony, Deck 7, rear port side, and thoroughly enjoyed spending a quiet hour in the afternoon sipping a glass of wine, watching the waves, before the evening activities. Read more