This cruise was the first cruise with my daughters. They are 3 years and 1 year old.

Arrival/embarkation: We drove from home which was about a 4 hour drive. Not too bad and certainly better than flying such a short distance. We left home with plenty of time and at that point my only worry was traffic from the Raven's home football game that day. As we got closer, it was already after kick off so the traffic from the game was a non issue. We did encounter total and horrific gridlock traffic 1/2 mile away from the port parking lot. Apparently, the ship encountered rough seas coming back to port and was late getting in. The parking lot was closed to the arriving cruisers until the exiting cruiser could leave. We sat, parked, in the road for 3 hours all the while having the ship in out sights - 1/2 mile away! Once the gates were opened, it was total chaos. The port employees has no idea what they were doing. You could tell they were totally overwhelmed. We eventually dropped the luggage off and parked then headed to the security.

Security/check in: Somehow we arrived to port early before the traffic. We ended up towards the end of the people boarding the ship so we were in the end of the line. Since we had 2 young children, we purchased the "FASTER TO THE FUN" pass. Please note, this only gets you moving "faster" after the initial 2 lines. The first line checks you passport against your ticket then it goes in to security screening. Only after security does the faster to the fun get you in the shorter line. This is where you get your sail and sign cards. Read more