I was told that Royal Caribbean was rated highest among the cruise lines. They certainly did not disappoint. We sailed on the Vision of the Seas for 7 nights to the Western Caribbean and had an excellent time. This was our first cruise and although we did a lot of research and talked to a lot of friends who had cruised many times, you are never really prepared until you have sailed at least once.

First the port of Tampa could not have been easier to embark from. We traveled with another couple and drove to the garage right next to the port building. A 2 minute walk across the street where we were greeted by a friendly porter who took all the bags loaded them on a cart and left us to proceed with our carry-on bags to the port officials. We were greeted cheerfully, asked for our documentation and directed up an escalator by yet another friendly attendant to security, We went through the security and were asked to complete a health form which took about one minute then proceeded to the check-in desk with our passports. Again, no troubles and we quickly made it to the waiting area where after 20 minutes they began boarding and our group was called.

Once we got on the ship we could not believe how smoothly the process was. I will not go into every detail but I will give the summary like this, the ship was nicely appointed and clean. Everyone and I mean everyone in the crew that we interacted with was friendly and cordial. When we had questions they were helpful. The facilities were nice and the size of the ship was not overwhelming. At no time did the ship feel too crowded either. There was plenty of space to not feel like you were one of 2000 sardines in a can. Read more