First of all, we stayed at the Best Western Plus San Pedro on the Friday night before our cruise, and it was an excellent choice for comfort and convenience. I have reviewed the hotel over at tripadvisor.com if you are interested in more. And as an aside, we took Lyft from the airport to the hotel, and paid WAY less than our friends who took Uber. The hotel shuttle transported us to the port on Saturday, and the check-in was done quickly and efficiently.

We had a balcony stateroom on the Caribe level, and this is the first cruise where we have been that far back on the ship. We didn't mind the extra walking to get to the stateroom, but we definitely felt more vibration than when we have been mid-ship or closer to the front of the ship. It wasn't horrible, but I would try to avoid being back that far in the future. The stateroom was adequate, and our room was taken care of beyond our expectations by Maria.

We decided to try anytime dining as we haven't ever done that before. It worked out well, and it was nice to not be tied into someone else's timetable. We had minimal waits for a table. We only attended one of the formal nights, and it was very much spoiled by a screaming toddler at the next table. We ate at the Crown Grill the last night to celebrate my husband's birthday, and the food and service were excellent. The entertainment on board was good, and we attended several of the shows. Read more