Background Information We are a family of three (two adults and one 5 year old daughter). Last year, we took our first cruise on RCL's Adventure of the Seas. While we loved many aspects of this cruise, the food was so horrible that I refused to cruise with them again. We decided to find another cruise line this year that offered a good children's program and hopefully) better food. Pre-Cruise We arrived a day early and stayed at the Westin Diplomat Country Club. I got a great deal on Hotwire for this hotel and would highly recommend it. It's a beautiful property with a great spa and pool area. Also, within walking distance is a huge shopping center with many restaurants and other services.

Embarkation We arrived to the port about 1:30. I found the porters at dockside to be a little too forward. The porter actually held out his hand and ASKED for his tip and he still wasn't done unloading our luggage! Hello, we're from New Jersey we understand the whole tipping thing, but at least wait until you're done completing your service first! The embarkation was somewhat less smooth than our embarkation on the RCL line. It seemed more haphazard but maybe it's a difference in the ports.

Our Cabin The cabin I chose for this cruise was an obstructed-view room. Last year, I wanted a balcony, but to be honest, they make me nervous (especially with a child), so this time I chose a room without a balcony. Our cabin was really nice and our view was fine. The bed was quite comfortable. I only saw two minor problems. First, they had too much stuff in the closets (e.g. life jackets, shelves, etc.) that took up space in all the closets. Therefore, my gowns had to be sort of folded at the bottom. Also, I think they could have offered more wall hooks to hang stuff up on. Read more