GETTING THERE: We spent the night before the cruise in Miami so we were sure that we would not be at the mercy of a plane delay or cancellation. It also helped that I had to be there for a business meeting on Friday morning. Dropped my wife at the port with our luggage and went to give the rental car back at the Avis location on 2nd street in Miami. It was a great idea as the location, was only 5 minute cab ride from the port. However, the car died at a light 3 blocks from the return site and I had to wait for 45 minutes for a tow truck to come get the car. After this slight issue (and no good help from Avis I should note), I finally made it to the port.

EMBARKATION:We went thru check-in fairly fast (less than 10 minutes wait) and we were on the boat, just like that around 1 pm or so, in less than 30 minutes from the time I arrived at the port! We did get a glass of champagne when we walked on the boat and we made reservations for Le Bistro right away.

CABIN:We were able to go to our cabin shortly after, and it was not as small as I thought. We opted for an Ocean View cabin and we were on Deck 6, which was very quiet, a little out of the way but it felt almost like a private deck. Read more