This was our first cruise and it was also our 30th Wedding Anniversary. We chose Royal Caribbean based on recommendations from friends who cruise often. We departed from Miami and left on Oct 24 2016 for a four night cruise to Nassau, Coco-Cay and Key West.

We opted to fly into Miami the night before and stayed at the Hampton Inn at Brickwell near the port. I often stay at Hampton Inns and this was the best one I have ever stayed at. They have a transfer service for $18.00 per person to the port.

At the port we found it easy to locate the appropriate line for our ship and the there were a number of RC staff on hand. We arrived at 10:30 am (11:00 am boarding time begins). While in line we met veteran "cruisers" and they offered great advice while we were waiting to go through security (1st step to boarding). The first thing we noticed is how little they packed compared to us :) Security screening was a breeze and we then went on to boarding process (check in and obtaining the RC Seapass). At this point we had our first minor hiccup. Our RC representative was an elderly male that was at times difficult to understand and left us unsure of our next step. Thankfully another couple who was next to us assisted us and helped fill in the gaps. Read more