My wife and I choose this cruise to celebrate my 64th birthday. It was my first cruise so I was very excited to get underway. We embarked from Galveston, which was a great city, after having a nice meal at the Mediterranean Restaurant. Though the lines were long, they moved quickly and we met some nice people along the way. When we got on the ship, we were met by our cabin person, Damaso, who was very friendly and extremely helpful. We had a oceanview stateroom with a balcony and it was very nice. Even though it wasn't large, it was large enough for us and we were very satisfy with it. When we were first pulling off, I went on the balcony and to my surprise, I spotted dolphins playing along side the ship. That was amazing! The 2 hour time difference was something we had to get use to (we are Californians) but as tired as we were, it was easy. The only real issue we had with our room was that the bed was a little too soft but I must admit, we didn't complain so it may have been something they could have corrected.

Our first day was a cruise day. so we had the chance to explore the ship and what an awesome ship it was. My wife got up early and went to the gym, which had everything including classes, for which she took part. We had breakfast in the main dining room and the service was first class and the food great. After experiencing the Royal Promenade, we had lunch in the Windjammer and that turned out to be one of our favorite parts of the ship. The food was wonderful, the variety never-ending and the service unexpectedly attentive. Our first event was the Mystery Dinner Theater. We had so much fun! The performers were on the money and the show very entertaining. We went from the small theater to Giovanni's Table, a wonderful Italian restaurant, for a great meal and up close contact with the performers. I recommend this event to anyone taking this cruise. Just great!

Our first port of call was Cozumel. We were welcomed by great weather. Our first excursion was aboard a submersible to the coral reef. Amazing views though there weren't many fish and it wasn't as colorful as I expected. But the people were nice and it was a lot of fun. We then took a cab to the shopping district, where we made a few purchases and found the prices great. We then decided to go off the beaten path to a restaurant recommended by the locals. And though it was quite a cab ride, we were treated to some of the best seafood that we experienced on our trip. The food was great, the people kind (though not many of them spoke English) and the prices unbelievable. Our experience in Cozumel was wonderful and something I will never forget. Back on the ship, we had our first dinner in the main dining room. We also ad a pre-arranged seat and met a nice couple from Texas. They were frequent travelers and gave us a lot of suggestions that really came in handy. But unfortunately, our waiter left a little to be desired. He was a little aloof and it kind of put us off. We tried it one more night then decided that we'd eat in the Windjammer for the rest of the vacation. Read more