Due to work constraints, we had to fly the morning of the cruise. Never done that before, but had no problems since it was the first flight of the day to Miami from our airport. Arrived in Miami at 9:50 and was checked in at the cruise terminal by 10:30 where we were in holding group 2. Before completing check-in, you are asked to complete a short questionnaire on your current health status to determine if you are a risk for illness. We were on the boat between 11 and 11:30. The boat seemed to be in great shape. Loved the carpet in the hallways. The fish ALWAYS swim towards the front of the ship....saved us a few times.

Our room on the Norway Deck appeared to be ready as the hallway doors leading to the staterooms were open and not closed off like they are on other cruiselines we have experienced, and our stateroom door was shut while many of the other stateroom doors were open while they finished the last of the set-up. So, after eating lunch on the Lido deck, we went to our room and dropped off our totes. I went exploring on the ship and basking in the sun since we had so little of it this summer. However, my husband had been a Guardian on the Central Missouri Honor Flight two days before, taking WWII veterans to Washington DC which lasted almost 24 hours from start to finish, so he was wiped out as he had not had any sleep and decided to stay in the room and get some much needed and deserved sleep. A bit later he was asked to vacate the room. Not a biggie, but the room steward told him that the room was ready for occupancy, but because of liquor issues, etc., they couldn't let him in the room yet. He went to a lounge and tried to rest there. Around 1:30 or 2:00 they made the announcement that the rooms were ready. Cabin was EXTREMELY SMALL and the showers even smaller. But they were sufficient.

The OJ and Champagne upon entering the ship was a nice touch. The lunch buffet instantly caught my eye with Prime Rib. YUMMO!!! There were a few other items I enjoyed, but not a lot. And I am not a picky eater. We checked the buffet food out a few times during the cruise and decided we would eat in the dining room every night. The Palace Dining Room was good. The food was fixed to our liking and the wait staff was very efficient and didn't bat an eye when the lady at the table next to us ordered EVERY DESSERT on the menu. The setup of the buffet is a bit awkward at the least. When you are going through the line, it will continue as a flip side to what you have already been through. Rather than having the desserts separate, and in a different location, the desserts are like the breaking point where the buffets meet. The Longboard Bar and Grill was okay. I thought the bar service in there was a bit slow. My husband ordered Pepperoni Pizza from room service and left half on the plate as it was not very good. There really wasn't a big variety of food. When we sailed on Princess to Alaska in 2004, the choices were endless. We have yet to find another buffet up to the quality it was on the Sun Princess. Read more