My mom wanted to do a family vacation and we thought a cruise would be a great way to do that. My mom (74), my brother (53), and his wife (54) went along with my wife (54) and me (55). It had been five years since our last cruise, ten years since my mom's only other cruise (HAL to Alaska), and this was the first cruise for my brother and his wife. My wife and I had been on five prior cruises, all on Royal Caribbean; one to Alaska and four to the Caribbean. We started planning this trip in December 2017. We learned later that we really should have planned it much further out. A lot has changed in five years and finding great deals three months out doesn't seem to be as common anymore.

My mom, my wife, and I live in South Carolina. My brother and his wife live in Arkansas. The South Carolina crew drove down the day before and shared a room at the Radisson. My brother and his wife flew in to Orlando (MCO) on cruise day morning and took a shuttle to the ship.

The Radisson was not our first choice. In the past, my wife and I had stayed at the Country Inn and Suites. The Country Inn and Suites was not taking reservations at the time we were booking, due to hurricane damage. Read more