I’ve been cruising most of my life. My first cruise was on Royal Caribbean’s Nordic Prince back in 1983 or 84 (I was about 9). That first experience left my family so elated that we continued to cruise for the next 5 years in a row to the Caribbean on Christmas/New Year Cruises. I’ve been cruising on and off ever since.

Cruises have come a long way since then. I took my first Oasis class mega ship last October on The Allure of the Seas which was an incredible experience minus the ports of call.

I was invited to go on the Symphony of the Seas by the casino marketing dept. I was offered a free Ocean View Balcony Stateroom, which I upgraded to a Jr Suite for very very little money. Then of course I added the Deluxe Bev / Internet Packages which cost $1k, and before I knew it I was booked on the Symphony’s maiden voyage. Read more