We chose this cruise to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary. We sailed out of Mobile, AL since being that is only 1.5 hours away from our home. This was our first cruise (and obviously my first review) so we didn't really know what to expect, even though we have family/friends who have sailed numerous times on this same ship. First, embarkation was quick and painless. Port was readily accessible. Instead of paying for parking we had my brother drop us off which took a grand total of 5 minutes. Porters are there ready to take your bags if you like. However, if you are getting on the ship later than 1pm, I wouldn't bother and just take them to the room yourselves, if you are able, since your room will be ready at 1:30. If you arrive at your assigned time, from terminal to ship should only take about 45 minutes. (Or that was the case with us). Our cabin was U230 in the aft of the ship. The sea was a little choppy on day 2 of our cruise due to some thunderstorms but it was not bad enough to keep us up at night. Other than that, this room rode smoothly. The only drawback is we did get SOME engine noise in our room, but again not enough to keep us up or drown out the tv. It was more like the low rumbling of a ceiling fan. (We took Bonine everyday, so neither of us got sea sick). The cabin was clean and well kept by our stewardess, Mary (who also got us a photoshop gift card and spa gift card in observance of our anniversary) The bed and room temperature were comfortable. You are able to control a vent in which you can shut off your AC, but you have no control over the temperature. The bathroom is small but very functional. The buffet food on the lido deck was average. About what you'd expect from a Golden Corral perhaps.(It also smells like one) Neither of us are crazy about buffets. We chose anytime dining, which I would highly recommend. We were always seated at a table for two. The tables were in close proximity to one another so it was kind of cramped but not unbearable. (given that there were 2600 passengers on board it was also understandable). The Jubilee dining staff were attentive, polite, and even recognized our anniversary by giving us a complimentary mini cake and singing to us which meant a lot to us. The food in the main dining rooms was very good. We gave it about an 8/10. GUYS BURGER JOINT IS AWESOME. Huge burgers with an even bigger toppings bar. There were plenty of places to sit by the pool or on the upper deck, just be mindful that some of those places are extremely windy and are full by 9:30ish. The Serenity deck is ideal (Ages 21 and up only allowed on this deck) but get there early, around 8ish, to reserve a seat. Stand up comics were great, saw two shows and enjoyed them. The live shows, i.e. singing and dancing etc., left MUCH to be desired. They performed a Motown show, which was just ok and "country" show which was, meh. We had one port of call, Cozumel. Got on and off the ship quickly and thoroughly enjoyed the shops there. We also highly recommend Nacho Cocom beach club (55$ per person, all you can eat and drink private quiet relaxing beach). Its only about a 10 minute cab ride which cost about 34 bucks round trip. A very safe port of call, everyone speaks English and no one is jumping out at you trying to get you to buy junk you don't want. Just nod and say no thank you and they move on. Debarkation was quick and painless as well. They call you off by deck. From the time we were called until we were off the ship and in our parents car was about 45 minutes maybe. Overall, the ship is old and does need some TLC but it was always clean. I know it was clean because I got up early every morning around 5:30am and someone was always scrubbing something.

In summary - Food 7/10, Service and Cabin 9/10, Embarkation and Debarkation 10/10, Entertainment 5/10, Port of Call 10/10.

P.s. - Coffee everywhere else but the bistro/coffee bar on the 9th floor is not good. Equivalent to gas station coffee. Bad gas station coffee.