EMBARKATION: I stayed at a Hilton the night before the cruise and took the hotel shuttle to the cruise port in Bayonne. We arrived at the port around 10:45 to sit in a 45 minute line, 3 lanes wide. When the bus finally find a place to park, we had to sit another 30 minutes until enough port staff was available to unload the baggage. Once all the luggage was unloaded onto carts, we were allowed to leave the bus, and were told to now FIND our luggage on the numerous carts and check to see that they were properly tagged. This seemed very strange. If a bag was not tagged properly, why wasn't it set aside during the unloading process? It was onerous to try and find your luggage under mounds of other bags, and many had to have the luggage handlers pull bags off the cart in order to see if their tags were still on, since they were turned around and hidden from view. Finally, we were allowed to enter the hall for security. This was another enormous line (unless you had one of the suites, which had a much smaller line). There were no allowances for emerald or diamond members to get in a shorter line. Once through security, there were numerous, and confusing lines in order to check in which was required, even if you checked in on line. Finally nearly an hour later, you boarded the ship. The rooms would not be ready until 1, which was no problem since there was so much time spent during the check in process. The Windjammer Cafe on 14 is very crowded, and there are crowds at the elevator, so it is better to go to Two70 on Deck 5 and get something to eat, and look at the view from the large windows on the aft of the ship.

CABIN: My cabin was 7278. Do NOT book this cabin. Move higher. When I booked the cruise, I was assured that this was an "unobstructed" view cabin on the 7th floor. I like being closer to water in order to sit on my deck and view and listen to the waves as the ship cruises. I knew that the lifeboats were on deck 6, but I was NOT told that they jutted out, over the deck of 6, so that when you are sitting on Deck 7 all you can see beneath your balcony rail is a giant orange lifeboat, and to your right, and huge metal post blocking your view and ruining sail away pictures. Any and all pictures must be taken above the deck railing, and/or be able to crop out anything below and to the side of the deck railing view. No views of the running water along the side of the ship...everything is ruined by the giant orange blob within your deck view.

This room is an "ocean view balcony", 7 D, and is small. There are 2 slivers of an end table on either side of the bed, a small couch, and no table near the couch to put your drink. Read more