We did a lot of research as both my wife and I haven't cruised for at least 20 years as so much has changed. We wanted to make sure we saw the new features so were looking for a newer ship. This ship had so much to offer with the zipline, rock climbing wall, water slides, basketball court, numerous pools and hot tubs as well as being a new ship. We watched a number of videos and attempted to create a packing list of what we thought we needed which were very helpful. The only two things we missed was Aloe (had to pick some up in Puerto Rico) and a package of straws. We didn't realize they use paper straws so attempting to drink a frozen drink from a paper straw is a frustrating experience. We'll make sure to pack some straws the next time.

For the on-boarding process I thought it was absolutely fantastic, granted I don't have experience with other cruise lines but I couldn't have pictured this going any smoother. We parked in the parking garage at terminal A, mostly because this was our first time in the area and knew we were going to pay a premium for it. We got to the terminal at about 10am mostly because we were excited and couldn't wait any longer to get there. Our boarding time was slated for 12pm. Once we parked someone came right over and took our bags away (we had the tags already on them). Then it was just us and the carry on bags which was simple to navigate. We entered the terminal and there was always an agent telling us where to go next. We walked straight into the security area with no wait at all. Certainly not like an airport. Then entered the waiting area. Once they started calling groups (key members, layers of loyalty members, etc...) we were in the first group they called and they called a bunch of groups right after each other so people could enter the ship pretty quickly. We were on the ship by 11:30.

We knew not to go to the windjammer as it would be packed so instead went to the boardwalk and got a couple hot dogs and started to explore this beautiful ship. The rooms were available at 1pm right on the dot so certainly a well organized machine they have going on here. We immediately unpacked as our luggage was there, something else we learned from videos. I tried to find a room with bunk beds for the kids but I couldn't find one in the balcony area. They may exist but I just couldn't find one. So we had a couch with a pullout for my son. It was fine except in the mornings you can't make it to the balcony without stepping on the bed waking him up. Magnets work great on the walls but use the rare earth magnets. I had a combination of cheap magnet hooks as well as rare earth ones and there was a significant difference. The dry erase board was also a big winner as we could leave notes for each other when we left and where we were going. The bathroom was fine and there was enough room for one person and on occasion we had a couple people in there but not for long. Standard balcony size is good. Didn't need any more space out there and the chairs were comfortable. Read more