We were very fortunate that our 19-yr old daughter, 21-yr old son and his 21-yr old girlfriend all had the same week for spring break, despite the fact that they attend 3 different colleges. This afforded my wife & I the chance to take them on a major family cruise...we were not disappointed.

After a brutal winter in the northeast U.S., we were all ready for some sun & fun. I know that many recommend arriving to the departure city a day (or more early). While desirable, this is not always feasible. Since our daughter did not get home until Fri night, we were up until midnight packing (and forcing her and son's GF to reduce their gross tonnage). Up before dawn we set off on our 2-hr trip to BWI. Flying out of BWI on Air Tran on Sat, 3/6 was quite easy. We landed in MIA @ 11:30am. Two cabs took us and our luggage to POM for a flat rate of $24/cab plus tip. It's only a 15-20min trip and this was an easy way to go. Upon arriving at POM @ 12:15pm, we checked almost all out baggage curbside with an NCL baggage handler (more about this in a minute).

We encountered a short line outside the terminal building. An NCL employee handed out forms for each guest to complete prior to getting to the actual registration desk. These were the forms concerning recent illnesses. Given the attention paid to H1N1 and other viruses, people really didn't mind filling out this form. As we approached the registration desk, an NCL employee reminded everyone to have their e-docs available. Ah, our e-docs! Remember those bags we checked curbside? Yeah, those bags...the ones I put our e-docs in before we left Baltimore. With sheepish resignation I approached the registration desk and admitted that I didn't have our e-docs. No problem. The NCL agent took our passports; checked the computer; printed appropriate materials and sent us on our way. I don't recommend not having your e-docs, but don't panic if you should be like me! Read more