We booked this cruise well in advance after accidentally hearing about this once in a lifetime cruise with President Michael Bayley on their newest, biggest ship. It did not disappoint. We expected a great celebration and special events, but we did not envision that every day would be another surprise. Mr. Bayley was very accessible throughout the ship and conducted a question answer session that went for about two hours in a packed theatre. Drawings were held for quite fantastic prizes like free airfare and cruises, as well special logo merchandise commemorating this special cruise event. We even voted on the next years presidents cruise! Each night in our cabin we were surprised with a free gift such as logo caps, beach towels, fleece blankets and even a retro coupon book like used to be used instead of adding specials onto your Sea Pass card. These were all top quality gifts, nothing cheap here.

All of the crew seemed pretty excited about being part of this event and many additional crew who normally work shoreside were onboard as well. Pinnacle members were treated to a special luncheon on shore in San Juan at the historic former casino building, a private dinner at the Solarium Bistro, as well as a concert by Hall and Oates on the last night. This was followed by a really wonderful fireworks display for all from the private RCI island Coco Cay, while we remained docked there after sunset.

As if all these special events weren't enough, all of the regular entertainment was indeed super. Two ice shows, two aqua theatre shows, the production show "Flight" and the Broadway musical "Hairspray" were presented. The high divers and synchronized swimmers in the second aqua show were fantastic and the special effects in "Flight" were some I have never seen before on a cruise ship. This was one cruise where the event was the event. Read more