While others probably complained about their cruise being too short, due to hurricanes...let me be the first to say that mine was too long. Of course, being that the safety of the crew and passengers is #1, I fully understand the additional 2 days and did enjoy certain parts of it.
EMBARKATION: Having cruise from Port Canaveral many times, I knew what was expected as far as the length of time required to get through the numerous stations, but nothing prepared me for this. There was a delay in the debarkation of the returning ship, that delayed us coming aboard. Friends that had arrived earlier went through the check in process fairly quickly, but stood in the entranceway to the ship for over 2 hours, with no AC. There were people sitting and laying across their carryons in the long hallway, which we could see from our very long line in the main area. Once we were checked in, we went through 2 more lines to get S&S and then to have our cards looked at. I am not sure what the second check was for as we had received our cards just a few moments before. Of course, since we were not told to have them out for the ladies, numerous people had put them up, causing the line to back up further. Instead of the normal check in of 1 hour, it took us almost 3 to get on the ship.
THE SHIP: First off, let me say that the ship is beautiful. The color scheme is very tasteful and not bright green like the Victory. Also since I was on the Victory last October, I knew the layout, thus keeping myself from being totally confused. The dining rooms are Gold and Platinum and even with the bold colors, they turned out really nice. All of the lounges are fantastic, even the Cinn-a-Bar that is bright red. I was very impressed.