We flew down to stay with our daughter in Sugar Land. We had two daughters with their spouses and one six year old granddaughter that went with us. We booked two balconies together and one inside guarantee which ended up being placed right across from us! We are both 59 and this was our 4th cruise.
Embarkation went well except for the fact that our one daughter has a Canadian birth certificate and they had to clear her through immigration. Everyone was very nice going through this process.
This was our first time being booked "aft" which had it's advantages and also dis-advantages. Advantages: We just walked up the stairs and was right in the buffet area. We also walked along the promenade (mostly from the casino!) and seen more of the events going on in the different areas and lounges which I had never paid attention to on past cruises. Disadvantage: We missed being placed in the other dining room where they have the dance floor in atrium, which we enjoyed before our late dining time. More movement of the ship. I didn't take the time to look at the photo's as much either. No, noise from the elevators never bothered us one bit!