Some of our immediate family had previously been on a few cruises, and invited my wife and I to join them this time around. We were very reluctant, never having left the country before OR taken a cruise, but agreed to go and celebrate our 25th anniversary at sea. But we didn't see ourselves as "cruise people", whatever that is, and weren't sure we'd enjoy the trip. We were wrong.

Our cruise left from Miami, FLA, with stops at Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Nassau in The Bahamas. We were originally schedule to dock in the Caymen Islands, but the itinerary was changed due to COVID a few months before departing.

The port in Miami was well marked as to where to go, which entrances to use, and which lines to stand in. The employees directing foot traffic were rather rude and pushy, hurrying us along unnecessarily and barking at us because it took longer than a few seconds to pull our paperwork out of our pockets. These same people also made returning uncomfortable for the same reasons (when boarding the shuttle back to the airport). I don't know that these people were really employees of the cruise line however; every crew member we met aboard the ship had exactly the opposite attitude, and were genuine friendly and helpful. Read more