A little background on myself: in my mid 30s, married with two children. I LOVE to travel and have been on 4 other cruises (this was my 5th). I have cruised with Carnival and RCCL. I go on vacation to enjoy myself, experience new things and to have fun! Not every vacation goes smoothly and yes there are always unexpected "bumps" in the road but you make the best of it, not let it ruin your ENTIRE vacation. I originally found out about this cruise through a family member who sailed in Feb. She and her family had a GREAT time. She said it was a great quick family getaway. I saw the pictures she took of the ship and her cabin and saw no signs of the horrible conditions previously reported on this board. This trip was our "Ladies Retreat". We were celebrating birthdays and cancer remission. Originally it was two of us booked in the room and the other two ladies decided to come along. We decided to share one cabin because of the cost (2 upper/2 lower). We had no issues with customer service when we booked the trip. They were always friendly and answered all of our questions. I did my research and budgeted for the fuel surcharge($18) and tips ($20 for the weekend) (which I am confused that so many people said they were "surprised" by when it is listed on the cruise line's website).

EMBARKATION

Very easy to get to the port (followed GPS directions). There is valet parking; it cost ($30). We walked over to the luggage check in desk; they asked our names and put room tags on them. There is a tip box and I put $1 in it. It looks like that's what everyone was putting in. The whole process took approx 45 minutes and were on board around 1:00pm. There was a desk area where you picked your dining. We chose the RIO the first night and the Crystal Dining Room the second. We dropped off our carryon bags in the room and headed upstairs to deck 9 for the lunch buffet. Now the buffet line was a little confusing and we couldn't understand why it was moving so slow. People took their time in deciding what they wanted. We also realized that there was another line on the other side of the buffet, but it wasn't moving any quicker. For lunch I ate the Paella (forgive me if I'm spelling it wrong) which was soo good. The coconut fried chicken was also good. The turkey wrap was ok, nothing WOW about it. Fruits were sweet. My friend said the Greek Salad was very good. There were of course burgers/hot dogs/fries and other selections. Read more