My sister and her hubby had chosen this cruise over a year ago and we thought it would be fun to join them for the 10 days. Our mom had passed in November and this was a way of celebrating her life. She loved cruising and margaritas so we signed up for the trip. We left our east coast Florida home on the 17th and spent the night in Ybor city about 3 miles from the cruise terminal. We chose pre-paid parking and arrived early for our 11:30 check-in. That was rendered moot when the coast guard decided to do a no notice inspection. After standing outside for over 90 minutes, we finally boarded and settled in. This cruise ship was a smaller RC ship since we were transiting under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge which limits which ship will clear it. I loved this trip as it was relaxing and fun as well.

Our Cruise Director, Jeff Arpin (i think that was his name) was one of the most fun and accessible I have ever met. He was personable and very friendly and always seemed to be smiling. He always had fun announcing the evening entertainment and making important announcements especially for the excursions the next day.

The entertainment was second to none as this cruise featured the RC dancers and band. The shows the RC dancers put on was amazing and in my wife's opinion as good as many Broadway shows. The comdians, magician and singers were amazing. A special shout out to Derek Floyd for his outstanding performances. I think he did four shows and I missed NONE of them. The magician, Bill Cook, was a tremendous up close magician. He even had me up on stage for the disappearing egg in the bag trick and I'm still mystified about how he did it! (I know, it's MAGIC!!!) I missed the gymnast and was told by my dinner mates it was something to see, especially since the ship was rocking and rolling that night. Finally, comedian Gary Caouette put on two very funny shows, one G rated, the other not! Gary's humor was right up my alley as he was so animated and into the shows. Read more