Pre-Cruise: Arrived two days prior and stayed at the Hampton Inn on Stirling in Hollywood. If you are looking for elegance, don't stay here. If you are looking for value, it's perfect. It was clean and we had what I would call a 1-bdrm apartment with a kitchen. Services included: free shuttle to/from FLL, free shuttle to Cruise Terminal, free wi-fi, free parking and free hot breakfast. It is conveniently located within walking distance of stores and restaurants (both fast food and sit down). The hotel personnel were very friendly and accommodating.

Embarkation/Disembarkation: Embarkation took 5 minutes and we were headed up to the waiting lounge for boarding. We were walking onto the ship at 11:20 ready for our welcome Mimosa. We used the Express disembarkation carrying our own bags. It was the easiest, most organized process I have experienced on any cruise.

Stateroom: My initial reaction to the Stateroom was that it lacked storage space but was beautifully laid out. The flowers, fresh fruit and chilled champagne always add such special ambiance to the cabin. I think my storage perception was only because the layout was different than previous ships. I had everything stowed away neatly in no time. I did utilize the overhead cabinet for a few items. The bathroom was fabulous with loads of storage and a very clean and modern design. The shower was roomy, had a great showerhead and doors that actually close! We loved the floor to ceiling window/door to the verandah. The cabin felt very spacious. Our stateroom was always clean but the Room Stewards very fairly distant. While pleasant, neither seemed to be engaged with the passengers. The Concierge Class canapEs were a joke. You had to fill out a form each day and if you were not there, you didn't receive them. On previous cruises they simply bring them around the same time each day and leave them for your enjoyment prior to dinner. Read more