This was a first cruise for myself and my family (husband, son-8, son-5, daughter-3). We traveled with friends of ours who also had two children (daughter-11, son-8). It was their first cruise also. After spending much time cruising these boards, I was very excited for this trip. This trip was all I thought it would be and more. We showed up at the pier at approx. 11:00 a.m. and were on the ship within 1 hour. We had no trouble finding our cabin as there were people stationed on every floor directing you. We had adjoining cabins (10588 and 10590) which we thoroughly enjoyed. Our steward opened up the door adjoining the balconies giving our family of 5 more than enough room to enjoy the view.

At first we were disappointed to find out that we wouldn't be visiting the private island due to hurricane damage. We usually go to Disney World every year at this time and were using this vacation just to relax and enjoy our family. No rushing around. The private island would have been exactly what we wanted to do. We stayed on the ship at Port Canaveral and thoroughly enjoyed having the run of the ship, pools, and no difficulty finding chairs near the pools. In Miami we decided to take a cab to South Beach. The beach was absolutely beautiful, but the rest I could have done without. Waking up in Nassau was a nice surprise. Foolishly, we decided to take the water taxi over to the beach. The ride was pleasant enough, but we listened to the tour guide and followed the walkway all the way around (instead of walking through the Atlantis) and ended up on a path which took you through the woods where all the locals were waiting to barrage you with beach chair rentals, boat rentals, parasailing, etc. They actually walked along the beach with you hounding you for your business. This was not relaxing at all. One couple walking with their infant actually were scared and asked if they could walk with us through these woods. We then walked up to the Atlantis, being followed all the way. Finally, my husband got mad and asked one guy to please leave us alone and he got nasty with my husband, arguing that this was his job. Unbelievable. I honestly felt that these people just wanted to get their hands in our pocket. If you go to Nassau to do the beach, I would take an excursion next time. Better yet, stay on the ship or just visit the shops near the dock.

Back to the ship. I was very impressed with the cleanliness of the ship. Everyone on the ship was so nice and helpful. I never had a bad meal, even at the Garden Cafe. The food was delicious! I think Aqua and Cagneys were my favorite. We also loved the poolside barbecue. If I had any complaint at all, it would be the constant pushing of drinks by the pool. It was constant and could become annoying. Other than that, I loved it all. I especially enjoyed travelling with people from the tri-state area. I find that sometimes southerners don't like New Yorkers, but that's a whole other story. Sailing with people from this area made it a very friendly experience and we met some super people on this trip. Read more