My family of four (me - 38, wife - 35, son - 8, and son - 6) just returned from our July 29th sailing aboard the Enchantment of the Seas. A collection of my thoughts are captured below. This was the 4th cruise for my wife and me; the 3rd for our boys.

Pre-cruise and embarkation: We drove to Baltimore from Ft. Wayne, which was achievable in roughly 8.5 hours. I rather enjoy driving not only from a cost-saving perspective, but I just hate the hassles of flying anymore. We left home at mid-day on the 28th and arrived at our hotel just before 9:00 PM. We stayed at the BWI Sleep Inn, which has a "Stay and Fly" package that gives you a one-night stay, free parking for up to 14 days, and a shuttle to/from the cruise terminal, all for $119.00. The hotel was not in the greatest neighborhood but the place was clean, the accommodations were fine for our brief stay, and the shuttle service was efficient. It also offers free continental breakfast. Considering it would cost $135.00 just to park at the port for 9 days, this was a pretty good deal.

Embarkation went very smoothly. The hotel shuttle dropped us off about 10:30 AM and two porters were right there to collect our bags. We walked about 50 yards to the terminal building, filled out some quick health-related paperwork, and got in line. We were checked-in within 20 minutes of entering the terminal, then ushered to a waiting area as the ship was not yet ready for boarding. About 11:15 AM they began boarding the ship. We were sitting down for lunch in the Windjammer by 11:30 AM. Read more