In September 2009 I was excited to book a cruise for my family. I had been cruising with my sister for many years. My husband went on one cruise. I had taken the eldest of my 3 granddaughters with me once. My son, his wife and 4 and 7 year old daughters; my daughter had never cruised. I had 8 booked in 3 staterooms.In January my husband decided not to go. So I moved my daughter and granddaughter into my stateroom. Now we were 7. Arrived in Miami about 12:30PM on Friday July 23. Took a van from MIA to the Bayside Marriott, where we had reservations. The hotel is just completing a multi-million dolllar renovation. We had 2 comfortable rooms on the eleventh floor. The hotel obliged in loaning me a wheelchair. We took a van to the Marketplace to shop and have dinner at Bubba Gumps. One granddaughter is on a gluten free diet. Bubba Gumps has that menu.

Before leaving home I had contacted Family Rentals in Miami to rent a scooter for the cruise. While en route from the hotel, by van, I called the rental company. Upon arrival at Terminal B out luggage was unloaded and put onto carts. As we approached the entrance of the terminal the man was there with my scooter.

Embarkation went smoothly. Before we knew it we were in the Garden Cafe for lunch. The excitement of the little girls was something to behold. The 7 year old returned to the table by herself with a bowl of ice cream and exclaimed"I asked the man for chocolate and strawberry and he "GAVE" it to me". After lunch we explored deck 15. The girls changed to go swimming. Around 2:00PM our rooms were ready. My daughter went to the room ahead of me. As I was parking my scooter in the hallway, she called out to me to hurry in. As I came into the room, the first thing I saw was balloons on the ceiling. Then there it was---my sister, her husband and grandson and my other sister! All standing in my room. I was speechless. I had spoken to each of them from the hotel in the morning. One lives in FL and the other in NM. They told me their "plans" for the weekend and wished me a good trip. What a surprise !There were tears all around. So now we were 11. My sister was in room 11279. My nephew and my other sister each had studio rooms. We proceeded to go there to check out their rooms. WOW what a neat concept! The rooms are compact with all the necessary accouterments and storage galore. One can change the lighting to suit the mood. The studios have their own living room with games, drinks,etc. They are great for single travelers ;without the single supplement. Read more