There were 9 of us in total, as we were on holiday with friends and there children (early twenties). After a 2 week stay in Orlando, we drove to Miami in the morning (3.5 hours with a stop, via the Florida Turnpike).

We arrived at 11.30, parked the mini van at the port($140 dollars for the week,and within an hour we were called for check in (smooth and easy, although as 1st time cruisers without experienced friends to guide us we would have struggled). NOTE; there were 2 toilets at the port with a 30 min wait, so bear this in mind!

On boarding the ship, we headed straight to Lido and found a base. Fun sail away atmosphere, with music and dancing. We purchased soft drinks passes ($38 dollars per adult) straight away, although on reflection we didn't need 1 each as it would have been easy (and cheaper) to share 1 between 2 and get drinks for each other. After a quick bite to eat in Rosie's Lido (buffet) we looked around the ship (took is 2 hours to look at everyhting), sunbathed with a bucket of bud lite ($22.50) and at 16.00pm we were called for the muster drill. At 5pm we set off - the atmosphere and views of Miami were excellent and we loved sailing past the mansions at Star Island and waving to the people who had driven to the port. It was 6pm before Miami was fading away behind us, so we headed for our cabin to unpack and get ready for dinner. Read more