We drove down from Mass 2 nights early to spend the day in DC before the cruise. We spent the night before the cruise at the Country Inn near the airport. The morning of the cruise we had a nice breakfast, finished getting our bags ready and headed to the port. We arrived at the port at 11:00, they took our bags, we paid for parking, walk over to the building to check in, sat for a few minutes waiting to board, boarding started shortly and we were on the ship by about 11:45. We were sent to the lido deck for lunch and on the way, the first thing you notice is the decor of the ship. It is very interesting for sure. Seemed a little strange for a ship with lots of children but no matter, made for an interesting week. We enjoyed lunch and headed over to the pool area to sit and wait for the rooms to open up. While waiting the kids went off exploring etc. The signed said that it would be 3:30 before we could get to the rooms but I believe we were in them by about 2:30 or so. When we got to our room, the bags were there already so we put everything away and were ready to go well before the safety drill. As for the safety drill, it sure is nice doing it without the life jackets now. We sat on the balcony as we pulled away and then got ready for dinner. There were 6 of us and we had a table for 6 at a window which was nice. Dinner and all the food was good, we always found something that we liked. At the beginning of the week, our waiter, Richard, would not serve multiple items at one time ie surf and turf on the first night at sea, he brought the lobster and when done he brought the prime rib. Also he brought dinners at different times so either the food would be cold when all the meals were there or someone would be done when other meals arrived. We were not sure if this was him or the kitchen but we spoke to the top dag and the rest of the week everything was delivered at the same time. Food on the lido was good all week, the omelets in the morning were good, the ice cream was great as was the pizza at 1 in the morning.Entertainment was good and fun. I give the dancers credit to do what they do on a moving ship. Some people seem to think they are seeing a Broadway show, would like to see Broadway shows if the stage was rocking LOL. They were enjoyable as was the other entertainment. The comedy was good and the game shows and other activities were good, my oldest won 3 ships on a stick during the week.All in all this was a great cruise that we all enjoyed. Reading the mixed reviews beforehand had us talking but we felt that for us, it would be great and it was. Getting off the ship was just as easy as getting on. Cannot wait to cruise again.