The last time my husband and I cruised was over 20 years ago. Boy, has cruising changed a lot! Embarkation was very good. My husband pulled up to the port shortly after 11 am and we all got out of the car and unloaded all the luggage. A worker came over and immediately loaded our stuff up on the cart and I tipped him. My husband pulled away and parked the car. (parking $112 per week) We went inside the building to check in. I brought lanyard necklaces that the kids and I beaded at home to hang our room keys on. The guests services desk on deck 7 punched a hole in our key card for us. It was convenient wearing our key cards around our necks. (plus our pretty beaded necklaces that we made looked nice) Embarkation process went smoothly and we were eating at the buffet by 11:30.

Our cabin was an inside cabin on deck 8. Very nice. The 4 of us were comfortable. I had the steward empty the refrigerator and we filled it with bottled water that we brought from home. We carried on a case that was well labeled with our name and cabin number and it arrived safely to our cabin with no problems. The ship water is excellent to drink. We wanted the water bottles for our excursions. Bathroom was a good size. I brought a fan, electrical power strip, and a night light for the cabin that was very helpful. I also brought a clear plastic over the door shoe holder that I hung on the bathroom door. It has 24 clear pockets that held all our toiletries and stuff. That helped the cabin not to be cluttered with junk. Beds were comfortable. Room was always freshened up when we were away.

The food was excellent. We went to the buffet for breakfast and lunch and to the dining room at night. The buffet was delicious. A nice variety. We loved it! We ate dinner at the Venetian every night except the last night we ate at the Aqua. Food and service were excellent. We also had a meal and snacks at the Blue Lagoon (24 hr) and the food and service were excellent. We didn't eat at any specialty restaurants. Read more