This was our first cruise where we were able to drive to the port and that worked out great: no sitting around airports, lugging cases through the metal detectors, having to throw out toiletries that are over 3 ounces, etc. We arrived on the day before sailing and stayed at the Hampton Inn Staten Island. This Hampton Inn and its sister property the Hilton Garden Inn have a deal where they allow you to park for the duration of the cruise for no fee if you stay at least one night. They also shuttled us to the cruise port (20 minutes away) and also picked us up on return. It was a great deal and avoided a lot of stress.

Although the Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne NJ is not glamorous (housed in an revamped warehouse), it was a very smooth and quick check in and the view of the Statue of Liberty and NYC are excellent.

This cruise has 2 1/2 days in Bermuda so you are on the ship a lot. There was a tremedous amount to do, however, not counting things such as the usual casino, pool activities and evening dances. Dr. Paul Davies, a physicist from the U. of Arizona, gave a series of one-hour talks on astronomy and beginning, middle and end of the universe. A former White House employee spoke on the history of the White House and its many famous guests. Plus, there was trivia, dance lessons. More often than not, we had more to do than time to do it. Absolutely no complaints there. The musicians were very good to excellent; the dancers, singers and comedian were about par. The pianist Salci was excellent and allowed the musicians to show off their talent. Read more