Pre-cruise Hotel was Fairfield Inn and Suites-Tampa Fairgrounds and Casino. It was very clean and a perfect choice for a pre or post cruise stay. It had free breakfast, free shuttle to and from the cruise terminal and other nearby points (cruise terminal was about 15 minutes away). Make sure to sign up for a shuttle time when you check in (we were on the 11 AM shuttle). It was a very quiet location and the staff was wonderful. If you want lots of stuff around the hotel to do though, this location was not the one for that. We drove to dinner at Maggiano's Italian Restaurant at the Westshore Mall. Had a short wait to sit on the patio and had wonderful food!

Embarkation--We got to the terminal at about 11:15. The porters were helpful and surprisingly non-aggressive. The terminal staff was very nice. An older gentleman working outside the terminal doors saw us in the regular line with our 3 year old son and let us go in the VIP line to get in the building. Once we got in, they were basically doing open boarding on the ship. Minus a short delay due to a difficulty with the computer scanning my passport, we got through in lightning speed. Fastest time ever...start to finish, it took a grand total of 25 minutes. Not sure if it was the Christmas spirit or what, but everyone from staff to passengers were incredibly kind and friendly.

First day--walked on and had a quick bite of lunch. My husband and I had Chinese, which was very good. We checked out the ship a bit and headed to see if our cabin was ready, and it was (at 1:15). We were in cabin 5179. It is an obstructed view balcony. We paid less for it that it cost for an oceanview. If you want a good deal, it's a good cabin. If you look down, you see a lifeboat. If you look out, you see water. It's important if you book one of these to choose the right cabin though. The first 3-4 lifeboats come up much higher and would obstruct your view more. We would definitely book this cabin again for a 2nd cruise in one year (or maybe even our summer cruise if the other balcony cabins were too high). Read more