We were lucky to have good weather and calm seas for our sailaway on New Year's Eve. The ship was buzzing with excitement and the glitter and glamour began to emerge soon after sailaway. We had booked Anytime Dining and were enjoying a latte in the piazza when we noticed that everyone going into the dining room was dressed to the hilt. We scampered up to our cabin and put on our formal duds and joined the party. We were given party hats and horns as we entered the dining room and the the excitement was contagious. I had pheasant and my fiance had lobster. Both were very good. We lingered over champagne and dessert and joined the party again in the piazza. We stayed for the midnight balloon drop in the atrium and walked up the stairway to enjoy the horns and toasting all the way. We ended up on Lido deck with serpentine and dancing before returning to our cabin. We were right next to the pool, so we sat out on our balcony and enjoyed the party from there. I suppose I should mention that the Lido cabins near the pool are not the quietest, but we enjoyed the proximity to the pool and the pizza bar (excellent fresh pizza slices all day long).

The next morning, with bleary eyes and a Bloody Mary under our belts, we took the launch over to Princess Cay where Larry went surf fishing and I relaxed on the beach. We returned to the ship for lunch and a meeting with our wedding coordinator. Our wedding was scheduled for the next afternoon, so that evening we were busy getting ready and had pizza and wine on our balcony while we checked email and talked about the big day.

The wedding went off without a hitch. Captain Nash was elegant and invited us up to the bridge. The photographer took us around to some other lovely locations for photos, and everywhere we went, the other passengers applauded. I was really touched by how friendly people throughout the cruise. Read more