Booking: Be patient when booking if you have missed the early saver deals but beware that the benefits of that patience (we got $150 onboard credit) is sometimes counteracted with a downside (early seating for dinner was already all booked so we had late seating at 8:15 PM).
Embarkation: We had no problems - arrived at New Orleans Port around 11:30 (lots of traffic!) and were greeted with super happy staff checking our luggage curbside and telling us right where to go to speed up the process. The entire time from drop off, to security, to check in, and through the line to the ship took approximately 30 minutes. They are very organized to say the least!
Balcony Room: We loved our room. It was equivalent in size to any normal hotel room. We had a full size couch, coffee table, bed, TV, counter, 3 large closets (take extra hangers if you need one that has slots for fancy dresses), and a fairly large bathroom complete with shelves, counter, potty and a big shower. The balcony was also sizable and we enjoyed going out there to watch the fish jumping as the ship was sailing. Sunsets were beautiful there and it was a nice quiet get away for us.
good location, balcony view is not obstructed at all, was a bit rocky as we were toward the front of the ship, clean room.