This was my 3rd with RCC. This was a birthday cruise for my wife and I. She turned 50 on 10/21 and me 46 on 10/24. First time on vacation with just us. Best time ever. We flew Spirit from Myrtle Beach to Ft Lauderdale...early flight left 8am arrived 930 am...no prob meeting the ship. Used Jiffy Jeff shuttle...recommend him highly..he contacted us told us where to meet and we were on our way. There were others on board and he made a couple stops( winn dixie so we could get some champagne..gas...other guests) and we were onto Port Miami. Part tour..Jeff shared some info on areas we passed thru, good trivia stuff.

When we arrived at port we gave our bags to the porters, tipped them(make sure you do!) and headed into the terminal. Time was around 1230-100. Lines were not that bad but we were on vacation so no need to be in a hurry. Check-in very smooth, then down the corridor, a couple pictures and we were on-board. My wife got the soda pass($28 plus souvenir cup) and I got us 2 cocktails. We then checked out our cabin on deck 7, ocean view kind of. It Was the jogging deck so we were back away from the water and had life boats around us. Wish our travel agent had mentioned this as we always had to keep curtains closed due to people walking by. May explain our great rate though. Was nice to be close to everything. Only a few decks down. Next we had lunch in the Windjammer cafe. I recommend eating breakfast and lunch there...self serve but chaotic. People there forget their manners and can be very pushy/rude. Oh well. Our bags arrived a short time later, we unpacked, went to the Muster Drill (it is what it is..standing on deck for 20 minutes while they tell you how to put on your life jacket). Then around 5pm we headed out. We had dinner in the Moonlight Dining room every night. Food was good, not great. But imagine cooking for 2500 people. Our waiter Nitin and asst waiter Yasmina were awesome. Maitre'd Chris awesome as well. They took great care of us. We had nice table mates and shared our experiences each night. Always nice to meet new people. Nassau was good. We went ashore shopped, drank and ate. Then headed back to ship. Dinner was formal. We dressed up..was my wife's 50th so special for us. Amazed some people wore t-shirts and shorts. Wish dining room staff enforced dress code better. If they didn't want to participate no problem, just eat in Windjammer. We had a great meal anyways. Our waiters sang Happy bday to my wife on her bday and to me on mine...piece of yummy cake w/ a candle as well. We then went to the Viking Crown Lounge on the top deck...360 degree view. We had some drinks and our very first martini's served by Mervin..nice guy.Next day was Cococay was awesome...again rain forecasted but just partly cloudy. Food was Ok, we snorkeled and Kayaked and laid in the sun. A nice relaxing day. Headed back to the ship, got ready for dinner and headed off to see the comedian Kivi. Very funny. Woke up next day in Key West. Had to go through Immigration and have ID's rechecked...whatever. Off the ship and on the tour. Used CityView tours, found a deal on Groupon for $18 a piece versus $21 with them directly. Very informative. Key West is not for kids. There was a festival caleed Fantasy Fest...Hedonism meets Mardi-Gras. Not for the faint hearted. We settled in at Sloppy Joes and glad we did. Bartender Louie was awesome. We were celebrating my Bday and he helped make it memorable. Also met a guy Walter whio served our country for 30 yrs in the Air Force and retired in Key West. Awesome. After we had our fill we headed to the ship and made it with minutes to spare.

Next morning at 8 am we opted for self service and were off the ship in less than 20 minutes...really. Fastest checkout ever. Then back to Ft Lauderdale via Enterprise, 8pm flight then home in Myrtle Beach. Read more