My husband, parents and I arrived the day of sailing. We took a taxi from FLL to the ship. Nice and easy. Embarkation was a piece of cake as well. We were in a line but it moved quickly. Before we knew it we were on the ship. We were able to drop our carry-ons in our rooms. We then went up to the buffet restaurant. It was difficult to find a place to sit. I always try to avoid the buffet on "opening day" on any ship, but there weren't any other options for us and we were hungry. We were unable to find seating together. The parents at one table and we at another.

The food was fine at all our meals. Not inspiring but I didn't go hungry. It did annoy me that my 3 favorite desserts: flourless chocolate cake, tiramisu and grand marnier souffle were all on offer on the same evening. Most nights the desserts were rather boring- sundaes, crisps and ice cream. Although I discovered rather late on that a stacked brownie confection was delicious. I avoided the buffet as much as possible because I couldn't find much there that appealed to me. I ate more burgers than usual at lunch time. We mostly ate in the main dining room for breakfast and dinner. We had the Any Time Dining (or whatever it is called.) We were always able to be seated quickly. The wait staff in the dining room were attentive and did a good job.

Our cabin stewards were great. Our cabin was in need of updating, though. We had connecting verandahs on Deck 5. Where to begin? There was some gross stain or rust at the bottom of the toilet. When I first saw it I thought someone had left a little something on their way out that morning!! The tub had quite a few scratches near the drain. The love seat's springs were not great. The table in front of the love seat had a warped and water stained top. The edging of the verandah curtain had come undone. That said, our bed was very comfortable as were the pillows. I also loved that they had a blanket on the bed rather that one of those stupid duvets. The room was quiet. We never heard anyone else- not even my parents who keep the tv turned up very loud due to hearing loss. Read more