I have now been on two cruises because my boyfriend's family has included me in their yearly family cruise. Our party consisted of My boyfriend's parents and my boyfriend and I and his brother (we three are in our mid thirties).

I was always told that Royal Caribbean is supposed to be the industry best and since my first cruise (which was with Carnival) was so great, I was sure that despite the fact that it was going to be cold in New England and Canada in October, that this was going to be a great cruise because of the cruise line we were taking.

We drove from Northern Virginia to the port (which we did before and was very easy) and carried our bags with us and waited in a moderate line to check in. Check in was smooth and worry free. Read more