Medallion embarkation was seamless and once on board I used it as I would a regular cruise card and did not care to use any of the whiz bang tech features. I had loyalty minutes for wifi access and the medallion wifi was fast - but I had trouble getting it to stop a couple of times and the meter kept running. The internet cafe staff restored my minutes and said it was a system issue.

The ship is beautiful and I really enjoyed using the seating areas around the piazza in the evenings. I did not and would not use the for-fee dining areas around the piazza because of passenger traffic and noise. I did try Alfredo's (free) since it has some clear dividers between the corridor and the tables - however the pizza was soggy and it was much better on the Melanoma Deck pizzaria.

Speaking of Melanoma Deck, the chair hogs were out in full force before dawn most mornings, using big clips to fasten their towels to the chair and adding an old flip flop, hat, or magazine to complete their nest. I would see those loungers "reserved" for hours on end with no action by the deck staff. Loungers were hard to come by on sea days with about half of them occupied and the others "reserved". Read more