First of all, the ship is beautiful! Its not a mega ship, but it still has wonderful features.  Since the ship went out of Baltimore, only 20 minutes from where I live, it was much easier than most times of boarding the ship. We didn't have 2 fly or do anything stressful like that. Getting on the ship only took about 10 or 20 minutes (we had a suite and you go into another line that hardly has anyone in it) but for regular state rooms, the lines were long. We were greeted with people that showed us to out room. The suite was amazing! A lot of room, and the sky suite (not a regular suite) had a huge balcony! Our butler was the best! Always bringing us anything we wanted in a matter of minutes. Our room was always clean and neat.

I was not impressed at all with the pool area. First, there were only a few hot tubs and they were always crowded except right before the 1st dinner. Hardly any lounge chairs by the pool area, but you can always expect that.

The solarium (inside) pool was great! Kids were allowed in, but only with a parent. If they were being loud or anything they were asked to leave. The buffet was good (not the best i have had) and our waiter and assistant waiter were the greatest! There were 4 of us kids, and our parents (my mom, dad, uncle, aunt, and our dad's friends from work) we all traveled together! It was fun, especially knowing someone onboard.

Unfortunately, I didn't do the kid's program which was a mistake. We went on a 10 day cruise, and some days ( through the hurricane) there was nothing to do! If you have kids, get them involved with the kids program!

Anyway, I had my own soda card (which is a must if you have kids) which let me have as many sodas as I could drink for only $20. My parent's purchased this at the beginning of the cruise.

The ports were pretty good...we didn't get to go to Cozumel because of the hurricane, but Belize was good. Belize is a very poor country. My Mom, my brother, and I took a tour to the Mayan Ruins---a must! It was awesome! we got to climb the ruins, but it was 2 hour bus ride each way. But, My dad and uncle constantly were asked if they wanted to buy drugs by the locals. There weren't hardly any shops at all.

The private island was beautiful, but do not go snorkeling! We purchased snorkealing gear for an expensive price. The people told us that there were jelly fish in the water but they would not sting us. Well, that was a complete lie! I got stung several times, one was on my face right below my eye! My little brother had stings all over his body! They tried argue with us and not give us our money back. We had to take it to the excursions desk on the ship which was a mess.

The shows weren't the best, but all the staff was very, very friendly. There were a lot of stair ways which could get confusing. The dinning room wasn't very large, but it was very nice and elegant. We got the best table ever! It was right by a long, large window that was exactly at the back of the ship and we could see off the back of the ship!

The waiters in the bars and lounges are fantastic! They don't hammer you to buy drinks. By the third night, the waiter knew what we wanted, and just brought the drinks to us without saying anything during dinner! They didn't really expect tips, and weren't rude to you if you didn't tip them what they expected (which was what we experienced on Norwegian cruise line)

Getting off the ship wasn't too bad, but they just dumped out luggage outside over a large tarp. All the pieces of luggage were scattered and it was very crowded. I do recommend this ship for any age!

Happy Cruising!