We set sail from NYC on March 31st and it was cloudy and overcast and we were told that the weather on the way out wasn’t going to be great, but it didn’t stop us from having a wonderful sail away. We got to terminal 88 on the West Side and the place was packed. Once we checked in, which was pretty simple, we waited about an hour or so to board. Many festive groups on board and we ran into a few fellow Marist College grads as well!

We were able to get into our cabin by early afternoon. We opted for connecting balconies which were awesome and made it feel like we were in a suite. Our cabins were starboard, regular balconies – 10158 & 10156. Great location, easy access to everything and we had no issues with disturbances. Unfortunately, because we had some bad weather we didn’t get to use our balconies a lot and they were very narrow so hard to really enjoy other than to stand and look out. I still prefer to have the natural light and the fresh air when we can, but I am looking to book our family an inside cabin for an upcoming cruise to see if the $$$ savings is worth not having sunlight. We shall see…

For this trip, none of us were focused on fine dining – the hours for concerts and performances were all over the place so we were often just grabbing food on the way – we frequented the Garden Cafe  and O’Sheehan’s quite a bit and had one lovely dinner in the Grand Pacific dining room. Food was fine, no one starved!

I had a surprise waiting for my friends – I had created swag bags for each of us with some cruise essentials! I wanted to find a way to say thank you for taking the time, and spending the money, to take this trip with me. The bags were a huge hit! Here’s what I filled them with:

Personalized Beach Tote - from JoyfulTidingsBridal on Etsy

Twisted Sandbar Knot Bracelet - from MichaelsCapeCod on Etsy

Beaded Lanyards To Hold Our Cruise Cards - from Amazon

Stanley Ice Flow Flip Straw Tumbler 30oz - from Stanley1913.com

While exploring the ship we quickly found the Spinnaker Lounge to be a great spot for quiet time and just chit chatting away from the hustle and bustle. (We did get bounced from the lounge once as the performers were rehearsing). One of our travel companions Chrissy, is an early riser and often found her way there in the mornings to sip her coffee when the weather wasn’t so great and not have to deal with the crowds… highly recommend!

The first “big” performer we saw that night was Randy Rainbow! We didn’t make it into the theatre since it was packed but we happily watched the simulcast from the Atrium. He is so funny, and I’ve been following him for years so it was great to see a live performance.