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We took our first cruise on SOA, our honeymoon, in 87. Super great time. I was so impressed how huge it was and clean. People constantly cleaning. I can still remember the 6 other people who sat at our dinner table, an unusual experience for us. The bridge tour was cool. I shot clay birds off the rear side of the ship, hit all of my birds and the spectators cheered. Such fun. I remember telling the wife to pack light cause when boarding you had to jump across from the dock to the ship. Not sure she believed me but it was a fun joke. Sail away was great in those days with all the confetti. About an hour after the life jacket muster we were standing on the top deck and my new wife was nervous and asked what to do if it sank. I looked out and 600 yards away was a beautiful white and red coast guard cutter. I simply said "there is the coast guard to pick us all up" She has never been concerned about ships since! LOL. Great times.

Are there plenty of drinks under the $9 threshold? When using the standard drinks package. Thanks.

Anybody ever rented a tux from Royal? Seems reasonable at $100 and delivered to your room. No suit bags and gravy stains are a problem of the past!

I have a few questions about leaving from New Orleans. Do all the people staying in one cabin have to check in at the same time? Like if one is flying into town later. Also if you check onto the ship as early as possible can you leave the ship and visit New Orleans and hop back on board just before sailing?

I would not get them for your kids till next year. A 15 year old gets a minor passport that costs $105 and is only good for 5 years. At 16 they can get an adult for $135 good for 10 years. A much better deal. Nobody will hassle you in the ports. It is also a great incentive to be back on the ship ON TIME!

I have talked to someone at Crown and Anchor recently and they said they have no records of anybody that had cruised way back then but if I had a photo that seemed to prove we were on the ship they would gladly add it to our cruise points. We have a gangway picture with the ship name in the picture in our wedding album and I will take a cell phone picture of it before our next cruise and visit the help desk on the ship and see if I can get it added. The lady on the phone said this would work.

Are there any deals on Rolex watches in the Caribbean? Do they sell any used Rolex's for decent prices?

Our first cruise was on Song of America on June 28th 1987, the day after our wedding. From somewhere in Florida we went to St Thomas, San Juan and Labadie. We were the last cruise that stopped at Labadie for a while due to political unrest. We had the best time, not just because we were on our honeymoon, on that ship. I had my dads huge VHS camcorder. It was a whole suitcase. I shot the shotgun at a few clay birds off the rear side of the ship. We had a bridge open house and looked at the radar. The food was great and I still remember our table partners. All 8 of them.

The wife was nervous at first and asked me what would happen if the ship sunk. I looked out at the sea and there was a U.S. Coast Guard cutter. I said "look at that" and she never was scared again on any cruise! I was very impressed that the crew was constantly cleaning everything. I have been in hospitals that were not half as clean! In those days you did not have sea pass cards. On the last sea day we were on the pool deck having a few drinks and a wind gust blew my credit card off into the sea. What a time we had explaining that to the purser!

On the last day my wife did the aerobics class and the next day she was limping a little when we got off the plane at home. My grandfather said "you should not have been so hard on her" My wife turned bright red!

What a great trip. We love that ship.

I always bring a pillow when I travel. I take a pillow I like and cut the end off. Pull out half the stuffing and sew it up. You will have a half pillow for traveling. It has worked well for me for a long time. Not much of a space hog either and you never use a whole pillow anyway, unless you have a really huge head!

Is it free on Serenade?

Is it better to bring wine in your carry on or your checked bags? We are not flying to the port so either is convenient to us.

Thanks a lot for the great info. I am a machinist and history nut (mostly WWII) and often see things from a different angle than others. My two adult sons will be with me and we are looking forward to seeing the industry and waterway infrastructure.

At 8 hours I will have plenty of time to go eat and still see a lot.

This is a technical question for serious travel geeks. When a ship leaves the terminal in New Orleans it is about 100 miles down the mighty Mississippi River to the open sea. The ship is supposed to leave the dock at 4:30. If anybody has actual experience, not just calculated cruising time, how long does it take to get to the sea? Something about sitting on the balcony watching the river and other ships going by is fascinating the hell out of me. I don't even want to go to dinner and miss it. Do they have room service dinner the first night? It's a guy thing I know. I will probably also get up early on the last day to watch the approach.