Very Good First Cruise

We wanted to get away from the harsh New England winter to somewhere warm and chose to go the Bahamas.  We drove to the New York port and it was very easy check in process.  Getting off the ship was a lengthy process and seemed a bit unorganized.  I think there should be a sign up time, or by stateroom and added to your badge.  We were able to get off for some excursions.  We first went to the private island, which was beautiful and we were lucky enough to get lounge chairs. (We would have had to wait longer to get to the island if we didn't have excursion tickets.)  We kayaked in Great Stirrup Cay, enjoyed the provided lunch and entertainment as well.  The lines were long to get back on the tender to get back to the ship.  We also took a catamaran and snorkeled in Nassau, had some lunch, and did some shopping in the Straw Market.  The kids were not interested in the Entourage program, but did find enjoyment with the arcade, water slides, mini golf, and ropes course.  I had one brave enough to "walk the plank."  The beverage servers were very attentive to our needs and we never really encountered long waiting times.  The food on the ship was plentiful in the buffet and offered something different each night.  We also visited the other three main dining rooms various nights and we were not very impressed.  Some of the meals were hot and others were warm/cool.  We had a server one night that was not very attentive to our needs and the other two nights, servers were great.  One day for lunch we went to O'Sheehans and we had to ask the hostess twice when our food was coming.  It took over 45 minutes and we watched the people behind us, sit, order similar meals, receive their meals (which we think were ours) and then left before we were even served.  Our stateroom steward was fantastic.  The towel animal creations were beautiful; he also had the bunk pulled down before we needed it and was very sociable.  He even learned all our names and addressed us each time he saw us.  We loved having a balcony and the room fit the four of us just fine (2 adults, 2 teenagers).  We made some great family memories, got the sun and relaxation we needed, and had a few family photos. The nice part about the "freestyle cruise" is that you can dress up as you want. This was our first cruise and overall it was good, with a few a hiccups.  I definitely want to go on another cruise to a different destination and then will have an easier comparison.