Hi! My daughter Stephanie (age 32) and myself will be on this cruise. It's her first, and my third. My first cruise was on the Destiny out of Puerto Rico in 2003, and my second was on the Victory out of Miami in 2007. They were very similar as far as the ships, but the ports were very different and interesting. Can't wait to show her ...

 I stayed in an interior quad room with three others my last two cruises. There are two upper and two lower beds. Both times they were in an L-shape instead of across from each other. There were four tiny closets, and a built in chest of drawers with four drawers; one for each person. It wasn't overly spacious, but since we weren't in ...

 It was downtown Miami on Chopin Pl. I am going on a cruise in Oct. and want to stay there again. We had fun shopping at Bayside Marketplace, and ate at Bubba Gumps. Speaking of Bayside Marketplace, they have a website that lists all the stores and restaurants.

 I booked a four-star hotel in Downtown Miami using Hotwire, and ended up with the Intercontinental. It was great; beautiful view of the port, and within walking distance to Bayside Marketplace. It only cost $89.00 a night, for a $300.00+ room. 

 A coupon organizer works great for your s&s receipts. I label each divider with the day of the week and put the receipt in the correct section as I get them. That way when I get my final bill and there's something questionable, I don't have to dig through a whole stack of them to find what I'm looking for. Hope this helps for ...

 Thanks for the info, although since I'm only booked for my third cruise, I have a ways to go!

 I keep hearing about "going platinum", and understand that it pertains to having gone on at least ten cruises. But I can't find anything about what exactly you get when you achieve this feat. Can anyone help answer this? Thanks, April

Our family sailed from Miami last Nov. and we booked a room through Hotwire. It was the Intercontinental, and we only paid $89.00. It was a beautiful hotel and our room looked out over the bay. It was only about a five or ten minute taxi ride to the port of Miami. We're going again next Oct. and I hope to get the same deal. Hope this helps.

I couldn't help noticing that the ''card room'' aboard the Victory on the Atlantic deck is no longer there. It has been replaced fairly recently with something called ''The Nineteenth Hole''. Does anyone know what this room is used for?  Thanks, April

Hi Crystal, we are coming from Columbia, Mo.  We will arrive in Miami on Sat. and stay at the Intercontinental both before the cruise and the day after. Yeah, only 30 more days. I can't wait. Hope to see you onboard. April