I got back last night and slept like a rock, slogged through work today and now I've had a nap and I'm feeling a bit less wiped out. One day, somebody will explain to me why I have all sorts of energy on the ship and none once I leave.

I'm trying to figure a way of telling you the highlights of the trip but right now I can only think in quick bullets, so here goes:

-The opening show was fine. The comedian was medium-funny. Not offensive but not side-splitting. He was around the ship a lot the rest of the cruise and I was thinking he must have an easy job because that's the only time he performed.

-I loved Boleros this time. We kept trying their drinks and I really like the Banana Batidas. YUM! They come in Mango, Papaya and Pineapple, also.

-Speaking of drinks, I tried the Mango Tango because a friend says they're good and I really liked them.

-I made a spa appointment but then cancelled it. I cannot justify the prices they charge for a massage when comparing them to really nice spas at home, especially since they try to sell you stuff every time on the ship.

-The Quest was fun but was definitely more "naughty" than on more family-centered ships like the Navigator. Nobody got naked but there was some raunch in the air!

-There must have been fewer than 20 kids under 10 on this cruise. I was very surprised, since there is still tons of stuff for kids on this ship like the water features and the bungee trampolines.

-Speaking of those, I found them to be very fun but in a less thrilling way than I thought/feared. It was just really neat to be able to bounce that high while at sea!

-I think I was only in the pool once or twice the whole time, and the second time was to help some little boy who was frantic because he lost his sea pass.

-The disco was hopping after about 11 at night and the music was great.

-Speaking of music, have you ever noticed that the average passenger is about 40 (my age) and the music played in public areas is often the music of the 80's, from when I was in high school. I have never heard so much Phil Collins!

-We had champagne cocktails in the centrum before the formal and they brought us canapes. They were more of a treat for Mike as he is the cheese fiend.

-We feared that the ship's being smaller would mean there was less to do or it would be less well done. not true. It was great and everything was excellent.

-Bartenders, I think, are the Achilles for this ship. For example, we went into the Schooner Bar because the compass said they (and the Viking Crown) were having a Martini Madness. I asked what the special was and the guy said it was $5 but only on martinis, which I took to mean traditional martinis. I said I would like a Cosmo and he said that it was included in the sale but he kept acting strangely, like I was trying to pull something. The next night, both bars ran Martini Madness again, so we went to the Viking Crown. The guy said Martini Madness was not a sale, they just call it that to push the martinis. We told him they were on sale in the schooner and he just shrugged. We were pressed for time so we just ordered and then he brought the drinks in special collectible glasses. We said we didn't want them but he said they were a gift and we were free to take them. In looking at the bill, it was clear that we had been upsold on greentini's (whatever the heck that means) but we were just exasperated by then and wanted to go.

In other bars, we would sit and sit waiting for waiters or would have to go to the bar and then get the drinks on our own.

- All that said, the bartenders in Boleros were friendly and seemed to remember you every time you came in.

-I took my "Buy ten dollars worth of gaming tokens and get twelve" coupon to the casino and I was just given 8 quarters. It felt weird and I'm not sure why.

-I won at Bingo! I won $74 but would have won 4 times that if I had been the only winner.

-They had Bingo the Dog. You bought it and got lots of discounts but we only played once.

-They played one bingo game called the biggest loser. Everyone stood and once you had no cards left with no numbers on them, you sat down. The last person with no numbers on their cards won. Funnily, it went on and on...

-The Broadway Show was incredible and we went back with the late seating guests.

-They ran a session where you could go and ask questions of the staff about ship life or how things run or how they got their jobs. Then, there was a tour of the stage area. Very fun.

-We had free wine each night from our TA. The head waiter let us exchange it for something of equal value that was more to our taste than the White Zin the TA sent. The waiter said no and the headwaiter said no and then yes. The waiter said he would have been happy to let us but he would have got in trouble if he made that call himself.

-In Cozumel, there were some incredibly drunk people at lunch two tables down (in a restaurant in town). The man and his wife next to us were annoyed at how much these people were screaming and whooping. He asked them to shut up and not five minutes later, he was doing tequila shots with them, much to his wife's chagrin.

-Cozumel was sad. The devastation is very apparent. I would do an excursion or a ship day there, folks. The downtown is ok but there are still lots of buildings with no roofs. It's also incredibly brown and arid. They have had no rain since the hurricane. We ate a great, great lunch at las Palmeras, downtown. We did a Segway tour and it was fun. It was fun, I thought, and we could have stayed for snorkeling in the end but we were starved.

-This time, it was Mike's turn for luggage issues. His main bag didn't arrive in the cabin, even though we checked all four together on the pier. We checked before and after dinner and after the welcome show. No bag. The Guest Relations guy (Manuel) was very kid and gave Mike a shirt and toiletries bag. His case came at breakfast time the next day. We have no idea where it was because the tag was on it and was correct. Maybe a room attendant grabbed it by mistake and put it in the wrong room. I was very impressed with how patient and good natured Mike was about it all. We did learn from the past and had packed an outfit in each other's bags so he never had to wear dirty clothes.

-Key West was very fun. We took the Conch Tour and now know the places we will like return to. The port call is very short and flew by! We went to Sloppy Joe's but just to buy a t-shirt (I LOVE sloppy Joe's or Manwiches). Key West is definitely a place on our "go back for a longer stay" list.

-They are learning from the comment cards what people are into. They held a very popular scrap-booking session as well as an adult craft session. The salsa lessons in Boleros were always packed.

-The Captain's reception had the normal champagne but also featured rum drinks and gin and tonics.

-We went straight to book Chops when we boarded and two nights were completely blocked for private events. That seemed a bit much on a 4 day cruise. There were some corporate groups as well as some weddings so I don't know who had the room booked.

There were a LOT of weddings. We saw three or four bridal parties right after we boarded. The staircase in the dining room is popular for pictures and looked very nice. On couple had the groom sitting on the bench of a piano pretending to play for his bride who was strewn across the top of the piano in her big puffy dress. The women seemed to love this while the men rolled their eyes.

-We enjoyed the cooking demonstration a lot. It was amazing what they could whip up in the Centrum in a half hour.

-We had a gala buffet as well as a deck buffet, which was a nice surprise. I never can muster an appetite but I like to look at the food.

-I liked Fort Lauderdale. It seems like a really clean city. We stayed at the Days Inn in Hollywood and when I sat on the bed, my rump went all the way down and bumped the box spring. We did sleep well, though.

- Never had a problem finding chairs by the pool or getting drinks when we wanted them. We even joined in on the silly deck dancing during sailaway.

-The cruise staff truly seem to be having fun. Everyone was friendly and eager to please.

-The gym had no sauna or steam room but there was a free relaxation room in the spa that was for anyone to use, whether you had a spa appt. or not.

-The suspension bridges add a nice detail to the pool deck, especially at night.

-The shops onboard had better deals on liquor than either port. We bought Bailey's to bring home. Two litres for $33.95.

-The Crown and Anchor lounge was normally empty, as was the library. The Concierge Club didn't look well-used, either, but I am not yet eligible.

-Getting off the ship was easy and painless. There seem to be a lot of people in each color group and they call several at a time so the line backs up.