A new year, a new venue, and a new class. After attending last year’s Prom, I was interested in seeing how my Prom this year would compare. I had a pretty good experience at the National Aquarium in Baltimore last year and hoped this year would go just as well.

Security was generally the same, compared to last year. Students had their bags searched before they entered the buses. There was a line for male students and a line for female students. My search took about a minute and then I was on my way. I was one of the first through security and I didn’t spend too much time waiting on the bus for everyone else to go through.

The transportation was much better because the buses were actually on time. Students were not stuck outside waiting for the buses to arrive. Instead, they were already there by the time we got through security. Although this seems like something that should happen without question, it was quite annoying last year that the buses did not show up on time, and students were left waiting for a while,  so I appreciated the fact that no problems came up this year.

The venue for the dance itself was great. The Spirit of Baltimore we were on was a newly renovated boat with three floors. The first two floors were indoors and had tables and seating for students to eat. There was a dance floor on each floor, each with its own DJ. This provided a nice variation.I got different experiences from each dance floor. The first floor was more crowded and larger in general while the second floor wasn’t as crowded, smaller, and the DJ seemed more personable.

As far as food, the buffet was nicely done. Students had chicken, potatoes, green beans, mac and cheese, and salad to eat. There was also dessert and soda. All the food was good, and I didn’t have a problem with anything. There was also plenty of seating for students with a nice view overlooking the water.

Instead of a walk through the aquarium, students got a cruise this year. Although it was tough to appreciate the views while dancing inside, students could take a step outside to get a better view. On the outer decks and third floor, students could cool off and get some quiet conversation space while appreciating the harbor.

After-Prom was also better than last year. Last year, we had to circle around the parking lot at Dave and Buster’s before even going inside. This year we could go inside as soon as we arrived. Not only did we have to wait less, but we could play more games. Students were given a card with points on it to play games with. Only games that gave out tickets used up these points, while last year every game used points up. This was nice, as students could play games for as long as they wanted. Those two differences made me feel like this year’s After-Prom went better.

As I arrived home Sunday morning, I was just as exhausted as last year. However, I did enjoy myself much more this time around. Maybe it was because I was with my class, maybe it was because I could drive myself to pictures, or maybe it was just because it was my senior year. Whatever the case, this year’s senior Prom surpassed last year’s in many ways.

Cole Alban is the Online Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.