We selected this cruise mostly because of the length and itinerary. We did not want to cruise one of the huge megaships. We last cruised on Carnival with the Carnival Splendor on a Spring Break trip to Mexico with the kids 3 years ago and loved it. My parents (whose 50th anniversary we were celebrating) are avid cruisers, but typically cruise more upscale lines. We had kids of all ages (6-20) with us, so we wanted something that would appeal to everyone.
Embarkation-we arrived the night before and stayed at the Hyatt House at the airport. With a 2 bedroom, 2 bath suite for each family it was great. My parents had arrived a couple days ahead of time and shuttled us over to the port 1 family at a time on Saturday. By the time my family got there at 2:30, there were no lines and we walked right to check-in and on the ship! We had packed a variety of boxed wine, wine bottles etc...and had no problems getting it on in the luggage.
Cabins-we had 4 balcony cabins next to each other. I had one sister with an inside across from us. I didn't remember the cabins being so small! We did manage to get everything put away. My 3 boys were sharing the cabin next door and it was tight! Teeny bathroom, but it was fine.