My husband & I & took this cruise for my birthday. We were accompanied by another couple who were 1st time cruisers. We are all 65+ and this was our first time on Carnival. We are Florida residents so we drove 1 1/2 hrs. to the port. Great experience, no problem at all. We parked off the port about 3 mi. away & we were at the pier in no time. Carnival really knows how to embark their passengers. They have many check-in stations & we were on the ship in 10 minutes--no waiting in line.
We were on deck 2 in a cove balcony cabin, which I thought was very good. It was sufficient for 2 people and we would do it again. Deck 2 is convenient because it is only 1 deck down from the dining room & is also near the atrium, the theater, & the gangway.
We thought the cabin & the whole ship was very clean, a big + in my book.