My husband I have sailed many times, this was our 4th Carnival Cruise, and we have also done 3 Princess Cruises. I am 40 and my husband is 49. We sailed on the 8 night Exotic Mexican Riviera Cruise November 8, 2005 from San Diego.

Embarkation: We arrived at the pier around noon via a taxi. We were unsure as to where to put our luggage as there was no porters around; however we were early. We then proceeded to the terminal and started lining up. After about a half hour we were given our sail and sign cards and a boarding number. We were #7 and they had just called #1 so we left the terminal to walk around a bit and grab a coffee. When we returned they were boarding all numbers. We were on the ship at around 1:30 pm. Note when our bags were delivered to our room, one bag was ripped. We took it to the pursers office and they wrote us a letter and promised to pay or replace the bag.

Room: We booked an outside guaranteed and were upgraded to a balcony cabin (7264). This cabin is at the back of the ship and quite high up, with only one more floor of cabins above us. People on the 8th floor told us that you could hear the chairs being moved around on the Lido deck above them. The cabin was very large, largest I've been in. We didn't seem to have too many problems moving around. There was a mini bar, but we didn't use it as you had to pay for it and pay a restocking fee. The TV had enough channels to keep you entertained, plus you can watch pay per view movies, which we did at a cost of $8.99. You can also book tours and review you bill on the TV Read more