I found Embarkation very easy. We printed the fun passes, but they weren't really needed. My only regret was that we didn't fly into Tampa the night before so we would have been refreshed for our first day of the cruise. I highly recommend this, and will do this next time. We went to the Lido deck, but for the most part, the food on the Lido deck is nothing short of gross (hamburgers, hot dogs). I did like the ice cream though!

The entertainment was fun, and being a little crazy I also got into the action and participated in the games. I won a really nice bag. I also threw a couple of dollars in the slot machine and won 100 dollars. I took my coins, cashed them in and walked right out. I saw some poor idiot with his head in his hands. Some people sadly can't just walk away. :(

The absolute, most important tips I got, were from Cruise Critic. I originally booked my shore excursion through Captain Marvins for 35 dollars. Thank God I did! That morning, all the people who booked through the boat shore excursions had their Stingray City tour cancelled. For those who booked the stingray/Hell/Turtle Farm excursion they could do the two out of the three (But Carnival did not tell them that they would not refund part of the money so people paid over a hundred for what they would have paid 10 on the dock.) So I went to my excursion with about 13 others (those who also booked because of Cruise Critic) and it was the most amazing time. We also snorkeled on this gorgeous coral reef and I felt like I was in another world. Read more