Just off the Pride  had a great trip  heres our take.

Embarkation: Fast and efficient  did the early check-in thing, and we were on the boat around 1PM& We took two cars due to all the luggage, and found out afterward that was a mistake due to parking costs (its like $12/day each car  anyone know of cheaper parking? Can you park at the Queen Mary hotel and walk?).

We have 3 kids (girls 12,11 and a boy 6), and we were traveling with the grandparents  ended up with 3 staterooms with balconies. Grandparents have cruised all over the world (30+ times  never on Carnival). Read more