This was our first cruise and we simply loved it. We booked a 7 day cruise thru Carnival. The booking specialist was very helpful in choosing both a ship, and a destination.
Our ship, the Elation, ported out of Miami, and had excursions to Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Grand Turks.
We flew into Miami out of Chicago the day prior, and stayed in South Beach the night before embarkation. Not all it's cracked up to be and positively do not stay at the Newport Beach Resort in South Beach.