I am 25 years old and this was my first cruise. I had an amazing time! My twin brother and my other roommate cruised with me. We booked this cruise for the price as well as the ports of call (Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica) We arrived the day of departure on jetBlue in Fort Lauderdale. We took a limo sedan from FLL-MIA for about $90 (split through 3 was about the same price as any other form of transportation) We arrived at the port at around noon. Getting on the ship was no problem what so-ever and we were on the ship before the rooms were even ready. We went up to the Lido deck and had lunch which was decent. We sat and enjoyed the view of the Miami skyline very excited to get on our way. Around 1:30 we were able to get into our room. Make sure you buy the unlimited Soda Card if you drink a lot of soda like I do. I must have drank over 50 glasses on the cruise, so at $27 dollars it was a bargain (they are $2 normally) Soon after the muster drill started and we were quickly through that and on our way. The first evening consisted mainly of exploring the ship and resting up. In the evening we did a good deal of drinking meandering around the ship and people watching. (we snuck on a bottle of tequila and rum which helped us get buzzed quicker as well as save money ;) We had diner in the Pride Dining room at the 8:30 late seating. We were a little worried about eating diner with strangers, but as soon as we met our table mates all was good. We had an awesome time eating dinner and the food was excellent. Our waitress (alexandra) was awesome. We woke up the next day after enjoying sleeping in. The day at sea was spent relaxing and lying in the sun. That night was formal at the dining room and we opted out and instead at around and had some of the excellent pizza. Throughout the cruise this was the place we ate the most since it was so delicious.
The next Day was our first port of call, Grand Cayman. My brother and I had booked a SCUBA diving trip through an outside vendor on the internet. Besides me forgetting everything on board the ship and having to get back on the tender, to get back on the boat and then get back on the island again, it went great and the diving was amazing! The only regret was not being able to spend more time on the island! It was definitely a beautiful place to visit. We got back on board that afternoon and soon after set sail for Ocho rios. Laid out in the sun some more and enjoyed relaxing on the ship. We had diner again at the Pride Dining room with our awesome table mates. Carnival actually pairs you together with people from the same type of demographic so I think that's why we had such a great table. Food again was good and dessert (chocolate molten cake) was delish! We spent the evening in the dance club as well as the karaoke bar. Next day was Ocho Rios. This time all 3 of us went on the shore excursion which we had also bought online before the cruise. We did the Dunns River falls trip first which was awesome. We were one of the first people climbing. We decided not to take a guide since we are young and could climb it by our selves. I was soooo happy we did since we were the first to get up the falls in its pristine condition. After that we walked down again and there were HUNDREDS of people trying to climb them with guides. We then moved on to River tubing which was also lots of fun. Jamaica was nice but everyone is very pushy on the island trying to sell you anything from Bob Marley tapes to Pot. We had a drink at Margaritaville and then got back on the ship. Laid out more in the sun and enjoyed the views as we left jamaica. That night we got drunk since we didn't have to get up to early and hung out with our table mates who we had become our good friends by now. I ended up getting to bed by about 5 AM and getting up for my 9:30 SPA appointment. It was my first massage ever and Was worth the $99 I spent on it. Don't get spa treatments done on the first couple of days because they actually start having specials toward the end of the cruise. I def. recommend The 3- 20 min treatment special I received
The last day at sea we again spent relaxing and lying in the sun. We went to diner for the last time and said our sad goodbyes to our friends and waitress. We watched the final performance and then headed off to bed. Disembarking was not too bad even though we waited for a while for them to call our floor. Once that happened we were off the ship and on a cab within a half an hour.