Embarkation
We got to the Tampa port area around 11:00. It took a few minutes to find the parking garage, as we were thinking there would be a sign stating where Carnival's garage was. We drove into the Tampa Port Authority, and asked the attendant to make sure we were in the right place. It was a short walk to the cruise terminal. There were only a few people in line when we got there, so were able to get in quickly. We got our sail and sign card and showed ID's and got our picture taken. It was a very shirt process. We were zone 14 and only had to wait about 15 minutes before our zone was called. Just a quick baggage check and we were on the ship at 12:00.
Cabin
Our cabin was #234 on the Empress deck, which is the first place we went to drop off our luggage. The cabin wasn't quite ready so we just stuffed the bags under the bed and headed to the Lido deck for lunch. Our cabin had a window which was nice to look out of even though we didn't spend much time there at all. There is no shortage of hot water and the water pressure was great. At times we would come in and shower and not even need to turn the hot water on at all. The air conditioning worked great and even had to turn it down a few times. We did hear some engine/propulsion noises, but quickly got use to them. We were at the back of the ship.