This is our second cruise, the first was with NCL and we disliked it. My wife and I (26 and 27 respectively) chose this cruise because of its attractive destinations (we'd never been to Nassau, St. Thomas, or St. Maarten before and were NOT interested in going to Mexico) and good price. We booked it about 1 month out and had no problem getting an oceanview stateroom for just the two of us. The price was roughly $730 a person before the mandatory tipping and all your other discretionary expenses. The cruise departed May 12th and returned May 19th.
Coming from eastern Georgia (4.5 hour drive), we drove to Port Canaveral the night prior and stayed at the Radisson Hotel which is easily within eyesight of the port and the ships. I highly recommend this hotel and traveling down the day prior to your cruise departure. This Radisson offers free shuttle service to and from your cruise and also FREE parking during for the duration. This is a great deal considering the Port Authority charges something around 12.00 a day for parking at the port. The hotel had a fantastic pool and you could even have drinks at the cabana. Make sure to ask for the AAA rate.
When we woke up Saturday AM we could see the Carnival Glory had arrived into the port. It looked awesome from a distance. Based on some advice from the hotel, we chose the later shuttle and departed for the port around 230 PM. Apparently, the later you arrive at the port, the shorter the lines are. This proved to be true as we got to the port and had boarded the boat easily within 40 minutes.