First of all, let me say that this is my 12th cruise and my second on Carnival. The first Carnival cruise was on Liberty in the Eastern Mediterranean last year. My husband and I liked it so much we went back again this year. I've cruised on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Princess.

We opted out of the pre or post cruise stay this year because the ship was docked overnight in Civitavecchia and we knew we would have all day in Rome, which was our favorite port last year.

Our Delta flight left Philadelphia and flew to Cincinnati and then on to Rome. We had no problems at the airport and the Carnival staff was there to greet us. Read more