This was the 4th cruise for my wife Denise and I, the 3rd on Carnival. We were travelling with our friend Tom, and Denise's mother. We took the cruise in celebration of both my wife's and Tom's 50th birthdays, both of which would occur during this cruise. Just as background information, I'm 50 years old also, and somewhat mobility impaired -- I don't use a wheelchair, but I walk with a cane, and I can't walk very far distances or stand for any length of time.
Denise Tom and I had a direct flight from New York to Rome that got us to Rome late in the morning on the day of the cruise. We hooked up with Mom in Rome without trouble -- her flight came from New York with a stop in Cincinnati.
The airport was fairly tiring, but not too bad. We found the Carnival reps immediately, and they got us to our transfer bus to the ship with no problem.