To preface my review, this was my 7th cruise, 2nd on Carnival with the other 5 cruises with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. I was traveling with a group of 12 people for my Mom's 50th birthday, 4 of which had never cruised before!!!

Pre-cruise hotel

We stayed at the Comfort Inn Airport/Cruiseport on Stirling Rood in Hollywood (Fort Lauderdale), FL for one night prior to our cruise out of Port Everglades. We chose the hotel because of the free hotel and cruise port shuttle service and lower hotel room rates. We had 3 rooms for our group, rate ranging between $120 to $160 depending on number of guests per room. The shuttle picked us up within 10 minutes of calling them from the airport baggage claim. They had an extra trailer attached to the bus for luggage since this was their busiest time of year. The bus was very full, but we were to the hotel within 15 minutes of being picked up. The lobby was CRAZY. There were 2 big groups in front of us complaining when we arrived. It took nearly 30 minutes before someone got to me for check-in, and there were at least 5 other groups behind me waiting also. Apparently 3 maids quit that day so they did not have rooms ready for check in yet. Luckily, we did get our rooms, but those behind us were not going to be so lucky. The rooms were very average, but clean and quiet. Nice pool area with a bar next to it and grill where they were making burgers, etc. for reasonable prices. There was a Taco Bell and McDonalds right next to us, along with a little shopping area within short walking distance. My uncle, who arrived the day before us, got our group of 12 people signed up for the first shuttle to the cruise port on sailing day, so we didn't have to take care of that! The next morning when the shuttle was ready for us on time at 10:30am, loaded all the bags and we were off to the cruise port by 10:45! Embarkation Read more