My brand-new husband and I headed out for our honeymoon on the Carnival Inspiration on Sunday, January 13th, driving from Atlanta to the port of Tampa. We'd used Hotwire (HIGHLY recommended) to get a room at the Intercontinental Tampa for the night at about half off. The very kind staff there upgraded us to a suite upon hearing that we were on our honeymoon, and I have never stayed in a nicer hotel in my life. It was fantastic, and I can't recommend Shula's inside enough - pricey, but the best filet mignon I've ever had.

Please do understand that this all is coming from a first-time cruiser, so... I may be talking out of my... well, you know.

The Intercontinental allowed us to leave our car in self-parking for free and take a cab to the port. Embarkation was pretty quick, considering all the people that had to be processed. I would guess about 30 minutes from walking in the port's door. Read more