I'll tell you a bit about us so you have some perspective: We are three females, ages 27-30. This was my sixth cruise, third time on Carnival. My sister was on her fourth cruise (first on Carnival), and our friend traveling with us was a first-time cruiser. We are all single, professional, and though we are usually very active travelers, our main goal for this trip was just to relax!

We booked our trip online through Carnival's website. This was a first, as we usually use a local travel agent. As an experienced cruiser I didn't feel we needed the travel agent's guidance, but if you've never cruised before, I would recommend using a travel agent to make sure you find the cruise that's right for you!

Travel/Embarkation - We flew from Atlanta to Miami on Monday morning, May 5. With all the airline mishaps lately we were paranoid about flying on the day of our cruise, but thankfully, everything worked out fine! Our flight arrived on-schedule at 10:00 am, and after a $30 cab ride we were waiting in line to check-in by 11:00 am. Check-in was a breeze and Carnival's Zone Embarkation is genius! Since we arrived early we were Zone 2 and were able to board within the first thirty minutes. It's nice to be "rewarded" for arriving early! After a quick lunch (and a welcome aboard cocktail) we were able to drop our bags in our stateroom at 1:30 pm then explore the ship. Read more