We flew to Tampa, Florida one day early (mainly to be sure our luggage would arrive with us and to unwind/relax). We stayed at the Embassy Suites Downtown...Beautiful! Extremely clean, friendly staff. Drinks were complimentary during cocktail hour, as was breakfast in the morning. The omelette was delicious!

We enjoyed a trolley ride(right in front of the hotel), roundtrip to Ybor City as well as using it to drop us at the ship the next day.

Embarkation was smooth and relatively quick with Carnival's friendly staff. This was our fourth cruise. Onboard, it took awhile to get our suitcases, but don't stress. Read more