We have just returned from a 3-night cruise to Nassau on the Carnival Fantasy. In all probability it represents our last cruise with Carnival.
Our embarkation experience was rather poor, particularly compared to our last cruise (Carnival Sensation, out of Tampa). Parking at Port Canaveral is in open lots (as opposed to the covered garages in Tampa). We parked in the lot and pulled our luggage to the main entrance (as we didn't have all that much). After standing in line for about ten minutes we reached the door and were told that we had to take the luggage to the porter at the drop-off area. The porters were doing nothing but waiting for people to come to them and then loading the luggage into the cargo bins for loading on the ship. But they were still looking for their tips for moving our luggage about five feet.
We returned to the rear of the line, waited another ten minutes, and were finally inside the terminal. With Verandah cabins (mini-suites) we were able to use the Skipper's Club. While it was certainly an improvement over the much longer lines for the general passenger population it was not what was expected. The Skipper's Club is off to the side down a short dead-end hallway. This resulted in a considerable traffic jam as there was not sufficient space for those who qualified for the "premium" level of service. The staff was friendly, but it was still something of a zoo.