Carnival Destiny - FEB 23-28, 2009 - Nassau, Half Moon Cay, and Grand Turks.

We flew into Miami from Toronto, with American Airlines, the night before the cruise. We stayed at the Sofitel near Miami airport for $122CAD, which provided a shuttle from the airport to the hotel. The hotel concierge arranged us a transfer to the Port of Miami for $10/person.

Embarkation We were met in front of the Carnival terminal by one of the staff who quickly checked our Fun Pass, which we filled out online before we left, tagged our luggage for our stateroom, and sent us inside. We stood in a short line where another representative reviewed our passports and Fun Pass, then went through security. After a short walk, we stood in another lineup and checked in. From the time we left the hotel (12 noon) to stepping on the ship was less then 50 minutes (12:50pm). Our stateroom wasn't ready but there was lunch available on the Lido deck, with entertainment, and of course the bar was in full swing. Read more