This was a family trip. Six siblings on my husband's side and their spouses/significant others cruised together. Most of us were in our 50s and 60s.

We all converged on the Holiday Inn West Bank from various places in the USA on Saturday, where we spent the night. We had a "stay and cruise" package - we could park our vehicles in their lot for the length of the cruise for free, one night's lodging, and free breakfast on the morning of departure. It made a lot of financial sense to do it this way rather than pay $16/day per vehicle in the Port of New Orleans parking garage. (By the way, I highly recommend the Holiday Inn - West Bank - but not the attached restaurant - but that's another review for another board).

Embarkation on Sunday, Feb. 21st was easy - the longest wait we encountered was standing outside after arriving at the port prior to our assigned boarding time, and that was not Carnival's fault - we were early. Read more