This was our first family cruise with Carnival. Previously cruised 3 times with RCL as family - DH cruised with Carnival years ago. This cruise was selected because of the low price during Easter week and the availability of rooms.

Embarkation The cruise left from Miami. Since we live in Florida, we drove to the port and arrived around 11 am. Drive wasn't too bad but the parking at the port of Miami is very poor. Once of the parking lots is closed due to the construction of a new parking deck (sorely needed). Due to the limited number of spots and that two of the ships were slow in letting passengers off, it took an hour to find a parking spot. However, processing through both the security and check-in lines were much faster - about 30 minutes.

Once on board, we ate at the restaurant on the pool deck and toured the ship. Surprisingly, our room was ready before 2 pm and all luggage was delivered before 4 pm. Read more