We flew to Florida and spent one night before we went to the ship. Our hotel was ok but we later found out from another long time cruiser that we paid about 300.00 more than we should have for transportation. Lesson learned on how to do that part without shuttle costs :(
I cant say enough about how smoothly the embarkation and disembarkation went. We were three people and literally never hit a glitch over the ten day trip as far as customer service with Carnival.
The ship, Sunshine, was our second trip and we liked the Carnival Glory far more than we liked the Sunshine. That being said, the ship was spotless. Our steward, Pedro, was friendly and so helpful.
Pedro kept our cabin spotless and it had plenty of space for our three members of the family.
We stayed the night one day prior to and one day after. We enjoyed Florida and thought the port ran smoothly on the front and back ends of the cruise.
Our favorite port because they have everything right there at the ship. We could get off and play and then go back and rest and eat and get back off again.
We took a self guided tour and spent only 8.00 on a taxi. Loved the area.