I should preface this review by stating that this cruise was the first cruise we've ever taken. My husband and I are in our late 30s (no children) and we cruised with my parents who are in their 60s/70s. My parents have taken a Carnival Cruise before. I've traveled extensively over the world and I am a frequent domestic business traveler as well, but I have never done a cruise vacation.

THANKSGIVING CRUISE: We sailed 11/22 - 11/29 originating from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale). My parents live in Jacksonville, so we just did the 5-hour drive to the port. I believe our cruise was sold out, as it was packed, no doubt due to the Thanksgiving holiday. There were a lot of children on-board, over 500 of 'em, mostly older children. Although they took over the central pools (like Neptune/Calypso Reef), they were fairly well-behaved, although they were prone to cutting in lines and running up and down the halls (which reverberates noise in cabins). Still, they didn't bug us, and there are 2 adults-only pools.

EMBARKATION/SAILAWAY: A breeze. We arrived between 1-2pm, and we had literally no wait. We breezed through security and we walked right up to the check-in counter for our deck (Caribe for us, Dolphin for my parents). Rooms were ready immediately, no wait. Luggage came right away from my parents, but luggage for us came sometime around 4-5pm. No biggie because we packed pool essentials in our carry-ons. We grabbed lunch in the buffet, no wait. Safety drill was fairly quick. Sailaway was charming. I was amazed at how many of the locals wave goodbye to your ship - impresssed that one guy even hung a Princess flag from his high-rise balcony. Read more