This was our third cruise with Carnival. First "alone" cruise. Got a great deal on a Balcony Suite.
We live in K.C.. area, and booked our flight to Ft.Lauderdale ourselves on Southwest. Flew in the day before sailing. Wanted to stay south on connections to avoid weather delays. Thank God Southwest does not fly thru Atlanta!They got 5" of snow the day before we left! Connected in Nashville no problems. Stayed in Ft. Lauderdale at the Airport Hilton (used points) Nice Hotel. Ate dinner at the the Rustic Inn 1 1/2 miles from Hotel. Great Seafood!!!! Went back to airport Sun. morning and took the Carnival Bus to Port of Miami around 11:00am at the port at 11:45.
Embarkation terminal was already crowded. Took maybe 10-15 minutes to get thru security. Since we had a suite we had VIP status and got our documents checked and Sign & Sail in a separate area. 5 minutes and we were on the escalator to the ship. Could not have been easier.
7249. Great location. Close to elevators. Very roomy. Plenty of closet space.
Roomy balcony. Very quiet. Since on deck 7 only 2 floors to Lido deck or 2 floors to the Promenade deck.