This was my third cruise and my boyfriend's second. It was his first 7 day cruise, so I did a lot of excursion planning to make sure he wouldn't be bored.
We flew into Tampa a couple days early to visit a friend. We rented a car from Avis and stayed at the Doubletree Westshore Hotel (both through priceline). The hotel was fine--it was geared towards business travelers and seemed to be a refurbished version of a less nice hotel. The breakfast buffet was very tasty (not included) and we also ate dinner at the restaurant there one time.
We got on the ship pretty early--12 to 12:30. We had booked a balcony cabin for the first time and the view was fantastic. We wandered around the ship, getting our bearings. Took awhile for our luggage to arrive (maybe 3 to 4 pm) and we didn't meet our steward until the following day.
Great location--centrally located, quiet. Bathroom sink stopper wouldn't drain properly.