This was my fourth cruise, all on Carnival, and my mom's first time on Carnival but her second cruise.

EMBARKATION & DAY 1

We made it to the terminal around 11:30. Once inside the building, we went immediately through security. There was only about 20 people in line in front of us. Each us had a 6 pack of water and we had 2 bottles of wine. They asked to see it, but I barely took one out of the bag and they said I was ok to go on through. I did see the new self check in kiosks, but we didn't use them. We stood in the check in line for about 35 minutes. There was only 4 check in desks available at the time. We got our sail & sign cards and then had to go to another line so she could give her put down her cash deposit. Exact change was requested, which is odd for a cash only lane. The lido buffet was open for lunch. Our bags made it to the room around 3:30 and the muster drill was at 3:45. The drill was fast and you don't have to bring your life jacket any more. There was a sail away party immediately following the drill on the lido deck.We were seated in the Spirit Dining Room at 8:15 for late seating. Tonight's dinner entertainment was our dinner servers dancing to "Low." Read more