My sister and I (we're both in our early 50's) boarded the cruise in Baltimore after a 5-hour automobile trip from Northeastern New York. We arrived the day before the cruise and stayed overnight at Holiday Inn Express on Russell Street. We had free parking at the motel (which was basically the same price as parking at the pier) and were supposed to have shuttle service from the motel to the pier, but they were so far behind that we took a taxi both ways ($15 round-trip each way).

We arrived at the cruise terminal at approximately 11:00 a.m. Embarkation was very smooth, except there was an 1 1/2 hour wait to board due to de-embarkation of the previous passengers. Hot chocolate, beef broth, and water was provided by Carnival during the wait.

We had a balcony stateroom which was very nice and better laid out than other balcony cabins I've sailed in on other cruiselines. Lots of closet space and a full length couch which turned into a bed. Everything was clean and up to par. Our room steward Cici was very nice and accommodating. Read more