This year (4th cruise in 5 years) we went with the basement bargain Carnival so we could get a huge group of us (23 in all) on the boat, and in good rooms for cheap cheap cheap. However, in the end, it is not worth the frustration of watching the shoreline get slowly larger in the window 90 minutes after we were supposed to be on the beach.
Consistency was the theme on this cruise. Consistently late, that is.
Embarking was the typical zoo - and I am OK with that. It is a necessary in trying to get 3,000 on a boat safely. But this was the first time that I saw the electronic check-in. This is fine for myself and most of the people there, but I saw some people, over and over again try to swipe their passport through the credit card slot ......... saves on staff, slows down the process.