My wife, 10 year old son and I planned this cruise in January and later invited a good friend and her two teen daughters to join us. Having Cruised 3 times before, this was our first cruise with Carnival and their first cruise ever.
Overall, we had a pretty great time although there were a few glitches.
We arrived in New York City the afternoon before embarkation via Amtrak Lakeshore Limited from Cleveland. We walked the few blocks from Penn Station to the Hampton Inn MSG to meet our cruise-mates who had flown in to NYC a few days earlier. Hampton Inn MSG was nice. A bit cozy if you will as rooms in NYC tend to be on the small side.
Air conditioning barely functions. Awesome view.