Being our first cruise we wanted to go as cheap as possible. Everything was taken care of from the airport to the cruise line. We were met at the Ft. Lauderdale airport with a person holding a Carnival sign and they bussed us and our luggage to the ship. They loaded our luggage and off it went to appear in front of our cabin 3 hours later. We were notified the cruise line was monitoring the tropical storms and may have to change port locations.

We had a couple hour wait on the ship before we could get in our cabin, so we enjoyed the buffet and lemonade. While my husband relaxed on the lounge chairs with our carry on luggage, I joined in with the dancing on the deck. I am a terrible dancer, but I figured I am never going to see these people again. Little did I know my husband was video tapping me from the upper deck he was lounging on. We thoroughly enjoyed the pampered treatment of the room being cleaned throughout the day. I looked forward to the towel animals and chocolate. The employees had broken English, but you can still understand them. They came across happy to serve you. The comedy acts were good, but too short (or we might have just got there too late). When not at port, we definitely enjoyed the shows and dance classes. You can't go to everything that was offered, so if we didn't want to stay we go leave and do something else. We never had a drop of rain during our entire trip, because they changed our port from Cozumel to Nassau. The only bad weather we had, was Miami was a little too humid when we got back.

We tried to work out every day either in the gym or walking path. You have to be careful not to over eat from the multiple buffets. We booked the early dining, but when our card was printed, it said the later dining time. We were told to check with the matradee. With all the craziness of everyone trying to find there seating on the first night the matradee set us up and he came across happy to help us. The only bad thing was to get to our dining room was a little complicated because the way the ship was designed. I tried foods for the first time and enjoyed them. We dined with people that were vetern cruisers, and they said Carnival is the way to go if you want fun things to do while on the ship. My husband and I are not drinkers, and are in our 50's and we had a wonderful time.