This was my first cruise ever, but I was cruising with a person who has been on 3 other Carnival cruises. Let's start from the beginning:

We flew into FT. Lauderdale Airport and stayed overnight @ the Hilton Airport Hotel. That hotel was very nice and had a shuttle for us waiting at the airport for free. I had done some research on this website and read that transportation from Ft Lauderdale to the port of Miami could be expensive. The hotel wanted $80 per person! Luckily I found a company called Ride SAS(www.ridesas.com) who only charged $15 per person. They were WONDERFUL! Our driver was Jeff and he was sooo accomodating, going above and beyond great customer service. Great vans, great times, just can't say enough good things about them!

We got to the port of Miami around 11:30 and there was a lot of people there. The line did move pretty fast though. Now that they have computer kiosks for check in it goes faster. They take your picture and wisk you away to the ship. It was a very smooth process. We then went to the Lido deck where they had a buffet and drinks. By the time we got to our room our luggage was waiting for us. The room itself was very standard, two twin beds and a couch and a bathroom. We had a oceanview, no balcony. Read more