We decided just three months from departure to travel over Thanksgiving. I had read so much about the Cove Balconies and wanted to experience one. We are two fifty something nurses from South Florida and are seasoned cruisers due to our proximity to several ports. We used a vacation planner from Carnival and he did a great job for us. We traveled to Cocoa Beach two days prior to the cruise for some beach time. I looked on several web sites for accommodations and finally selected the Best Western Ocean Front on Cocoa Beach. It was reasonable for ocean front and we were not disappointed. The hotel is older but very clean and was steps away from the local pier which had bars, restaurants and live entertainment on Friday night. They have a special before 8:00pm for a one pound Maine lobster for $10.00. My friend, who is from the Northeast, proclaimed it as one of the best lobsters she ever had. We were in cruise training, so had to order two...each! They were delicious. On Thursday and Friday we took a cab to Fishlips, a restaurant at the port, to watch several "sailaways" and it certainly gets one in the mood to cruise. We sat outside both nights and nearly froze to death. One must remember that we live very south in Florida and our blood is way too thin. I turn on my car heater when it is 65 degrees. I wished I had brought mittens.

We elected to use one of the local parking establishments instead of mortgaging our car for the week to park at the port. It worked out very well and we will use this option for all of our cruises in the future. We were finally Platinum and were able to use priority embarkation. We were escorted to a private office just off of the embarkation area, invited to sit down, given water and proceeded to check in. It was more than civilized, it was heaven. We were then given group #1 cards and lead to a separate area. Waited 15 minutes and were escorted onto the ship. It was now only 11:10 AM. Proceeded to to the Tandoori Grill at the aft and literally had the ship to ourselves. The Indian grill was outstanding. Be sure to try the pineapple and tomato relish. I ate there every day. We eagerly awaited 1:30 when the rooms would be ready as I just had to see how really close the Cove balcony was to the water. I was also hauling around many sodas and mixers in a rolling suitcase plus my other carry on. Felt like a bar on wheels. We had ordered liquor from the Bon Voyage dept. and I must say it certainly saved on our bar bill.

Well...the Cove was exactly as I had pictured it. Yes, I could barely see over the dock, as we were that low. It was very cozy and had plenty of space to put everything. I have to admit the beds were not comfortable and did not seem like the great beds we have had on other Carnival cruises. It was more like a rock and since we were in a "cave balcony" as I began to call it, it was appropriate I suppose. The bathroom was adequate and had ample storage spaces. Read more