I traveled with my husband, my son and his wife and 2 y/o toddler. As a 1st time cruiser --I spent a lot of time reading reviews on Cruise Critic to prepare for my cruise. It was so helpful and although my family thought it was amusing the information really helped make our cruise fantastic.
We came in Saturday night into Tampa-us from the east coast and my son's family from the west coast. We stayed at the Rocky Point Holiday Inn Express and used the Park and Sail package, They picked my son's family at the airport and transported us all to the port Sunday morning. We left our car there for the cruise so it made it all worth while not to pay parking. Great restaurant --next door for outdoor Caribbean Dining right on the Bay---very nice way to get the vacation started.
We did take on 2-12 packs of sodas with out difficulty. The staff was very helpful with the toddler--it was no problem at all to have her on the ship.
Great location--right below Serenity deck, very quiet, and one set of stairs to lido deck. Rarely had to use elevator.