We embarked at the Port of Miami form our drive from Michigan on Monday. I stopped, dropped off the luggage, along with my wife and kids, then parked the van. Parking in the garage was $11.00 per day, cash only. After I parked I walked to the terminal and found my family then went through security and waited to get our sign and sail cards. This time went by rather quickly and found ourselves on board within an hour. We located our room and then went exploring. The kids were amazed they had elevators on the ship, which they stayed in and rode for a while. After gathering everybody we had lunch, ice cream, and pizza. My wife and I got the "Drink of the Day" and headed to the bow to watch Miami fade away.

We had 2 rooms across from each other, our kids in an inside cabin and my wife and I with an oceanview room. We found the room to be quite roomy with plenty of room for our things. We did not take along the zillion of things people suggest to take and didn't find ourselves in need. The bathrooms were large enough and the shower was quite roomy with great water pressure and hot water.

Tuesday was a day at sea. We enjoyed breakfast out in the open on the aft of the ship, after that we changed into our suits and headed for the Lido deck. We had no problems getting lounge chairs and enjoying the tropical air. The kids had a great time on the waterslide and quickly made friends. My kids, 8,10,13 and 17 did not opt for Camp Carnival, and had a great time. Read more