We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on Friday to make sure we had no problems because of Tropical Storm Isaac and used our Priority Club points for a room at the Holiday Inn Express, Convention Center. The hotel was only a mile from the ship terminal. The rooms were very clean and the staff friendly and helpful. The location was great for purchasing last minute items for our trip. Lots of shopping areas and restaurants within walking distance from the hotel. An international liquor store to purchase your favorite bottle of wine is very close to the hotel. The hotel also offers transportation to the cruise terminal for $8 a person.

We are Carnival VIFP platinum members and embarkation was extremely painless. We were on the ship in less than 15 minutes. Our room was on deck 10. The staff was very friendly, with lots of Welcome Backs!. The crew did seem very tired and overworked. I don't think our cabin steward ever slept!!

One of the reasons may have been that the ship is supposed to accommodate about 2,970 passengers and there were 3,600 passengers for this voyage. Many were 4 to a room. The public areas around the Lido Deck buffet and pool areas were very crowded on sea days and when not in port. We did experience some rude people and felt very sorry for the staff, because there was a lot of cleaning up after some very messy guests. There were also a LOT of children and some of their parents were not supervising them. Use your imagination! Read more