I booked this cruise as a "Pack & Go" special. I'm guessing Carnival didn't think they could fill the ship with Hurricane Isaac approaching. I waited for the hurricane to pass and booked immediately. The special is for a gty inside and I was assigned my cabin fairly quickly which turned out to be a category 4J inside with window facing the observation deck all the way forward on Deck 7. It is designated as an accessible cabin but don't get any pictures of a huge cabin with room for a dance floor. It is very tight, irregularly shaped cabin with the beds head to head against the wall, so that they cannot be put together to make a king sized bed. Aside from the bed, the only place to sit is a tiny upholstered stool slid underneath the desk. On the other hand, it has a huge bathroom and being accessible, there is no step-up to enter. I called Carnival to request a change, since I had already stayed in the same cabin on another ship but they refused. Well, as they say, beggars can't be choosers.

I flew into New Orleans on the day of the cruise and arrived at 12:45 pm. I used Airport Shuttle to get to the ship. I don't recommend using them. You have to walk to a central pick-up point since there is only one for the entire airport. There already was a long line and the shuttle didn't show for another 20 minutes. I explained to the dispatcher that I needed to get to the ship a.s.a.p., since there is a boarding deadline. She allowed me to board the shuttle. However, the driver decided to make 3 stops at hotels before the cruise ship terminal instead of going directly. I did not arrive at the ship until almost 2:30pm. At least when you take the ship transfer you go directly to the ship and you won't have to handle your luggage once you get on the bus. The price is not much more than Airport Shuttle, so if you are one person I would go with the ship transfer. If you are more than one person I would take a taxi.

Arriving so late, check-in was a breeze. I didn't have my boarding pass or luggage tags but both this was not a problem. The luggage porter had blank tags and when I arrived at the terminal entrance the agent had the manifest and just compared my name on the list with the passport. As a VIFP Platinum member I was ushered over to the special check-in office and quickly received my Sail & Sign pass, again without having the boarding pass. As long as you fill out the form online, they will have the information. I'm not suggesting you do this, especially if there is more than one person in your party and you are checking in when there is a long line. But it's nice to know you won't miss your cruise if you don't have them. Read more