This was my first Carnival Cruise. While I have only cruised on Royal Caribbean, my parents (who accompanied me, my husband, and toddler) have been on a number of cruise lines including Carnival, Holland American, Norwegian, Princess, etc. When we originally talked about booking this cruise, they were reluctant because of a previous lackluster cruise with Carnival. I convinced them to try Carnival again because the ports of call were good and the ship had just been overhauled in 2004.
We traveled to Tampa via car and made the 10 hour journey in two legs. The embarkation process was very eye-opening for me as in my Royal Caribbean cruises; we had minimal waiting time and virtually immediate embarking. I was surprised to be herded onto the ship like cattle.
Room - Our group had balcony rooms next to each other 7158 and 7160. The rooms were nice and spacious even with the portable crib they supplied for my toddler. I was impressed with the welcome goody basket razors, lotion, dental floss, etc. a very nice touch. We requested that the barrier be removed from between the two balconies to create one big one and we were accommodated the next day.